-
Truman Doctrine
The Truman Doctrine was first announced by Harry S. Truman and promised to provide military, political, and economic assistance to all democratic countries who were under threat of communism. On March 31, British government stopped providing aid to Greece for their fight against communism, so the United States stepped in. They provided this aid to other countries to help people fight against Stalin and Communism. -
Stalin Creates Satellite countries
Stalin created these Satellite Countries for a few reasons. The Soviet Union created these to spread their influence of communism across Europe. These satellite countries were under control of the Soviet Union government and acted as a barrier for opposing countries. These countries were Poland, Czechoslovakia, Hungary, Romania, Bulgaria, and East Germany. -
Marshall Plan
The Marshall plan was a plan to aid Western Europe and to help them rebuild their economy after World War II. The United States paid over 12 billion dollars for European aid. -
Berlin Blockade
The blockade was built as a tactic to keep people out of West Berlin which was controlled under the United States government. The United States, Soviet Union, France, and Great Britain split Germany into sections. To keep people inside of Soviet controlled Berlin, they built the blockade. People lived in poor conditions inside, were starving for food, and had lack of water. -
Berlin Airlift
The Berlin Airlift was the response tactic induced by the United States to combat the Soviet Unions blockade. Two days after the Soviet Union set up the blockade, the United States sent out planes to fly over Soviet controlled Berlin to drop food, supplies, water, and even candy. This changed the way people viewed the United States and the Soviet Union. It made the United States look good and the Soviet Union look horrible. The Soviet Union took the wall down on May 12, 1949. -
NATO Founded
Also known as the, North Atlantic Treaty Organisation, NATO was signed by 12 nations in Washington D.C which stated if any of the 12 nations was attacked, then it would be considered an attack on all 12 of the nations. NATO is still around today with 28 members but in 1949, the 12 members were Belgium, Canada, Denmark, France, Iceland, Italy, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Norway, Portugal, the United Kingdom and the United States. -
East and West Germany formed
Since Germany was split into 4 sections, the three sections controlled by France, U.S. and Britain molded together to form The Federal Republic of Germany, which was also known as West Germany. Soviet controlled Germany became known as East Germany. -
Korean War Starts
The Korean war started when Communist North Korea invaded South Korea. North Korea quickly overran South Korea so the United States got involved. The war lasted for three years. -
Truman Fires MacArthur
General MacArthur was known as being a very egotistical and flamboyant man. He had come up with great tactics to help South Korea's victory over North Korea, but wanted to continue it. MacArthur wanted to invade North Korea to completely defeat the Communist forces. He asked to bomb Communist China soon after the Korean war. Truman fired him saying, "would be wrong—tragically wrong—for us to take the initiative in extending the war… Our aim is to avoid the spread of the conflict.” -
Hydrogen Bomb Explodes in the Pacific
The hydrogen bomb that was exploded in the Pacific was one of the most powerful bombs the United States had ever exploded. It had the power of 500 suns and gave the most significant radiation contamination known to date. The Soviets later exploded their own. -
Stalin Dies
Stalin died of a massive heart attack and even after the millions of citizens who died under his rule, people still cried. His last days continue to provoke speculation and argument. -
Warsaw Pact Formed
The Warsaw Pact, which was also known as, Treaty of Friendship, Co-operation, and Mutual Assistance, was a defense treaty between the Soviet Union and seven other satellite countries. To many other counties, this pact was considered a threat and communist dominance. This treaty included the countries, included the Soviet Union, Albania, Poland, Romania, Hungary, East Germany, Czechoslovakia, and Bulgaria as members. This treaty helped the Soviet Union establish its dominance in Europe. -
Sputnik Launched
The Sputnik was launched by the Soviet Union and was the first satellite to go into space. It was big news to the United States, who hoped that they would be the first to send something into space. -
Khrushchev becomes Soviet Premier
Khrushchev was close with the Soviet ruler, Stalin, since 1924. Upon Stalin's death, Khrushchev took position. He started the program of De-Stalinization which made Stalin look bad. He was known for keeping a peaceful coexistence with the West, but was also the person who started the Cuban Missile Crisis by placing bombs in Cuba. He later took the weapons out of Cuba and due to embarrassment, he removed himself from power in 1964. -
NASA Created
After Sputnik was launched, it started a massive space race, and as a result of this, NASA was created. They continued to explore space and try to find ways to eventually send people into space. -
Khrushchev Visits the United States
Khrushchev visited the United States on a 12 day trip and was the first Soviet Leader to travel to the United States. He met with Eisenhower and after his visit with the United States, tensions between the two countries started to decrease. -
U-2 Incident
A U-2 plane was shot down by the Soviet Union on May 1, 1960. CIA pilot, Francis Gary Powers, had been on a secret mission to fly and photograph territory from his U-2 spy plane deep inside Russia. He was shot down and survived the incident. He was sentenced to 10 years in prison This U-2 incident ignited a meeting between Soviet leader Khrushchev and United States president Eisenhower. -
Kennedy Elected
An actor at the beginning, John F. Kennedy became the youngest president in November of 1960. His debates were televised and watched by thousands. He beat Nixon on a close race, and was thrown into extreme responsibilities during his presidency. -
Berlin Wall
The communist government in Eastern Germany began to build a big wall that divided and contained East Germany from the West. The reason the Soviets did this was to keep the Eastern people in and the Western people out. Western Germany and their democratic government had made the Soviet Union look bad and their communist rule look poor. The wall stood up until November 9, 1989. -
Kennedy's assassination
One of the turning points in our history, Kennedy's assassination was one that shook the country. President John F. Kennedy was assassinated in Dallas, Texas. He was shot twice by Lee Harvey Oswald who was arrested for the crime.
