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Bolshevik Revolution
A period of social and political reform in Russia that resulted in the end of their monarchy and the adoption of a socialist government. In November 1917, the socialists seized the government buildings and took over. -
Chinese Civil War
Lasted from 1927-1949. This was a war fought between the Nationalists and the Communists within China. They fought for control over the government because of their differing ideas. The Communists won and took over as the Chinese Communist Party. -
Recognition of the USSR
After 16 years of the US not recognizing the USSR, President FDR ended this by making negotiations with Maxim Litvinov. He thought it might help bring the US out of the depression and help the economy thrive. -
Nazi-Soviet Non-Aggression Pact
A pact that Nazi Germany and the Soviet Union made before World War 2 said that they would take no military action against each other for the next decade. It allowed each of them to focus on their own goals without fearing attacks from the other. -
USA and USSR join WW2
The USSR was neutral with Germany until they attacked them in 1941. The USA entered the war in late 1941 joining the Allies and the USSR followed them by allying with Britain against Nazi Germany. -
Yalta and Potsdam Conferences
1944-1945. The Yalta Conference involved the meeting of FDR, Winston Churchill, and Joseph Stalin to plan an end to WW2 and the post-war reconstruction of Europe. The Potsdam Conference had President Truman, Churchill, and Stalin meet again to organize military occupation and reconstruction of Germany. -
World Bank and United Nations
1944-1945. The World Bank was established in 1944 to help rebuild Europe and Japan after WW2. The United Nations was created in 1945 in an attempt to maintain international peace and security. 29 nations ratified the charter at first. -
Korea Divided
Began in August of 1945 after Japan surrendered. Japan had control over Korea before, so the Allies decided to divide the country at the 38th parallel to oversee the removal of Japanese forces. The Soviets controlled the North and the US controlled the South. -
Iron Curtain Speech
The speech that was given by Winston Churchill at Westminster College. He emphasized the importance of the US and Britain staying peaceful and stable against communism. -
Eastern Europe
One by one elections were held in Eastern Europe and rigged in favor of the Communists leading to them taking over. Some of these countries included Poland, Romania, Bulgaria, and Hungary. Many said that Sattelite states needed to be made for protection. -
Cold War in Asia- Philippines
On July 4, 1946, Congress passed an act that made the Philippines an independent republic. Despite this, the US still retained naval and air bases there during the Cold War. -
Loyalty Review Board
The Truman administration set up the Loyalty Review Board to investigate the background of over 3 million federal employees. Many lost their jobs due to this. -
Containment Policy
Policy adopted by Truman to prevent Soviet Expansion without causing another war. This helped to guide US foreign policy for decades. -
Truman Doctrine
Truman asked Congress for $400 million in economic and military aid to assist people in Greece and Turkey. They were protecting them against the totalitarian regimes. Both parties supported this plan. -
National Security Act
This act merged the Department of the Army, the Department of the Navy, and the Department of the Air Force into the National Military Establishment. The Secretary of Defense was the head of the NME. This act helped to reorganize foreign policy. Also created the NSC and CIA. -
Marshall Plan
1947-1948. An extensive plan was made by George Marshall to help aid European Nations facing post-war hardships. Truman submitted a $17 billion plan to Congress known as the Marshall Plan. It was offered to the Soviets as well, but they refused it. This plan was extremely successful. -
Cold War in Asia- Japan
1947-1951. Japan was solely under the control of the US and was strictly reconstructed. Many Japanese generals were tried for war crimes and executed. A new constitution was adopted from General Douglas MacArthur's guidance which established a parliamentary democracy. Japan depended on military protection from the US because of their new limited military capability. -
HUAC
1948-1953. The House Un-American Activities Committee was designed to seek out Nazis in 1938 but was later reestablished to find Communists after the war. It investigated government officials and other major organizations including the Hollywood film industry. -
Alger Hiss Case
