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The Truman Doctrine
The Truman Doctrine was a pledge to provide military and economic aid to oppose the spread of communism. Soon later, the U.S. Congress agreed to send hundreds of millions to Greece and Turkey. -
The Marshall Plan
The Marshall Plan was named after U.S. secretary of state George Marshall and provided 13 billion for rebuilding Europe. The plan helped Western Europe make a rapid recovery from the war, and it also helped preserve political stability. -
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Crisis in Berlin
After communist East Germany and democratic West Germany formed, tens of thousands of East Germans crossed into West Germany in search of work or because they wanted to live under a democracy. To stop this, East Germany built a war known as the Berlin Wall that divided the city into two halves. At the wall were armed guards that shot anyone attempting to cross the divider. -
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The Korean War
The Korean war started when the North attacked the South. As the war went on, China joined the North to fight against the South who had the UN on their side. In 1953, both sides agreed to an armistice. -
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The Vietnam War
After gaining independence from France, Vietnam was divided into North and South Vietnam. Communists ruled the North and anti-communists controlled the South. Eventually the North began an effort to reunite Vietnam. -
Communism in Cuba
In 1959 rebels under the leadership of Fidel Castro overthrew Cuba's dictator and installed a communist government. Once in power, Castro forged close ties with the Soviet Union. -
Bay of Pigs Invasion
After Castro installed a communist government in Cuba only 60 miles from American territory, the U.S. decided to take action and attempt to overthrow Castro. Secretly, the U.S. government trained approximately 1,500 Cubans who fled Castro's communist regime. American officials believed that the Bay of Pigs invasion would spark a Cuban uprising but instead, the invaders were quickly defeated. -
The Cuban Missile Crisis
In 1962, Soviet nuclear missiles were installed in Cuba. U.S. officials immediately confronted Soviet leaders about the clear act of aggression. After a two week standoff, Soviet leaders agreed to remove the missiles when the U.S. agreed to remove U.S. missiles from Turkey and promised not to attack Cuba. -
The Fall of the Berlin Wall
In 1989, Hungary opened its border with Austria. By the thousands, East Germans traveled to Hungary to cross the new open border to West Germany. Powerless to stop the flood of East Germans into West Germany, the East German government opened the gates of the Berlin Wall. The fall of the Berlin wall a sign of Soviet repression falling and less than one year later, East and West Germany were reunified as a single nation. -
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The Fall of the Soviet Union
In 1990, Lithuania declared independence and it appeared that other republics in the Soviet Union planned to do the same. Although Soviet troops occupied Lithuania, it was unlikely that they had the power to stop the independence movement. One by one, republics began to declare independence and by the end of 1991, the Soviet government had ceased to function. After more than 40 years of tension, the Cold War was over.