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Joseph Stalin
In 1926 he became the new Soviet dictator. In 1927 he began a massive effort to industrialize his country. Stalin was known for his most devastating policy; the collectivization of farms within the Soviet Union during the late 1920s and early 1930s. Some estimate that over 30 million Soviet citizens died from starvation as a direct consequence of Stalin's policies. -
Harry Truman
He was the 33rd president of the United States and was the person who decided to drop the atomic bombs on Japan. He became president after Franklin D. Roosevelt passed away due to his health issues. Truman was in office from 1945-1953 and had to endure the hard times of the Cold War. -
United Nations
The United Nations formation was a turning point in history as it replaced the League of Nations as the largest international group in the world to work to stop wars between countries and provide a platform for national dialogue. In 1942 the United Nations was formed to fight the axis powers. In 1945 the first UN meeting was held with 50 representatives from many countries and the UN Charter was drawn. -
Containment
A policy of keeping communism within its present territory through the use of diplomatic, economic and military actions. This policy rose from Kennan’s idea of how to prevail over the Russians during the Cold War by keeping them from expanding. -
Truman Doctrine
Truman Doctrine: 12 March 1946
This policy was developed as a way for the U.S. to help countries threatened by communism. It was first developed as a way of helping Greece fight off communist guerrillas and keep the Soviet Union out of Turkey. It also set the U.S. up as a major opponent of communism all over the Globe. This mindset would color American-Soviet relations for much of the Cold War. -
Berlin Airlift
The Berlin Airlift showed the Axis Powers that the Allies would not abandon its citizens. The Soviet Union blockaded West Berlin to starve the citizens so the Allies flew in supplies for over a year. The blockade lasted from 1948 to 1949, and it ended with the Soviets ending the siege when they realized the Allies wouldn’t stop. -
Marshall Plan
Through the Marshall Plan, the US distributed 13 billion dollars over 4 years to European countries, helping to rebuild post war Europe dramatically. George Marshall drew up the recovery plan to help European countries recover from World War II. The Marshall Plan was signed on April 2, 1948, and saved many industries from bankruptcy as well as increasing gross national product for many European countries up to 25%. -
Mao Zedong
This man was a communist leader that wished to gain support in China. This group had to struggle for dominance against the nationalist party supported by the U.S., but the Communists eventually won. This man later made numerous policies and advancements for the Chinese while in power. This growth worried the U.S. for fear of communist expansion taking place. -
N.A.T.O
agreement reached to create the North Atlantic Treaty Organization, a mutual defense alliance. It included 12 countries: US, Canada, Britain, France, Italy, Belgium, Denmark, Portugal, Netherlands, Noway, Luxembourg and Iceland. NATO members agreed to come to the ain of any member who was attacked. It is significant because it defended Western Europe from attacks after having 2 in the past 30 years. -
Joseph McCarthy/McCarthyism
In the 1950's, the red scare and advance of communism caused much chaos. This resulted in the senator known as McCarthy to take control of the pandemonium and abuse others with his power. He predicted that there are numerous Soviet spies in the U.S., so they needed to discover them all and blacklist those that seemed suspicious. This ruined the careers of many, put the nation in a fear of communism and fear of possibly being suspected of supporting communism in any way. -
Korean War
This event created the division of North and South Korea. The United States troops and Soviet troops occupied Korea in order to rid the Japanese stationed there. Soviets held North Korea and Americans held the south. On June 25, 1950 however, Soviets armed North Korea which believed all of Korea was there and invaded the south. The Koreans in the South received support from Americans and drove them back. There is now a boundary line between the north and south known as the 38th paral -
Dwight Eisenhower
He was a general in World War II, he also planned the invasion of the Western Front. Eisenhower later became the 34th president of the United States. He commanded the invasion of Normandy through Germany. In 1952 he ran for president with a strong anti- communist campaign and won in a landslide vote. Eisenhower was president from 1953-1961 during the Cold War. He also came up with the Domino Theory, the belief that communism could spread through Asia if China became communist -
Warsaw Pact
