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United Nations Formed
Roosevelt wanted to convince the public that an international organization was the best way to prevent future wars. On July 28, 1945, the vote for this organization was approved by the Senate 89 to 2. The point of the United Nations is to maintain international peace and security, and was made up of 51 countries after WW2. -
Truman Doctrine
This was a message by President Truman that he gave to Congress. During this message, he asked Congress for $400 million for military and economic support for Greece and Turkey. He asked for this because he believed that the nation would fall to communism without the aid of the Americans. Also, it would help stop the spread of communism. -
Hollywood 10
The Hollywood Ten were a group of film industry members who refused to testify to an anti-communist committee hearing. All ten of these members were sentenced to jail for not cooperating. There was originally 11 members but one of them had fled the country. -
The Marshall Plan
This plan/act was signed by president Truman, and over the next 4 years after that, congress appropriated $13.3 billion for Europen recovery. The point of this act was to provide foreign aid to Western Europe. -
NATO formed
NATO stands for North Atlantic Treaty Organization. It was created by the United States, Canada, and many Western European nations to provide security against the soviet union. This was the first peacetime military alliance the United States entered. -
Korean War
After 5 years of tension in the Korean Peninsula, Northern Korea invaded South Korea with many attack points along the dividing line between communist North Korea and non-communist South Korea. During the war, The U.S., The UK, and The United Nations supported South Korea, while Communist China and the Soviet Union Supported North Korea. There was no clear victory for either North or South Korea, just division. -
Space Race/Sputnik
The Soviet union declared that they had placed a satellite named Sputnik into orbit around Earth, this then started the Space Age. Both the United States and the Soviet Union started to work on rockets for later long-range weapons, but instead, the Space race became a race to the moon. Both sides started to race to build spacecraft and technology instead of weapons. -
Bay of Pigs
The Bay of Pigs was a failed attack by the CIA during the Kennedy administration to push Cuban leader Fidel Castro from power. They had been trying to remove Castro from power since 1959. The CIA overall underestimated the power of the Cuban Army and the level of support the government had for Castro. -
Berlin Wall goes up
The Berlin Wall was built to prevent the soviet controlled population from the East side from entering the West side of Berlin. The wall was 155 kilometers long and cut through the middle of the city. The wall was 12 feet high and cut through 192 streets. -
U.S Officially enters Vietnam War
The U.S. with 3,500 Marines came ashore in Da Nang in South Vietnam, adding to the already 25,000 advisers there. This deployment had not been consulted with the South Vietnamese government. The U.S. joined this war in defense against the spread of communism in Southeast Asia. -
Soviets invade Afghanistan
The Soviets invaded Afghanistan because of their anticommunist Muslims. They wanted to force their communist government on the government of Afghanistan. Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev announced that the Soviet military would begin a complete withdrawal from Afghanistan. -
The Berlin Wall comes down
During this event, the East and West Berliners were finally able to come together and celebrate the freedom to cross into every part of the city. The fall of the Berlin Wall was the first step to German reunification. Eastern political changes and civil unrest in Germany put pressure on Eastern Berlin to loosen their regulations towards the West Berlin population.