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Yalta Conference
This conference took place in Yalta in the Soviet, where Joseph Stalin met with Winston Churchill, Prime Minister of Great Britain, and Franklin D. Roosevelt, President of the United States, to discuss what was to be done with Germany after they defeated them in World War II. Stalin wanted them to be zoned by Allied armies, but Churchill disagreed. FDR was on both sides. They eventually agreed to place Germany in to four zones and meet in San Francisco to discuss the United Nations organization. -
Potsdam Conference
The Potsdam Conference would bet the final wartime conference between the Big Three of the United States, Great Britain, and the Soviet Union, which took place in Berlin, Germany, but this time, Harry Truman replaced Roosevelt, and Clement Attlee replaced Churchill. Stalin agreed and kept his promise to allow free elections in Poland and other Eastern European countries owned by the Soviet Union. He did not keep his promise because free elections did not happen and political parties were banned. -
First A-bomb dropped on Japan
While some argue that it initiated the Cold War, the atom bomb that the United States used on Japan in Hiroshima that immediately killed around 80,000 people. The United States became the first and only people to use the atom bomb in war because it was so destructive. President Truman decided it was more worth it to not risk the lives of many Americans, so he opted for just dropping one bomb to try to make Japan surrender without losing any more American lives and it devastated them. -
V-J Day
V-J Day is known as Victory over Japan Day because it was the day when Japan surrendered to the United States, which effectively ended World War II. This came a couple months after Nazi Germany surrendered to the Allies. Japan decided to surrender after the two atomic bombs used by the United States were so devastating that they couldn't counterattack them, so they just gave up. Although we killed a lot of people to end the war, we did it for the better of our own country and that's what matters -
"Iron Curtain Speech"
The "Iron Curtain Speech" was given by Winston Churchill, the Prime Minister of Great Britain, in the United States to describe the division among the European nations. The invisible "Iron Curtain" that divided the countries in Europe between the Western democratic countries and the Easter communist countries. After Joseph Stalin, leader of the Soviet Union, heard about the speech, he took it as a "call to war" and thus, the Cold War had begun. -
Truman Doctrine announced
The Truman Doctrine was a document in which President Truman asked Congress for $400 million in support for Turkey and Greece because he felt it was their duty to help free people in need of help to defeat communist governments. He claimed that the document was necessary to reduce the spread of Soviet influence. The doctrine was able to reduce the risk of communist takeover in many European countries. -
Marshall Plan announced
The Secretary of State at the time was a man named George Marshall who proposed to the United States that we needed to provide aid to the European nations that needed it after the war left many people living in poor conditions. It was an idea to help those with hungery, poverty, and chaos. Eventually, much of the communist party lost their influence and Western Europe flourished with the help of $13 billion from the United States. -
Berlin Airlift begins
The Berline Airlift was an idea put into action by Great Britain and the United States where they would fly planes with supplies and food into West Berlin to keep them alive, which boosted American prestige around the world. The blockade that the Soviet Union started was lifted after they realized they had been defeated by the United States and Great Britain. Germany divided into two nations which were the Federal Republic of Germany and the German Democratic Republic. -
NATO treaty ratified
Because Soviet aggression was increasing, Western European nations came together to form the North Atlantic Treaty Organization, in which they pledged alliance and help to each other in times of need. This ended the hopes of the United States returning to a state of isolationism, but because the army was so large, others decided to join them and they were a force to be reckoned with. -
End of Berlin Blockade
After the Berlin Airlift was so successful and the United States and Great Britain were able to help the people of West Berlin survive the harsh conditions of the cold winters. The Soviet Union realized they were defeated and lifted the blockade surrounding Berlin. The blockade was created so Stalin could own all the territories of Berlin owned by the other Allied Powers, but he couldn't do it and it ended in May of 1949. -
