-
Joseph Stalin
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. -
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. -
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. -
Truman Doctrine
The Truman Doctrine helped stabilize the European economy after World War II, preventing another Great Depression. President Truman set up the Truman Doctrine to help stabilize Europe economically and politically. The Doctrine went into action March 12, 1947, and saved Turkey and Greece’s governments. -
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 2nd, 1948, and saved many industries from bankruptcy as well as increasing gross national product for many European countries up to 25%. -
Period: to
Berlin Airlift
The Berlin Aircraft 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. -
N.A.T.O
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. -
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. -
Period: to
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 parallel. -
Dwight D. Eisenhower
Before Eisenhower was the 34th President of the United States, he was a five star general in the US Army during WWII. He is responsible for planning and supervising the invasion of North Africa. He was also successful with his invasion of France and Germany from the Western Front. -
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. -
Period: to
Vietnam War
The Vietnam War was a cold war era conflict between the United States and North Vietnam. The US supported the South Vietnamese governemt, lead by nationalist Ngo Dinh Diem. Diems actions caused tensions to rise between the North and South. Over 180,000 Troops were sent to Vietnam in total. -
Nikita Khrushchev
Nikita Khrushchev led the Soviet Union during part of the Cold War. Served as First Secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union from 1953 to 1964, and as Chairman of the Council of Ministers, or Premier, from 1958 to 1964. Khrushchev was responsible for the partial de-Stalinization of the Soviet Union, for backing the progress of the early Soviet space program, and for several relatively liberal reforms in areas of domestic policy. -
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. -
John F. Kennedy
John F. Kennedy was the 35th President of the United States. He ordered the "Bay of Pigs Invasion" He was also responsible for the Cuban Missile Crisis. He did not want to attack Cuba because it might have lead to a nuclear war with the Soviet Union. He didn't, however, want to be faced with the increased threat from close range nuclear weapons. -
Berlin Wall
The wall was put up by the Germans overnight on August 12, 1961. It placed massive tension on Berlin’s alliance status and symbolized the line between democracy and communism. The Germans put up wall to divide East and West Berlin into Allied and Axis sides. The wall stood until its destruction in 1989. -
Cuban Missile Crisis
A 13-day confrontation between the Soviet Union and Cuba on one side, and the United States on the other, in October 1962. It was one of the major confrontations of the Cold War, and is generally regarded as the moment in which the Cold War came closest to turning into a nuclear conflict. -
Lyndon B. Johnson
Lyndon B. Johnson was the Vice President to John F. Kennedy. After Kennedy's assassination, Johnson became the President of the United States. Johnson is responsible for designing the "Great Society" which created Medicare. Johnson also escalated American involvement in the Vietnam War. It was from 16,000 soldiers to 550,000 soldiers. The amount of American casualties went up, as well. He is known for being a part of the Civil Rights Movement, and the Immigration Act of 1965. -
Ronald Reagan
Reagan's work in Hollywood brought him notoriety and experience to the political world by voicing about communism in the Un-American Activists Committee(1980). Reagan's election was successful because he proposed an amendment to ban abortion and promised to cut taxes and increase defense spending. Reagan's priorities were the economy and getting Americans to believe in themselves again. -
Iran Contra Scandal
This was a political scandal in the United States that came to light in November 1986. During the Reagan administration, senior administration officials secretly facilitated the sale of arms to Iran, the subject of an arms embargo. Some U.S. officials also hoped that the arms sales would secure the release of hostages and allow U.S. intelligence agencies to fund the Nicaraguan Contras. Under the Boland Amendment, further funding of the Contras by the government had been prohibited by Congress. -
Mikhail Gorbachev
Mikhail Gorbachev became Soviet leader in 1985 and decided to continue the arms and control talks with the U.S. because they did not want to start any dispute with he U.S President Reagan and Gorbachev met multiple times to discuss political issues. Reagan forced Gorbachev to tear down the Berlin Wall, which divided Europe, in order to promote a prosperous E. Europe. In 1987 Gorbachev and Reagan signed the International- Range Nuclear Forces Treaty. -
George H.W. Bush
-Born June 12, 1924 (Milton, Massachusetts)
-41st President of the United States (1989-93
-Republican
-43rd Vise President of the United States (1981-89)
-A congressman, an ambassador and Director of central intelligence
-Is currently the oldest surviving President
Brought to the white house a dedication to traditional American values and a determination to direct them toward making the U.S. “a kinder and better nation.” -
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. -
Collapse of the Soviet Union
1991 E. Europe began to abandon communism and communist officials were outraged and arrested Gorbachev. These officials sent troops into Moscow in order to overthrow Gorbachev's government. These officials who overthrew were known as the coup. yeltsin. the Russian president went against the coup with the support of President Bush. The coup was defeated, which prompted 15 soviet republics to declare their independence and Gorbachev returned to Moscow. Gorbachev announced the end the Soviet Union
