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United Nations Formed
The United Nations was formed in 1945 after the end of World War II. The idea of creating an international organization to promote peace and cooperation among nations had been discussed for many years, but it was the devastation of the war that made it urgent. -
Truman Doctrine
The Truman Doctrine was a foreign policy strategy adopted by the United States in 1947, during the presidency of Harry S. Truman. The doctrine was based on the idea of containing the spread of communism. -
Hollywood 10
The Hollywood Ten were a group of ten screenwriters, directors, and producers who were blacklisted by the Hollywood film industry in the late 1940s for their alleged ties to communism. -
Marshall Plan
The Marshall Plan was a U.S. foreign aid program designed to help rebuild Europe after the devastation of World War II. -
NATO Formed
NATO was formed in 1949 as a military alliance between several Western European countries and the United States, with the goal of providing mutual defense against the threat of Soviet aggression during the Cold War. -
Korean War
The Korean War was a conflict that took place between 1950 and 1953 on the Korean peninsula. The war began when North Korea, backed by the Soviet Union and China, invaded South Korea, which was supported by the United States and its allies. -
Space Race/Sputnik
The Space Race was a competition between the United States and the Soviet Union to achieve various milestones in space exploration, particularly in the 1950s and 1960s. The competition was a part of the broader Cold War rivalry between the two superpowers. The launch of Sputnik prompted the United States to increase its efforts in space exploration and led to the creation of NASA -
Bay Of Pigs
The Bay of Pigs was a failed military invasion of Cuba by a group of Cuban exiles and the United States in 1961. The operation was named after the location of the landing, the Bay of Pigs, on the southern coast of Cuba. -
Berlin Wall Goes Up
The Berlin Wall was a concrete barrier that divided the city of Berlin, Germany, from 1961 to 1989. The wall was constructed by the Soviet Union in response to increasing numbers of East Germans fleeing to West Germany, which was seen as a threat to the stability of the communist government in East Germany. -
US Officially Enters Vietnam War
The United States became involved in the Vietnam War in the early 1960s, during the Cold War. The war began as a conflict between the communist government of North Vietnam and the U.S.-backed government of South Vietnam, which was established after the partition of Vietnam in 1954. -
Soviets invade Afghanistan
In December 1979, the Soviet Union invaded Afghanistan in order to support the communist government of Afghanistan against a rising insurgency. The Soviet Union had been providing military aid to the Afghan government since the 1950s, but the insurgency had grown in strength and was threatening the stability of the government. -
Berlin Wall Comes Down
The fall of the wall was the result of a series of events, including growing protests against the communist government in East Germany, the relaxation of restrictions on travel and emigration, and the collapse of communist regimes in other Eastern European countries.