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United Nations formed
The United Nations was formed in order to maintain peace in the world and prevent another World War from happening. It was composed of a lot of nations with alliances and meetings so that they could resolve conflicts peacefully. -
Truman Doctrine
President Harry S. Truman created this policy in order to suppress the expansion of communism. Basically, it said that the US would be heavily involved in Europe with economic and military aid to help countries stay democratic. -
Hollywood 10
The Hollywood Ten was a group of film producers that did not testify to an anti-communism committee. They were accused of including communist influence in their films. -
Marshall Plan
A plan that the US would aid countries in Europe economically to help resist communism. This helped to stop the spread of communism in Europe. -
NATO formed
The North Atlantic Treaty Organization is an alliance between many democratic governments. It was formed so that the countries would all fight back if the Soviet Union attacked one of them. -
Korean War
The Korean War was fought between North and South Korea, which was divided because they had different governments. The North was a communist government and the South was democratic. This was a big proxy war that the US and USSR had fought against each other. -
Space Race: Sputnik
The Sputnik 1 was a Soviet satellite that was the first one to be successfully launched into orbit. This was a big victory for the soviets in the Space Race. -
Bay of Pigs
The invasion at the Bay of Pigs in Cuba was a failed attempt to overthrow Fidel Castro, carried out by Cuban exiles who were against his rule. The US supported them with weapons and training because Castro was affiliated with the Soviet Union, and we were afraid of communism spreading so close to us. -
Berlin Wall goes up
The Berlin Wall was built in order to separate the democratic West Berlin from the Communist East Berlin. Berlin was shared by the US and the USSR after WWII because they thought it would be fair that way. -
US enters Vietnam War
The Vietnam War was a conflict between North and South Vietnam that was fought over political ideologies. The US became involved because it was important for us to support democracy, but we ended up losing the conflict and we lost thousands of soldiers. Many people in the US at the time protested against the war. -
Soviets invade Afghanistan
The Soviet Union invaded Afghanistan on December 24, 1979 because they wanted to help the new communist government gain footing, and suppress political rebellion. Soviet forces were finally pushed out in 1989, almost ten years later. -
Berlin Wall comes down
The Berlin Wall came down on November 9, 1989, during the Peaceful Revolution. People hated the communism imposed on them and they felt oppressed by the strict occupation of the Soviet Union.