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the Yalta Conference
This was the meeting of all of the heads of governments after WWII. This meeting was supposed to iron out all of the issues but it just created more. The issues were between the Soviets and Americans. They were arguing over what to do with Germany. They divided Germany into 4 occupied zones. -
The Creation of the United Nations
The U.N. was created following the horrific events of WWII. It was created to maintain peace and avoid the abuses of war. There goal is to find solutions to avoid conflict and keep piece. They also provide food and medical care in emergencies. -
Second Red-Scare
This was the fear of communism infiltrating American government. This red scare lasted longer than the one after WWI. Some Americans thought that there were communist spies in the government. -
Truman Doctrine
The British said they could no longer provide military aid to Greece and Turkey. This worried the Truman Administration so they jumped in and protected them from the Soviet Union. They were scared of Communism. -
Berlin Blockade
The Berlin Blockade was the Soviet Unions attempt to keep the Untied Sate, the United Kingdom, and France from getting to their territories in Berlin, Germany. The Soviets blocked all rail, road, and canal access to Berlin. 2.5 Million citizens were left without food, medicine, fuel, electrictiy, aand other basic goods. -
the Creation of NATO
The expansion of communism led the United States and 11 other nations to form the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) . This was an alliance they signed a treaty that stated that an attack against one was an attack against all. -
The Korean War
North Korea invaded South Korea. This was the first military action of the Cold War. By July the American soldiers had entered the war. This was a war against international communism. The war came to an end in July 1953. in all 5 million soldiers and civilians lost their lives. This war is also known as the forgotten war. The Korean peninsula is still divided to this day. -
Space Race
The space race was the battle between the Soviet Union and the United Stated to show superiority. They both wanted to reach the moon first because of the international message it would send. The United States did in fact win the Space Race. -
the Vietnam War
This was a war between the communist Northern Vietnam and southern Vietnam and it's ally the United States. The conflict was intensified by the cold war. More than 3 million people died and over half were Vietnamese citizens. Opposition to the war divided Americas. -
Suez Crisis
The Suez Crisis began when Israeli forces pushed their way into Egypt towards the Suez Canal. The canal was a valuable waterway that controlled two thirds of the oil used by Europe. The Israelis were joined by French and British forces which damaged their relationship with the united States because it nearly brought the Soviets in. In the end Egypt won. -
Bay of Pigs Invasion
This was the failed American invasion of Cuba. The goal was to push Fidel Castro out of power. 1400 American-trained Cubans who had fled when Castro took over invaded Cuba. Sadly they were greatly outnumbered by Castro's troops and were forced to surrender -
Cuban Missile Crisis
The Soviet Union and the United States were in an intense 13-day political and military standoff. This was over the instillation of Soviet Missiles on Cuba 90 miles away from the United states. The Americans made a Naval Blockade around Cuba showing that they were not afraid to use force. The Soviets agreed to remove the missiles but only if the U.S. promised not to invade Cuba. -
Chernobyl Disaster
On April 25th, 1986 the worst nuclear accident occurred in what is now Ukraine. What seemed like a normal test quickly spiraled out of control. The disaster killed 31 people. The reactor exploded emitting tons of radiation into the air. The Chernobyl area will uninhabitable for 20,000 years. -
Fall of the Berlin Wall
In 1961 the communist government of the GDR. They bult the wall between east adn west Berlin. The wall was built ot keep the "Facists" out of eastern germany. It was really there for stemming mass defections from east to west. The cold war began to come to an end and the citizens of the GDR were free t ocross whenever they pleased, They began to chip away at the wall and tear it down. -
Fall of the Soviet Union
The leader of the Soviet Union decided to step down after being disappointed in the outcome of his political reform. It was a very peaceful end to a dark time. Russia decided to become a commonwealth.
