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Russian Revolution
February 1917, the Russian people had a public demonstration for a higher bread ration leading to the Tsar being overthrown and a new government. The second Russian Revolution was launched in October 1917 by Vladimir Lenin, seizing control of Russia and established the new modern soviet social estate. The United States and United Kingdom made it clear to Russia that the West would do anything to stop the spread of Communism. This added to the already growing tensions between countries. -
The Potsdam Conference
President Truman was heading to Europe for a meeting of the grand alliance, a coalition of the three leading Allied powers of World War 2. They discussed who would have control of defeated Germany, post-war boundaries, winning the war with Japan and securing a lasting peace for Europe. The Potsdam Conference attendees were split into two different sides, President Truman and Prime Minister Churchill wanting to spread democratic government and Joseph Stalin spreading Communism. 7/17-8/2 -
Atomic Bomb-Hiroshima/Nagasaki
On August 6, President Turman gave the final order to drop the first U.S. atomic bomb on Japan, destroying Hiroshima, killing 80,000 people, and later tens of thousands more due to the radiation exposure. Three days later on August 9, the U.S. dropped their second atomic bomb on Nagasaki killing 40,000 more people. -
Iron Curtain
The Iron Curtain was a boundary that divided Europe into two separate areas from the end of World War II to the end of the Cold War. It was first stated to have fallen by former British Prime Minister Winston Churchill in a speech. "From Stettin in the Baltic to Trieste in the Adriatic, an iron curtain has descended across the continent." This Iron Curtain was considered on of the opening volleys announcing the Cold War's beginning. -
Hollywood 10
Ten members of Hollywood's film industry denounced the tactics that an investigative committee of the U.S. House of Representatives called the House of UnAmerican Activities used. The ten members were given jail sentences and were banned from working with any of Hollywood's major studios. This is significant to the Cold War because this demonstrated America's negative feelings towards communism, the government of the Soviet Union. -
The Truman Doctrine
"I believe that it must be the policy of the United States to support free peoples who are resisting attempted subjugations by armed minorities or by outside pressures. The free peoples of the world look to us for support in maintaining their freedoms. If we falter in our leadership, we may endanger the peace of the world and we shall surely endanger the welfare of this nation." -President Harry Truman
This represented a dramatic change in U.S. foreign policy. -
Marshall Plan
A program of assistance to help Western European economies put forward by George C. Marshall. "Our policy is directed not against any country or doctrine but against hunger, poverty, desperation, and chaos. Its purpose should be the revival of a working economy in the world so as to permit the emergence of political and social conditions in which free institutions can exist." -George Marshall -
Berlin Blockade
Germany was divided into four zones, the capital residing deep in the Soviet Union's. The Soviet Union plundered their zone in order to rebuild and when the zone's under Western control began to thrive and was given new currency, Stalin saw this as their attempt to take control of Europe. Stalin ordered that all land access to West Berlin be blocked in order to force the US, United Kingdom, and France to relinquish their zone's to Stalin by starving residents into submission. -
Berlin Airlift
The United States, United Kingdom, and France did not debate whether it was worth it to stay in Berlin. It only took a couple days for them to organize the plans for the day and night flights to deliver food, coal, and medical supplies to West Berlin. The United States, United Kingdom, and France expected the Soviet Union to retaliate but they never did, because the Soviet Union could not retaliate without declaring war. -
North Atlantic Treaty Organization
The North Atlantic Treaty Organization, NATO, is a defensive military alliance that was formed on April 4, 1949, by ten Western European countries, the United States, and Canada. All members of NATO promised that if one was attacked, it would be an attack on all. In 1955, a rebuilt and rearmed West Germany would join. -
Soviet Bomb Test
The Soviet Union built civilian structures and bridges in order to measure the bomb's blast, along with placing mammals in cages in order to test the effects of atomic radiation. This successful atomic bomb of the Soviet Union was years ahead of expert conditions, causing the Western powers to become wary. -
Korean War
The Korean War was from 1950 to 1953. It was primarily between South and North Korea. The United States and other United Nation countries aided South Korea while China aided North Korea. The Korean War began when North Korea invaded South Korea. This alarmed Americans because they were worried another country would fall to communism. President Truman ordered naval and air support to be given to South Korea. Sixteen nations sent 520,000 troops to assist, 90% of which were Americans. -
Khrushchev Takes Over