Soviets explode A-bomb
This was the Soviets first test of the Atomic bomb and it was a success because it provided the same explosion and would have done the same amount of damage as the first atomic bomb detonated by the United States. They tested the affects of the radiation from the bomb on animals and temporary structures, but instead everything was incenerated, making the Soviet Union very happy because now they could be on equal grounds with the United States. -
Communist takeover in China
For over 20 years, Communists wanted to take over the Chinese government run by Chian Kai-shek because the United States supported him, but the government officials in America thought his government was corrupt and inefficient. Americans liked him though because he showed resistance during the Japanese-American Pacific war. The Communist leader, Mao Zedong gained the support of a lot of peasand support and eventually they were able to take over most of China under a communist government. -
Beginning of McCarthyism
Joseph McCarthy, a Republican Senator from Wisconsin, needed a pressing issue to be reelected in 1952. He turned to Communists and stated that they were taking over governments and had to be stopped. McCarthy began attacking suspected Communists. He claimed to have the names of up to 200 Communist infiltrators, but never actually gave any names out. Eventually, an investigation began on McCarthy, accusing him of bringing the Senate dishonor. He would die a sad man three years later. -
Julius and Ethel Rosenberg executed
Julius and Ethel Rosenberg were minor activists in the American Communist Party, but denied the charges against them being Communist. They claimed they were being persecuted because they were Jewish and for their beliefs, but they would be found guilty of espionage and sentenced to death. The judge that persecuted them said they were directly responsible for one of the worst clashes of the Cold War and claimed what they did was "worse than murder" by enabling the Soviets to build an atomic bomb -
Warsaw Pact
After Joseph Stalin died in 1953, tensions between the United States and the Soviet Union seemed to settle for a bit. The Soviet Union recognized West Germany and not hostile and made peace treaties with Japan and Austria. Later, when West Germany rearmed with weapons and an army, they joined NATO. The leaders of the Soviet Union feared another World War, so they created their own military alliance that came to be known as the Warsaw Pact, which allied themselves to 7 eastern European countries. -
Geneva Summit
The Geneva Summit took place in Geneva Switzerland, where President Eisenhower and some Soviet leaders met with each other. They discussed a possible plan where the United States and the Soviet Union would be allowed to fly over each others territories to protect against nuclear attacks. The Soviet Union leaders rejected the proposal, but people around the world called it a step towards peace. -
Hungarian Uprising
The Hungarian people wanted a democratic government, but they were under the control of the Soviet Union. Imre Nagy was a famous liberal Communist who promised free elections, denounced the Warsaw Pact, and demanded the Soviet troops to leave Hungary. In the battle over 30000 Hungarians were killed and Nagy was executed. The United States and the United Nations did nothing to help the Hungarians because the containment policy didn't include running the Soviet Union out of its own property. -
Suez War
Great Britain and the United States both agreed to finance an dam being built on the Nile River in Egypt, but the leader of Egypt tried to get more help from the Soviet Union, but this made the others angry. In response, Great Britain withdrew his loan and the Egyptian leader didn't like that so he nationalized the Suez Canal. This started a war with Israel, Great Britain, and France against the Egyptians. Eventually, the war was stopped by United Nations, but Egypt controlled the canal still. -
Launching of Sputnik
Because the Soviet Union wanted to jump out to an early lead in the Space Race, they launched the world's first artificial satellite by the name of Sputnik. It traveled around the world at around 18000 miles per hour, circling the globe every 96 minutes. Eventually, the United States launched their first successful satellite into space on January 31, 1958. -
U.S. U-2 plane shot down
The U-2 plane was used to spy on the Soviet Union after the "open skies" proposal was rejected. It took pictures of troops and missiles using infrared cameras. Apparently, the Soviets were aware of the spying for over 2 years. Gary Powers was forced to make one final flight and would be shot down and taken prisoner by the Soviets. Because of this event, the Soviet Union would have tensions with its greatest ally in WWII, which had now become its enemy.
