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Marshall Plan
Also known as the European Recovery Program. THe Marshall Plan was a United States program providing aid to Western Europe following World War 2. It provided more than $15 billion to help rebuilding efforts
https://www.history.com/topics/world-war-ii/marshall-plan-1
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marshall_Plan -
Berlin Airlift begins
The Western Allies put together the Berlin Airlift to carry supplies to the people of West Berlin, in response to the Berlin Blockade. The Berlin Blockade blockaded land routes into West Berlin. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Berlin_Blockade
https://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/berlin-airlift-begins -
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Joe McCarthy's Career in the Senate
He served in the U.S Senates as a republican from the state of Wisconsin. McCarthy spent many years trying to expose Communists in the United States government. It convinced many Americans that the government was packed with spies. Few people would speak out against McCarthy because his accusations were so intimidating. He was censured out of the senate after he attacked the U.S. army in 1954
https://www.history.com/topics/cold-war/joseph-mccarthy
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joseph_McCarthy -
Creation of NATO
The Northern Atlantic Treaty Organization, also known as the North Atlantic Alliance. NATO was created by the United States, Canada, and multiple Western European nations. It was the first peaceful military alliance entered into the outside of the Western Hemisphere by the U.S.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/NATO
https://www.timetoast.com/timelines/2008228
https://www.britannica.com/topic/North-Atlantic-Treaty-Organization -
First Successful Soviet Nuclear Weapon Test
The Soviet Union detonates its first atomic bomb at a remote test site at Semipalatinsk in Kazakhstan. Its code name being "First Lightning." Animals were placed nearby in cages so they could test the effects of nuclear radiation on mammals similar to humans.
https://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/soviets-explode-atomic-bomb
https://www.wired.com/2007/08/dayintech-0829/ -
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Korean War
The Korean War started when about 75,000 soldiers from the North Korean Army crossed the 38th parallel. The first military action of the Cold War was this invasion. The American troops had entered the war, by July, on South Korea's behave. Some feared the war would turn into World War 3. About 5 million soldiers and civilians had died during the war. The Korean War ended in July of 1953.
https://www.history.com/topics/korea/korean-war
https://www.cbsnews.com/news/the-korean-war-timeline/ -
Start of the Trial of Julius and Ethel Rosenberg
Ethel and Julius Rosenberg were accused of selling nuclear secrets to Russians and were part of the Communist Party. They could not be charged with treason because the United States was not at war with the Soviet Union. Julius Rosenberg's brother-in-law was a machinist at Los Almos, where the U.S. created the atomic bomb. They were sentenced to Death Row on April 6th.
https://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/the-rosenberg-trial-begins
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Julius_and_Ethel_Rosenberg -
First U.S hydrogen bomb detonated
The code name for the first detonation of a Hydrogen Bomb conducted by the United States was "Ivy Mike". It was detonated as a part of Operation Ivy by the U.S. on the island of Elugelab in Enewetak Atoll, in the Pacific Ocean. "Ivy Mike" was the Worlds first Hydrogen Bomb. The new weapon was about 1,000 times more powerful than nuclear devices.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ivy_Mike
https://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/united-states-tests-first-hydrogen-bomb -
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The Presidency of Dwight D Eisenhower
Dwight D Eisenhower was the 34th President of the United States. During his presidency he ended the war in Korea, strengthened Social Security, and helped to discredit McCarthy.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Presidency_of_Dwight_D._Eisenhower
https://www.history.com/topics/us-presidents/dwight-d-eisenhower
https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/opinion/op-eds/50-years-ago-today-eisenhowers-true-final-address-to-america -
First USSR Hydrogen bomb detonated
The USSR tested its first hydrogen bomb about a year after the U.S. It carried the power of about 400 kilotons of TNT. The bomb was not nearly as powerful as the United State's. There was an advantage though, it was small enough to be dropped from an airplane.
http://www.atomicarchive.com/History/coldwar/page07.shtml
https://www.wired.com/2007/08/dayintech-0820/ -
Rosa Parks/ Montgomery Bus Boycott
The Montgomery bus boycott was a civil rights protest to protest segregated seating on buses where African Americans didn't ride city buses in Montgomery, Alabama. An African American women, Rosa Parks, was arrested and fined for refusing to give up her seat to a white man four days before the boycott. Montgomery was ordered to integrate its bus system by the U.S. Supreme Court.
https://www.history.com/topics/black-history/montgomery-bus-boycott -
The Hungarian Uprising
The Hungarian Uprising was a revolution against the Hungarian People's Republic and its Soviet-imposed policies that happened nationwide. It started as a student protest, and attracted thousands of people. They marched through central Budapest to the Hungarian Parliament building. The start of the revolution was when a student died and was wrapped in a flag and held over the crowd. The revolt spread over Hungary quickly, causing chaos.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hungarian_Revolution_of_1956 -
The Little Rock Nine
The Little Rock Nine was a group of nine black students who enrolled at formerly all-white Central High School. On the first day of school the Governor called in the Arkansas National Guard to block the black students’ entry into the high school. President Dwight D. Eisenhower sent in federal troops to escort the Little Rock Nine into the school later that month.