Hiss was an official in the State Department who helped FDR at the Yalta conference. He was being investigated by HUAC, but denied that he was a Communist and was not passing around secret documents. In 1950 he was convicted of perjury and sent to prison. -
Selective Service System
US federal law that established a fair and equitable draft when required. -
Berlin Airlift
In 1948, the Soviets cut off land access to Berlin. Truman did not want to withdraw from Berlin, but he also did not want to force open the roads. Therefore, he ordered US planes to fly in supplies to those in Berlin as well as bombs to keep in Britain. Stalin did not challenge the airlift though. After 11 months, the Soviets finally opened the roads. This led to the creation of two Germanys. -
Truman Re-Elected
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Rosenberg Case
When the Soviets tested their atomic bomb, Americans were convinced that spies had helped them steal technology from the US. British Scientist Klaus Fuschs admitted to giving the Russians secrets. Another investigation pointed to Julius and Ethel Rosenberg who were found guilty of treason and executed. -
East Germany
Created because of the Berlin Airlift. East Germany was known as the German Democratic Republic and served as a Soviet satellite. -
NATO
Ten European Nations joined the US and Canada to create the North Atlantic Treaty Organization. This was a military alliance for defending all members from outside attack. This was the first time that the US had a permanent alliance due to Washington's farewell address. -
USSR Nuclear Weapons
The Soviets tested their first atomic bomb in the fall of 1949. Following this, Truman approved the development of an extremely powerful bomb. This created an arms race. -
Cold War in Asia- Two Chinas
At the end of 1949, all of mainland China was under Communist control. The Nationalists retreated to an island and had support from the US. -
Sino-Soviet Pact
A pact signed by Mao Zedong and Joseph Stalin which provided China with security guarantees and economic opportunities. With this, the worldwide Communist conspiracies and fears grew though. -
Korean War
1950-1953. After Japan was defeated and Korea was divided, the North invaded the South. Truman took action with his containment policy and called for help from the UN. General MacArthur helped to reverse the Northern advances and take the lead. China felt threatened and therefore sent troops to drive out the UN forces from North Korea. Peace talks began in 1951. -
McCarran Internal Security Act
Congress passed this act which made it unlawful to advocate or support the establishment of a totalitarian government, restricted the employment and travel of those joining Communist-front organizations, and authorized the creation of detention camps for subversives. -
McCarthyism
1950-1954. Political repression and persecution of left-wing individuals led by Senator Joseph McCarthy to prevent the spread of Communism. -
Dennis et al v. United States
The Supreme Court upheld the constitutionality of the Smith Act which made it illegal to advocate or teach the overthrow of the government by force or to belong to organizations with this objective. -
Eisenhower Elected
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USA Nuclear Weapons
The MGR-1 Honest John was the first nuclear missile that the US developed. The US wanted to be able to compete with the Soviets so they created NASA. -
Brinkmanship and Massive Retaliation
Brinkmanship was Dulles' policy to push powers to the brink of war but stop before anything happened. The Massive Retaliation policy was using nuclear power as a threat to prevent war. Many thought it would lead to mutual annihilation. -
Soviet Union Nuclear Weapons
The USSR tested a hydrogen bomb that the US called Joe 4. -
Stalin
Joseph Stalin died of a hemorrhage in March of 1953. He was succeeded by Nikita Khrushchev. -
Atoms for Peace and "Spirit of Geneva"
1954-1955. After Stalin died, the US wanted to slowdown the arms race using an "atoms for peace" plan. Both sides of the war wanted to improve relations and slow down. President Eisenhower met with Nikolai Bulganin in Geneva to reduce the Cold War in what was referred to as the "spirit of Geneva". -
Warsaw Pact
The counteract to the creation of NATO was the creation of the Warsaw Pact by the Soviet Union. This was a military alliance that defended the Communist states of Eastern Europe. -
Khrushchev “peaceful coexistence”
The new soviet leader Nikita Khrushchev gave a speech in which he denounced the crimes that Stalin committed and instead advocated for "peaceful coexistence" with the West. -
Hungarian Revolt
