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United Nations
Created to avoid military conflict between opposing nations -
Truman Doctrine
Program to encourage nations to resist communist threats. -
Marshal Plan
Plan to help Europe rebuild to further dissuade communism -
The Berlin Blockade
Soviet forces block all roads, railway lines, and river routes connecting Berlin to West Germany -
NATO
North Atlantic Treaty Organization; Goal is to defend Western Europe against any soviet threat. U.S. superpower joined NATO. -
McCarthy Era
When Joseph McCarthy declared he had a list claiming to know of a large amount of Soviet spies in the U.S. After Julius and Ethel Rosenburg were discovered and executed many were afraid of a communist threat in America. McCarthy's campaign raised suspicion all throughout the United States; many people were fired. In a television interview he had claimed to find more in the U.S Army. This time McCarthy had crossed the line. He seemed as if he was simply accusing people, not like a hero. -
Korean War Starts
When WWII ended, the U.S and Korea agreed to a temporary division at
the 38th parallel of latitude, a demilitarized zone. This means that they territory was neutral and both sides sides were forbidden from military activity . The U.S demanded a non-communist govt. however Korea thought otherwise. Soon a conflict between Communist and non-Communist forces in Korea from June 25, 1950, to July 27, 1953. When war broke out, the UN forces(United States) forces were quickly depleted and outnumbered. -
Korean War Ends
Thanks to new weaponry, the North Koreans almost took over all of the South Korea. Then General MacArthur led the US forces to land at inchon behind North Korean forces and in surprise, they were forced back behind the 38th line. The war was ended by an armistice. -
Warsaw Pact
Military alliance established in 1955, of the Soviet Union and
other communist states in Europe. -
Berlin Wall
Soviet powers were embarrased by the failure of the Berlin Blockade, so the Berlin Wall was erected and it cut off contact between families and friends. It became a bitter symbol of how the Cold War had divided the world. -
Cuban Missle Crisis
In 1962, an American U2 spy plane took pictures of the Soviet Union building nuclear missile sites in Cuba, well in range of the US. The US navy set up a quarantine on Cuba to prevent it getting offensive weapons. President John F. Kennedy and Russian leader Nikita Khrushchev both realised the consequences of a nuclear war and made an agreement. -
Cuban Missile Crisis continued
Khrushchev agreed to remove the nuclear missiles from Cuba if the US pledged not to invade Cuba as it had done in the Bay of Pigs invasion (an attempt to oust Fidel Castro from power). Fidel Castro met a man named Che Guevara in 1954 who convinced to him to remove the Cuban Batista from power. To help prevent another threat JFK had NASA help create nuclear missiles. -
Vietnam War Begins
In Vietnam, the north wanted to unite under a communist government and the south wanted to maintain its relationship with western powers. As discontent grew, many joined the Vietcong who opposed Diem.Throughout the 1950s, the US sent military advisors to support Southern Vietnam. -
Vietnam War Begins continued
The Gulf of Tonkin incident in which the destroyer USS Maddox was torpedoed by North Vietnamese torpedo boats was considered an act of aggression and prompted the creation of the Gulf of Tonkin Resolution. This ended up with the US deploying active combat units in Vietnam starting in 1965. -
Tet Offensive
The Tet Offensive was the largest offensive attack launched against the US and South Vietnamese by the communist forces. It started when the Viet Cong launched waves of attacks the night of January 30th. It took US forces by surprise and the communists managed to take control of several cities. -
Tet Offensive continued
The Americans eventually won these back making it a defeat for the Viet Cong, but it shocked the US and South Vietnamese forces that the North could launch such a large scale attack. This was also when a third party (the centrists) appeared led by president Ho Chi Minh. -
Salt Agreement begins
US and the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics engaged in negotiations to limit the use of weapons. SALT I was effective. However, the draft for SALT II couldn’t be agreed upon, so the US withdrew from it. This helped develop a detente between the two countries. -
Salt agreement ends
US and the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics engaged in negotiations to limit the use of weapons. SALT I was effective. However, the draft for SALT II couldn’t be agreed upon, so the US withdrew from it. This helped develop a detente between the two countries. -
Ronald Reagan
In 1981 Reagan takes office and goes on to develop a system called Star Wars that he hoped would be able to destroy Soviet missiles from space. -
Glasnost
In the second half of 1980s Mikhail Gorbachev introduced Glasnost, meaning publicity. It was a Russian policy for more openness and transparency in the government. It worked very well and the Russian population was exposed to everything that was previously censored. -
Communism Collapses
March 9, 1989 was the start of the revolutions to end communist Russia. The end of communism was during 1991 and the entire process took 14 years. Pretty self explanatory.
