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JOESPH STALIN
Joseph Stalin (1878-1953) was the dictator of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR) from 1929 to 1953. Under Stalin, the Soviet Union was transformed from a peasant society into an industrial and military superpower. However, he ruled by terror, and millions of his own citizens died during his brutal reign. Born into poverty, Stalin became involved in revolutionary politics, as well as criminal activities, as a young man. After Bolshevik leader Vladimir Lenin (1870-1924) died,.. -
CONT. JOESPH STALIN
...Stalin outmaneuvered his rivals for control of the party. Once in power, he collectivized farming and had potential enemies executed or sent to forced labor camps. Stalin aligned with the United States and Britain in World War II (1939-1945) but afterward engaged in an increasingly tense relationship with the West known as the Cold War (1946-1991). After his death, the Soviets initiated a de-Stalinization process. -
Mao Zedong
Mao Zedong is a Chinese man who struggled against the Nationalist government in China to establish his own Communist government. He was the founding father of the People's Republic of China. His supporters praised him for raising China up to a major power. Under his leadership, Chinese population almost doubled. Those who opposed his rule claimed that his reign killed millions of people through starvation and forced labor. -
Containment
This policy was prompted by George Kennan’s Long Telegram, which explained why he thought resolution between the U.S. and the Soviet Union was impossible, and that furthermore the Soviet Union would almost certainly collapse with time if they weren’t allowed to expand. Containment therefore focused on preventing the spread of communism, a common theme during the Cold War. -
NATO
April 1949, 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, Norway, Luxembourg and Iceland. NATO members members agreed t come to the aid of any member who was attacked. This is significant because it defended Western Europe from attacks after having 2 in the past 30 years. -
Warsaw Pact
In 1955 The US and it's allies decided to allow West Germany 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 the it provided stablity between both conflicting forces and was a form of non-nuclear confrontation between the allied Soviet and the United States. -
Joseph McCarthy (McCarthyism)
He was an american politician who, starting in 1950, became the most visible public face in the cold war. He made claims that there were large numbers of communists in the U.S. federal government. After all of the accusation of communism, his trials that were publically released against the army , he lost all of his support because people realized his faults and lies. It happened between 1950 to 1954, and it caused alot of politicians and celebritys to lose their jobs and reputations. -
KOREAN WAR
At the end of WWII American and Soviet forces entered Korea to disarm the Japanese troops stationed there. The allies divided Korea at the 38th parallel of lattitude soviet troops controlled the North while American troops controlled the south.
Ending January 31, 1955 -
VIETNAM WAR
The prolonged struggle between nationalist forces attempting to unify the country of Vietnam under a communist government and the US attempting to prevent the spread of communism. Ending May 7th 1975 -
LYNDON B. JOHNSON
Lyndon B. Johnson (1908-73) became the 36th president of the United States following the November 1963 assassination of President John F. Kennedy (1917-1963). Upon taking office, Johnson, a Texan who had served in both the U.S. House of Representatives and the U.S. Senate, launched an ambitious slate of progressive reforms aimed at alleviating poverty and creating what he called a "Great Society" for all Americans. Many of the programs he introduced--including Medicare and Head Start--made a... -
CONT. LYNDON B. JOHNSON
...lasting impact in the areas of health, education, urban renewal, conservation and civil rights. Despite his impressive domestic achievements, however, Johnson's legacy was equally defined by his failure to lead the nation out of the quagmire of the Vietnam War (1954-75). He declined to run for a second full term in office, and retired to his Texas ranch after leaving the White House in January 1969. -
Ronald Reagan
Ronald Reagan ran for the election in 1980. His campaign appealed to those who were frutrated with the economy beacuase he promised to cut taxes and increase defense spending. After beig elected, Reasgans first prioity was the Economy. He combined monetarism and supply side economics. His methods became know as Reagonomics. -
Mikail Gorbachev
Last leader of the Soviet Union. He believed that he had to fix the Soviet Unions economy or it would collapse. They could not afford an Arms Race with the US, sor Gorbachev met with Reagan in a series of meetings. Gorbachev offered to cut back Soviet nuclear forces if Reagan gave up the SDI. Reagan refused and insteaded offered peace if Gorbachev tore down the Berlin wall. -
Iran-Contra Scandal
A political scandal in the Us were officals secretly sold arms to Iran. IN exchange for the weapons, Iran would release American hostages being help in the Middle East. This news of this event was leaked in 1986. -
George H.W. Bush
Accepted the nomination in 1988. Bush's strong point was in Forgien Policy and was able to handle the PErsian Gulf war, that just surfaced at the time of his election. He was able to steer the US through an era of change. -
FALL OF THE BERLIN WALL
The Berlin wall was a barrier constructed by German Democratic Republic starting om August 13, 1961 that completely cut off west berlin from surrounding East Germany and from East Berlin. The fall of the Berlin wall happened as nearly sudden as its rise. There had been signs that the Communist bloc was weakening, but the Eaast German Communist leaders insisted that East Germany just needed a moderate change rather then a drastic revolution. East German citizens did not agree. -
Collapse of the Soviet Union
In 1991, Gorbachev announced the collapse of the Soviet Union. 15 Soviet republics declared independance after the fall of the coup. Communism was then outlawed and this bought the Cold War to an end.