After the Cold War relaxed, many workers in East Germany Poland, and Hungary demanded government reforms. In Hungary, an uprising was successful in overthrowing the government. The new leaders wanted to get out of the Warsaw Pact. The Soviets did not want this so they sent tanks to restore control. -
Eisenhower re-elected
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Sputnik
The USSR shocked the US by launching satellites to orbit the Earth. The US was scared that they were losing technological superiority due to this and failed attempts at making rockets. -
NDEA and NASA
The US thought that math and science instruction was lacking in schools, so the government enacted the National Defense and Education Act. This authorized hundreds of millions of dollars for education. Congress also created the National Aeronautics and Space Administration to direct US efforts for building missiles and exploring outer space. -
Berlin Crisis
Khrushchev pushed the Berlin issue again with new confidence and gave the West 6 months to remove the troops from West Berlin before turning over the city to the East Germans. The US refused and instead invited Khrushchev to the US to put off the crisis. -
U-2 Incident
Two weeks before a planned peace conference in Paris, the Russians shot down a US spy plane called the U-2. This exposed the US and its tactics for gaining information. This angered Khrushchev and led him to walk out of the Paris meeting and end the thaw in the Cold War. -
Castro and Cuba
Cuba emerged as a Communist country after Fidel Castro overthrew the dictator Fulgencio Batista. Eisenhower retaliated after Castro nationalized American-owned businesses by cutting off US trade with Cuba. Castro then turned to get support from the Soviets. -
Kennedy Elected
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Berlin Wall
Kennedy still refused to pull troops from Berlin. Instead, the East Germans and Soviets began to build a wall around West Berlin. They did not want anyone to flee out of the East. -
Bay of Pigs Invasion
Kennedy approved a plan to use Cuban exiles to overthrow Castro, yet it failed to set off an uprising. Castro used this failed invasion to gain more aid and power. -
Flexible Response
1961-1963. Many "brushfire wars" were occurring in Africa and Southeast Asia which made Kennedy rethink Dulles' massive retaliation. They decided to increase spending on conventional arms and mobile military forces instead of nuclear weapons. This reduced nuclear risks but increased the temptation to use special forces. -
Cuban Missile Crisis
In response to the Bay of Pigs invasion, Castro invited the Soviets to build underground missile sites that could be launched and reach the US within minutes. Kennedy found out and set up a naval blockade. After 13 days of tension, the Soviets agreed to remove the missiles from Cuba if Kennedy agreed not to invade the island and remove their missiles from Turkey. -
Nuclear Test Ban Treaty
A treaty that ended the testing of nuclear weapons in the atmosphere. It was signed by the Soviet Union, the US, and around 100 other nations. -
Kennedy assassinated; Johnson takes office
Kennedy was assassinated after less than 3 years in office during a visit to Texas. His Vice President took over the office. -
Nixon elected president
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Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty
Each signatory agreed not to help other countries develop or acquire any nuclear weapons. -
Détente
President Richard Nixon and National security adviser Henry Kissinger took advantage of rivalry between China and the Soviet Union. Their diplomacy brought détente, or a deliberate reduction of tensions in the Cold War. -
SALT I
The Strategic Arms Limitations Talks secured Soviet consent to stop how many missiles were carrying nuclear warheads. The agreement did not end the arms race, but it greatly reduced tensions. -
Nixon visits China
After being a harsh critic of Communism, Nixon improved relations with Mao Zedong and made secret negotiations which led to him visiting China to meet with Mao. This visit started diplomatic exchanges which led to the US recognizing the Communist government in 1979. -
End of the Vietnam War
North Vietnamese forces made major offense advances and rolled into the Presidential Palace in Saigon which ended the war. -
Carter Elected
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US recognizes China
Nixon's visit to China helped to lead to the US recognizing the Communist government of China. They established diplomatic relationships. -
SALT II
Strategic Arms Limitations Talk 2. The goal was to replace the Interim Agreement with a long-term treaty that provided limits on strategic weapon systems. It was not very successful.