https://www.history.com/topics/black-history/central-high-school-integration
https://nmaahc.si.edu/blog-post/little-rock-nine -
The Launch of Sputnik 1
The world's first artificial satellite, Sputnik, was launched by the Soviet Union at 10:29 pm. Sputnik circled the Earth once an hour and 36 minutes. It weighed 184 pounds and was 22 inches in diameter. Sputnik traveled at 18,000 miles per hour.
https://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/sputnik-launched
https://www.usatoday.com/story/tech/science/2017/10/04/sputnik-first-man-made-satellite-launched-60-years-ago-today-soviet-union/730629001/ -
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Nikita Khrushchev as Premier of the Soviet Union
Khrushchev took over as Premier after Stalin died in 1958. The Cuban Missile Crisis started when he placed nuclear weapons 90 miles away from Florida, even though he pursued a policy of peaceful coexistence. He approved the construction of the Berlin Wall. Khrushchev also initiated the process of “de-Stalinization" in the Soviet Union.
https://www.history.com/topics/cold-war/nikita-sergeyevich-khrushchev
https://dailyhistory.org/Why_was_Nikita_Khrushchev_deposed_as_the_leader_of_the_USSR%3F -
Castro Takes Over Cuba
For nearly 5 decades Castro ruled over Cuba. Cuba went through many economic, political, and social changes under Castro. Cuba became a major element during the Cold War between the United States and the Soviet Union. It definitely did not make relations between the United States and the Soviet Union better.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cuba_under_Fidel_Castro -
U2 spy plane shot down
An American U-2 Spy plane was shot down while flying over the USSR and conducting an espionage. It caused chaos at a meeting scheduled that month between President Eisenhower and Soviet leader Khrushchev. Eisenhower was informed that in the situation the pilot, Francis Gary Powers, was instructed to kill himself. Khrushchev then captured the pilot while he was alive.
https://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/american-u-2-spy-plane-shot-down
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1960_U-2_incident -
John F. Kennedy Elected to Presidency
JFK served as the 35th President of the United States. He dealt with managing relations with the Soviet Union for most of his Presidency, as he served at the height of the Cold War. Kennedy authorized an attempt to try and overthrow Cuba in The Bay of Pigs Invasion in April 1961. United States spy planes found out that Soviet missiles based had been deployed in Cuba in October of 1962.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_F._Kennedy -
First Man in Space
Soviet cosmonaut Yuri Alekseyevich Gagarin, on the spacecraft Vostok 1, becomes the first human to go into space. He also became the first man to orbit the planet. “Flight is proceeding normally; I am well.” is the only statement the 27-year-old test pilot while in space for an hour and 48 minutes. The Soviet Space program putting the first man in space was a huge blow to the US.
https://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/first-man-in-space -
Bay of Pigs Invasion
The Bay of Pigs Invasion was a failed military invasion by the CIA to invade Cuba. The intent was to overthrow the increasing communism government growing in Cuba. Destroying Castro's air force was the first part of the plan, but failed. It was a disaster almost immediately. The CIA wanted to keep the invasion a secret, but a radio station was missed and broadcast everything.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bay_of_Pigs_Invasion
https://www.history.com/topics/cold-war/bay-of-pigs-invasion -
Cuban Missile Crisis
Missiles were discovered in Cuba by U2 spy plane, causing JFK to enact a navel around Cuba. This made it clear the US, if necessary,was prepared to use military force. This scared frightened many people and thought the world was on the edge of nuclear way. It later came out this was the USSR reacting to the US having missiles in Turkey. The issue was resolved when they both agreed to remove the missiles.
https://www.history.com/topics/cold-war/cuban-missile-crisis -
Birmingham Church Bombing
The 16th Street Baptist Church had a predominantly black congregation. It was also a meeting place for many civil rights leaders. On September 15, 1963 a bomb went off on the east side of the church killing four girls and injuring many others, Addie Mae Collins, Cynthia Wesley, and Carole Robertson who were 14-years-old and 11-year-old Denise McNair.
https://www.history.com/topics/1960s/birmingham-church-bombing
https://www.newspapers.com/topics/civil-rights/birmingham-church-bombing/ -
First American Troops arrive in South Vietnam
The first American troops in Vietnam were 3,500 Marines of the 9th Marine Expeditionary Brigade. They arrived in Da Nang to protect the US airbase from Viet Cong attacks. Many of the Marines were surprised to get their deployment orders, though there was an advanced warning they were going to be deployed soon.
https://www.cfr.org/blog/twe-remembers-first-us-combat-troops-arrive-vietnam -
Loving v. Virginia
Loving v. Virginia was a Supreme Court case involving Richard and Mildred Loving. Their marriage was said to be illegal due to the fact it was against Virginia state law because he was white man and she black women. The case is considered one of the most important legal decisions of the Civil Rights era. It declared Virginia's anti-miscegenation unconstitutional.
https://www.history.com/topics/civil-rights-movement/loving-v-virginia
https://www.aclu.org/issues/racial-justice/loving