Khrushchev held many important positions in the Soviet government but he was overlooked in favor of Georgi Malenkov, for first secretary when Stalin died. Khrushchev first forced Malenkov to relinquish his post as the first secretary to him, publicly stating he was relinquishing the position to encourage the sharing of political responsibilities. The five-man Secretariat was then formed, signaling Khrushchev's rise to power. Khrushchev was always listed first, the others in alphabetical order. -
Army-McCarthy Hearings
From April to June 1954, the Senate Committee on Government Operations in order to find out if McCarthy had used improper influence in order to win preferential treatment for a former member of the senator's staff who had been drafted after McCarthy began to investigate army security. These were among the first congressional hearings to be televised. On December 2, 1954, was McCarthy's censure by the Senate. -
Eisenhower's Massive Retaliation Policy
Eisenhower was the first Republican United States President to be elected in years. He continued the containment policy but passed the Massive Retaliation Policy to deter Soviet Union aggression. This policy stated that if Western Europe was invaded by the Soviets, the U.S. would respond by launching more than 3,000 nuclear missiles against every industrial, urban, and military target in the communist world which had an estimated 285 million deaths. -
Warsaw Pact
This is a military alliance between the Soviet Union and it's Eastern European satellites. This alliance was formed because the Soviet Union became fearful when a rearmed West Germany joined NATO. -
Vietnam War
Vietnam War was between communist North Vietnam and South Vietnam with its main ally, the United States. More than 3 million people were killed, including over 58,000 Americans and more than half the dead were Vietnamese civilians. The United States became divided and stayed divided even after President Nixon ordered that U.S. forces withdraw in 1973. The war ended when communist forces seized control of South Vietnam in 1975 and became unified as the Socialist Republic of Vietnam in 1976. -
Hungarian Revolution
Hungarian students take to the street and protest against Russian Rule, demanding an end to Societ military occupation, democracy, and Imre Nagy's return to power as prime minister. Resistance fighters called Partisans hunted and killed government officials. On October 24, Soviet tanks entered Budapest. This same day, Imre Nagy was reinstated as Prime Minister. However, the fighting did not end until October 28th. -
U-2 Incident
The U-2 revealed that the Soviet's had greatly exaggerated their nuclear capabilities. President Eisenhower, seeing the continued surveillance missions as diplomatic risks, suspended the flights. However, due to the pressure from his advisors, Eisenhower allowed one more mission. May 1, 1960, the U-2 is shot down in Soviet airspace and all chances of peaceful "co-existence" were destroyed. August 17, 1960, the U-2 pilot was charged with espionage and imprisoned for 10 years. Corona created. -
Bay of Pigs Invasion
Fidel Castro takes power in Cuba and immediately begins to reduce American influence on the island. Eisenhower allows the CIA to recruit 1,400 Cuban exiles living in the U.S. and train them to overthrow Castro. April 15, 1961, the recruits attempt to destroy Castro's planes however fail. April 17, the recruits attempt the Bay of Pigs Invasion. However, an unseen radio station broadcasts the details of the operation. Castro's troops pinned the recuits. 114 killed and over 1,100 taken prisoner. -
Berlin Wall
The Communist government begins construction on a barbed wire and concrete wall to separate East and West Berlin. Its purpose was to keep "fascists" from entering and undermining the socialist state. Also to stem mass defections from East to West. -
Cuban Missile Crisis
The U.S. and Soviet Union leaders engaged in a tense, 13-day political and military standoff over the installation of nuclear-armed Soviet missiles in Cuba. The U.S. blocked Cuba which leads to Khrushchev and President Kennedy to agree that the Soviet's would remove their missiles and the U.S. would not invade Cuba. President Kennedy also secretly agreed to remove the U.S. missiles from Turkey. -
Détente Under Nixon
This was a period during Richard Nixon's presidency between the United States and the Soviet Union which took decisive form when Nixon had visited the secretary-general of the Soviet Communist party, Brezhnev. President Nixon also became the first U.S. president to visit Moscow. President Nixon and Brezhnev signed many agreements during President Nixon's visit. -
Reagan Doctrine
President Reagan defined many concepts of his foreign policy which became the "Reagan Doctrine." This doctrine was the foundation for President Reagan's administration's support of those fighting for freedom around the world. "Freedom is not the sole prerogative of a chosen few; it is the universal right of all God's children." -
Reagan's Berlin Wall Speech
President Reagan's speech on the Berlin Wall was directed to the inhabitants of West Berlin. This speech contained one of President Reagan's most memorable lines. The goal of President Reagan's speech was to have Mikhail Gorbachev, the Soviet Union's leader, to open the barrier dividing West and East Berlin. "Tear down this wall." -President Reagan -
Fall of the Berlin Wall
The head of the East Germany Communist Party announces that GDR could cross the wall whenever they pleased. That night masses of people swarmed the wall. Some crossed freely, while others chipped away at the wall itself with hammers and picks. The Berlin Wall is one of the most powerful and enduring symbols of the Cold War.
