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Cold War Timeline
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Yalta Conference
The Yalta conference was a meeting between Churchill, Roosevelt, and Stalin at the end of WWI. They discussed topics such as what would happen to Poland and the ways that they would dissect Germany. They also discussed the United Nations -
Establishment of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization
The organization of NATO was prompted by the US and eleven other European nations in response to the spread of Communism. The communistic countries quickly formed their own organization, the Warsaw Pact. The differing alliances provided the framework for the military standoff between the US and the Soviets for the duration of the Cold War. -
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The Korean War
The time span that Korea was split in. The north side of Korea remained in an alliance with Russia while the south side remained in contact with the US. Each side forming their own respective government. -
The Creation of Sputnik
The Soviet Union launched the Sputnik Satellite. The Satellite itself was no larger than a beach ball but caused significant concern for the United States. This accomplishment spurred on the space age, -
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Space Race
The space race began with the launching of the Sputnik, a Russian satellite, into orbit. The launch caused renewed urgency in the United States, who quickened their efforts to make it into space. Eventually, the United States beat the Soviets to the moon with the Apollo spacecraft. -
U-2 Incident
This was an event in which a Soviet plane shot down an American U-2 spy plane flying in Soviet airspace. This forced the President at the time; Eisenhower, to admit that he had been spying on the Soviet Union for quite some time. This caused even deeper tensions between the countries. -
Berlin Wall Established
The Berlin wall acted as a physical manifestation of the Iron Curtain, the divide between the Communists and the rest of the world. It entirely blocked the east side of Germany from the west side. This split up families, mothers and fathers separated from their children, brothers separated from brothers. -
Cuban Missile Crisis
The Cuban Missile Crisis was a thirteen day standoff militarily and politically between the Soviet Union and the United States. The origin of the conflict stemmed from the establishment of nuclear missile bases in Cuba. The conflict was resolved when a proposal was made that the Missiles be removed as long as the United States promised not to invade Cuba. -
John F. Kennedy Assassination
President Kennedy was riding in an open topped limousine when assassin Lee Harvey Oswald shot him in the back of the head. He was killed instantly. Oswald was later killed himself. -
Jimmy Carter Elected.
On this date, Jimmy Carter was elected as the thirty ninth president of the United States. He served only one term -
The NORAD Computer Glitch
With the invention of nuclear missiles came the invention of radars and computers to track the movement of the missiles. The issue with that prospect is that computers can make mistakes, when the NORAD (North American Aerospace Defense Command)'s computer glitched, projecting that Soviet Missiles were incoming. This prompted the use of ten interceptor planes and the launch of the President's Doomsday plane. Thankfully the announcement was just a technical glitch. -
United States Boycotts Olympics
The United states boycotted the Olympics in protest of the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan. Other countries joined them, such as Great Britain. The boycotting countries' teams participated under the Olympic flag as opposed to their home countries' -
Chernobyl Disaster
The Meltdown in the Chernobyl Plant is still regarded as the worst nuclear disaster ever. The explosion was sensed hundreds of miles away on Geiger counters in Sweden. It is also responsible for the creation of the Elephant's foot, a massive pile of nuclear waste. -
The Massacre at Tienanmen Square
Anti-Communist protesters in Tienanmen Square were massacred by the Chinese Government. The death count is still unknown but is estimated to be great. This only served as a demonstration to the rest of the world how "evil" communism was.