The US and its allies decided to allow West German to rearm and join NATO. The decision alarmed Soviet leaders, who responded by organizing a military alliance known as the Warsaw Pact. It's significant because this provided stablility between both conflicting forces and was a form of non-nuclear confrontation between the allied Soviet and United States. -
Vietnam War
This event knocked Americans down from their high horse. The United States had wished to support southern Vietnam from the communist control. In order to support them, Congress passed the Gulf of Tonkin Resolution, but shortly afterwards, North Vietnam attacked the American advisers in Vietnam. This provoked an assault with aircraft by president Johnson. Not long after, the American involvement increased until war came about. -
Nikita Khrushchev
1956 Khrushchev became the leader of the Soviet Union. He gave a speech to the Soviet leaders and attacked Stalin's policies and insisted there were many ways to build a Communist society. -
JFK
He was the 35th president of the United States and had to lead America through many threats such as the Bay of Pigs Invasion, Cuban Missile Crisis, the space race and the Vietnam War. He became president after defeating Nixon in the 1960 elections, he resolved many communist related problems. Kennedy was in office from 1961-1963. He famously said "Ask not what your country can do for you: ask what you can do for your country". He was assassinated on November 21 1963. -
Berlin Wall
The Berlin Wall stood as a symbol of communism in East Germany for over 30 years. East Germay tried to get the US, Britain, and France to leave Germany. When they refused, Khrushchev built the wall around Berlin, and ordering guards stationed on the wall to shoot anyone who tries to escape. -
Cuban Missile Crisis
1962 it was the most terrifying crisis of the Kennedy era. American intelligence agencies learned that Soviet technicians and equipment arrived in Cuba. Kennedy ordered a naval blockade to stop the Soviets from delivering more missiles and wanted to put a halt to Cuba. It is significant because the missile crisis brought the world closer to nuclear war than at any time since World War II. -
Lyndon Johnson
Lyndon Johnson November 22 1963 He was the 36th president of the United States. He sent in more troops to Vietnam and angered may of the US population. He signed the Civil Rights Act, giving African Americans equal rights, he also made the Great Society Program to aid education, medical, and the fight against poverty and crime. Johnson was president from 1963-1969. -
George H. W. Bush
Campaigned for the Republican nomination for President. He lost. After losing he was chosen as a running mate by Ronald Reagan. As Vice President, Bush had responsibility in many domestic areas, including Federal deregulation and anti-drug programs, and visited scores of foreign countries. In 1988 Bush won the Republican nomination for President and, with Senator Dan Quayle of Indiana as his running mate, he defeated Massachusetts Governor Michael Dukakis in the general election. -
Ronald Reagan
Reagan stepped into office but only 69 days later he was shot. He was able to quickly recover and return to his duties as the president. The way he handled the event made him very popular among the people. He was able to convince legislature to increase economic growth, curb inflation, employment, and strengthen national defense. Reagan worked towards cutting taxes and Government expenditures. 1984 Reagan won his second term as president. -
Iran Contra Scandal
Congress had prohibited aid to Nicaraguan Contras. These officials secretly sold weapons to Iran in exchange for the release of American hostages being held in Middle East. Profits form these sales were then sent to the contras. News of the illegal operations broke in November 1986. -
Fall of the Berlin Wall
The Berlin wall was created to keep East Germans from fleeing to the West. It stayed up for 28 years. People were not happy with the wall. Mass demonstrations against the government and the system in East Germany begun at the end of September and took until November 1989. The new government made a law to remove the wall. At a press conference a government office was asked when the wall was coming down and he said straight away. -
Mikhail Gorbachev
He was president of the Soviet Union and his cooperation with President Regan helped to put an end to the Cold War and dissolve the Soviet Union. He led the Sovierts from 1990-1991, but had already been in previous postions of command. -
Collapse of the Soviet Union
representatives from 11 Soviet republics (Ukraine, the Russian Federation, Belarus, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Moldova, Turkmenistan, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan) met and announced that they would no longer be part of the Soviet Union. Instead, they said they had already declared their independence from the USSR, only one of its 15 republics, Georgia, remained.
