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Creation of the UN
Following World War 2 the countries of the world came together to form an international peacekeeping organization the help regulate international affairs. -
Iron Curtain
Winston Churchill coined the term in a speech which described the communist countries which formed a metaphorical wall in Europe. -
Truman Doctrine
It was passed to stop Soviet geopolitical expansion by providing monetary aid as well as military support to recovering nations. It introduced the policy of contaiment to stop the spread of communism. -
Marshall Plan
The foreign policy initiative of providing aid to Western Europe to help them rebuild and recover while preventing the spread of Communism. -
Berlin Airlift
The allies decided to airdrop supplies to West Berlin to thwart the USSR's attempts to seize it by blockade. The Soviets eventually give up the blockade and the airlift ends. -
End of the Chinese Civil War
The Chinese communist party announces the end of the long and costly civil war with the Nationalists. They established the Peoples Republic of China which was the first Asian country to fall to communism. -
Warsaw Pact Is Signed
The Soviet Union creates an alliance with the countries of the Iron Curtain to Support each other politically and militarily against Western powers. -
Sputnik Is Launched
Russia launched its first satellite into space called Sputnik. It set off the Space Race, a race between America and Russia to get to the moon. I created more competition and tension between the nations. -
Cuban Revolution Ends
Fidel Castros revolution succeeds and he overthrows the authoritarian regime and creates a Communist Dictatorship that has lasted to this day. -
U2 Incident
USSR forces shot down an American U-2 spy plane and captured its pilot, Francis Gary Powers. Afterwards, the American president Dwight Eisenhower admitted to the USSR that American forces from the CIA had been spying on the USSR for many years. This incident raised tension between the Soviets and the U.S. -
Bay of Pigs Invasion
The US trained 1400 Cuban Troops to fight against the Cuban communist government. This ultimately failed to stop communism and made the government look bad. -
Cuban Missile Crisis
The Soviets had supplied nukes to Cuba and had pointed them at the US. This caused a massive uproar and very high tensions. An agreement was reached to remove the missiles if the US promised not to invade Cuba. -
SALT 1
The US and Soviets came together and created the Strategic Arms Limitation Talks. This agreement limited the number of nuclear weapons each country could have. -
End of the Vietnam War
South Vietnam is overthrown by the North and the US evacuates its embassy in Saigon. This was a big loss and showed the failure of the US to contain Communism -
Fall of the Berlin Wall
The wall dividing east and west Berlin began to be destroyed by protesters and free access between the different sides of the cities was allowed. This was a monumental moment in history which signaled the fall of Communism.
