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United Nations Formed
After the atrocities of WW2, 51 countries came together to create the United Nations, an organization dedicated to maintaining peace around the world and keeping good relations with other countries to prevent another World War from happening. -
"Hollywood Ten"
The “Hollywood Ten” were ten workers in the Hollywood film industry who resisted questioning at the hearings held by the House Un-American activities committee, which investigated people and businesses for communist behaviors and practices. The “Hollywood Ten” were sentenced and fined for Contempt of Congress. -
Truman Doctrine
Harry Truman announced the Truman Doctrine, a doctrine stating the US would help fight against the spread of communism, which resulted in the US getting involved with foreign affairs and wars that involved communism. The US would fight to help the anti-communist sides in each of the conflicts they got involved in because of this doctrine. Some examples include the Vietnam War and the Korean War. -
Marshall Plan
The Marshall Plan was a recovery program where the US provided funds needed to rebuild 16 European countries in the aftermath of WW2. Over $15 dollars were provided by the US to rebuild cities, improve commerce, and remove trade barriers with other European countries. Allied-aligned countries received more aid than Axis-aligned countries. -
NATO Formed
12 western countries came together to form the North Atlantic Treaty Organization to form an alliance against communist countries. They hoped to stop the spread of communism. The 12 countries were: the US, Canada, Britain, Denmark, Italy, France, Norway, Portugal, the Netherlands, Iceland, Belgium, and Luxembourg. -
Korean War
The Korean War was a conflict between communist North Korea and anti-communist South Korea; it was the first Cold War military confrontation. North Korea was supported by China and the Soviet Union, while South Korea was supported by the United States. The war raged on for years with many casualties and no victory in sight for either side, and it finally ended with an armistice being signed on July 27th, 1953 to hopefully prevent more conflict and another World War. -
Space Race/Sputnik
The Soviet Union launched the first artificial satellite into space. This started the Space Race between the US and the Soviet Union, a competition between the two where they each tried to “one-up” each other through a series of space technology developments and achievements. They competed for many “firsts” when it came to space, like the first man on the moon and the first dog in space. -
Bay of Pigs
After Fidel Castro, an anti-American communist, overthrew Fulgencio Batista, the pro-American, anticommunist dictator of Cuba, the US invaded Cuba with 1,400 exiled Cubans that were trained by the CIA. Severely outnumbered, the US was forced to surrender before a day of fighting had passed. -
Berlin Wall Goes Up
After WW2, the city of Berlin was split into East Berlin, which belonged to the Soviet Union, and West Berlin, which was split between the US, France, and Great Britain. West Berlin was capitalist, and East Berlin was communist, yet people were able to move between them freely before the wall was built. The wall was built by the East German government to keep the sides separated and to prevent free movement between the regions. -
US officially enters Vietnam War
Under the Marshall plan, the US entered the Vietnam war to fight against pro-communist North Vietnam to prevent the spread of communism into anti-communist South Vietnam. March 8th, 1965 is when the US soldiers first entered the battlefield; US soldiers would continue to fight in the war until 1973. Shortly after US soldiers left, North Vietnam took over South Vietnam. There were heavy losses on both sides: 58,000 American soldiers, 250,000 South Vietnam Soldiers, and 2 million civilians. -
Soviets invade Afghanistan
Afghanistan's geopolitical power and the looming threat of United States intervention encouraged the Soviet Union to invade Afghanistan. The Soviets were met with resistance from a rebel group called the mujahidin, which was aided by the United States. The Soviets were forced to retreat when the US introduced anti-aircraft missiles into the fighting. The huge financial costs and worsened relations with other countries following the war eventually would lead to the Soviet Union's downfall. -
Berlin Wall Comes Down
An announcement was made that stated West Berlin’s citizens were allowed to cross into East Berlin at Midnight that night; this caused a large crowd of West Berlin citizens to congregate around the wall at Midnight so they could cross the border. A lot of people celebrated by drinking and tearing down the wall.