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Russian Revolution
Ended Nov, 7 1917.
The Russian Revolution was led by the Bolsheviks to dismantle the Russian Provisional Government. After some conflicts, the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR). -
Iron Curtain
Ended 1991. The Iron Curtain was the name for the border dividing Europe and Soviet controlled Europe. It was not only a physical border, but an idealogical one too, showing the spread of communism. It was a defensive manuever by the soviets, but somewhat provoked antsy European neighbors and American's who were not in favor of communism. -
Potsdam Conference
Ended Aug, 2 1945.
The Potsdam Conference was made up of Joseph Stalin, representing the Soviet Union, Winston Churchill representing Great Britain, and The US by President Harry Truman. In this assembly, the postwar borders of Germany would be decided. -
Hiroshima and Nagasaki
The atomic bombing of the Japanese cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki was, at the time, seen as necessary to get the Japanese to finally accept unconditional surrender. Nowadays however the usage of these weapons is seen as far more controversial. -
Molotov Plan
The Molotov Plan was the method which to aid and rebuild eastern european countries which had suffered under communist leadership. This plan was developed only to combat the Marshall Plan -
Truman Doctrine
The Truman Doctrine was the American foreign policy in which we would passively limit Soviet expansion to Greece and Turkey. This was one of the first moves against the Soviet Union made by America in the Cold War. -
Marshall Plan
Officially known as the European Recovery Program, this initiative, proposed by President Truman, was to gift over $13,000,000,000 to suffering European nations in order to prevent them from falling to communism after WWII. This was of tactical advantage, but also was a publicity act for the benefit of capitalism. -
Berlin Airlift
Ended May 12th, 1949
The Berlin Airlift was a sort of aid mission undertaken by America to drop in food, water, colthing, gas and other necessities into East Berlin to help those suffering under communist rule. It was also a large advertisement of America's goodwill. -
Berlin Blockade
Ended May, 12 1949.
The Berlin Blockade was the Soviet attempt to separate their Communist Berlin from the rest of the capitalist controlled Berlin. It was a physical, and socioeconomical border. The residents of East Berlin were unable to leave the Russian quarter, where there was little food, water or electricity. -
Alger Hiss Case
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NATO
The North Atlantic Treaty Organization is a large treaty between the North Americas and many Western European countries. This was made to protect these nations from the expanding region of Soviet influence known as the Iron Curtain. -
Soviet Bomb Test
The successful Soviet bomb test came as a shock to the states because we did not expect the Soviets to have atomic technology this soon. This scared the Westerners because it meant that the arms race was more of a tie than we had anticipated. -
The Hollywood Ten
The Hollywood Ten was a short film denouncing McCarthyism and Hollywood Blacklisting. It showed controversial opinions on the Cold War from within the US. -
Korean War
Ended July 27th, 1953.
The Korean War was a conflict between North and South Korea. It was the first armed conflict in the Cold War, between Soviet-backed North Korea and US-backed South Korea. -
Rosenberg Trial
The trial of Ethel and Julius Rosenberg was to convict Julius Rosenberg of selling nuclear secrets to the Soviets. Ethel was tried with him to convince Julius to sell out any accomplices. This event showed the widespread fear of losing the arms race to the reds. -
Battle of Dien Bien Phu
Ended May 7th, 1954.
The Battle of Dien Bien Phu was a battle for the future of Vietnam. France wanted to keep Vietnam as one of its colonies but the Vietnamese wanted their independence. It ends with Vietnam temporarily divided at the 17th parallel. -
Army-McCarthy Hearings
Ended June 1954.
These hearings were held by the US Senate to investigate conflicting accusations between the US Army and US Senator Joseph McCarthy. -
Geneva Conference
Ended July 24th, 1954.
A conference amongst several nations to settle issues resulting from the First Indochina War and the Korean War -
Warsaw Pact
The Warsaw Pact was a collective defense treaty between the Soviet Union and several of its satellite states made to oppose NATO. -
Hungarian Revoloution
Ended November 10th 1956.
The Hungarian Revolution was one of the first violent civilian protests against a communist government. -
U2 Incident
The 1960 U2 Incident was when a Soviet Air Base shot down an American U2 spy plane. -
Bay of Pigs Invasion
Ended April 19th, 1961.
The Bay of Pigs Invasion was a failed military invasion of Cuba by the CIA-backed Cuban rebels. -
Berlin Wall
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Cuban Missile Crisis
Ended October 28, 1962.
The Cuban Missile Crisis was a 13-day period of incredible tense foreign relations between the US and the USSR when the USSR's plan to arm their Cuban air base with nuclear weapons as a deterrent against America. -
Assassination of Ngo Dinh Diem
Ngo Dinh Diem was the leader of Vietnam at the time and while his death did not put an end to the conflict, it was a significant victory for the rebels. -
Assassination of JFK
John F. Kennedy was murdered by a Lee Harvey Oswald for reasons that remain unclear. This was a shock to the US as we scrambed to elect a new leader capable of dealing with the foreign conflict. -
Tonkin Gulf Resolution
After the Tonkin Gulf Incident, the Tonkin Gulf Resolution was signed, giving President Lyndon Johnson free reign to do as he saw fit to retaliate and promote peace in southeast Asia. -
Operation Rolling Thunder
Operation Rolling Thunder was the American Attack strategy in Vietnam to use napalm and agent orange to destroy the jungle that GI's were frequently killed in, and drive the rebels out into the open. -
Tet Offensive
This was one of the largest military operations in the Vietnam War, in which the Viet Cong began a campaign of hits and ambushes against military and civilian command center all throughout South Vietnam. -
Assassination of MLK
Martin Luther King Jr., revolutionary, scholar and preacher was fatally shot by a James Earl Ray in 1968, which only stoked the continuous black power movement. -
Assassination of RFK
Robert F Kennedy was fatally shot by a Sirhan Sirhan in 1968 shortly after winning the California Presidential Primaries -
Invasion of Czechoslovakia
Ended Sept. 20th, 1968.
Czechoslovakia was invaded by Warsaw Pact members in order to bolster the Soviet sphere of influence. -
Riots of Democratic Convention
These riots were perpetrated by tens of thousands of Vietnam protesters in Chicago as the Democratic Party fails to reach a conclusion on it's stance on Vietnam. -
Election of Nixon
a big mistake :/ -
Kent State
On Kent State campus, four college student Vietnam protesters were fatally shot by policemen sent to settle the rioting. This shocked not only America but the troops in Vietnam, showing the real divisiveness of this conflict. -
Nixon visits China
Nixon's visit to China was of strategic and diplomatic importance, and a large step towards accomplishing Vietnamization. -
Cease Fire in Vietnam
This officially marks the end of the American presence in the Vietnam War, becoming an ugly loss in our nations history, and a huge sacrifice of life over unclear objectives. -
Fall of Saigon
The Fall of Saigon marked the real end of the Vietnam war, as rebels capture the capital of South Vietnam. -
Reagan's Election
And with Reagan's Election, one segment of American history ends and opens into another, as focus from the Vietnam War and the so called 'War on Drugs' is soon to be shifted to the War on Terror. -
Star Wars
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Geneva Conference with Gorbachev
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"Tear Down This Wall" Speech
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Fall of the Berlin Wall
