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Harry S. Truman
In 1945, the United Nations was created in place of the ineffective League of Nations. It was created as an intergovernmental organization with over 50 member states designed to prevent future wars and promote world peace. -
Harry S. Truman
In 1947, communism was spreading across the globe rapidly and the U.S was scrambling to stop the spreading. President Harry S. Truman constructed the Truman Doctrine, which established that the United States would provide political, economic, and military assistance to all democratic nations under threat of becoming a communist state. -
Harry S. Truman
During Truman's presidency, the United States enacted the Marshall Plan. The Marshall Plan sent over $13 billion to finance an economic recovery for Europe. The plan successfully sparked European economic recovery, restoring faith in European's future for many. -
Harry S. Truman
NATO, or the North Atlantic Treaty Organization was created in 1949 as an intergovernmental agency to protect all democratic nations in an event of an attack by an external party. This was in response to the growing spread of communism throughout Europe. -
Harry S. Truman
As the Cold War started intensifying throughout the early 1940's, the fear of U.S citizens converting to communism became more prominent. This was known as the Red Scare as the United States refused to become a communist nation and would do anything to stop the spread of communism, especially in their own country. The Red Scare was a big issue for a long time as it lasted from the early 1940's to the mid 1950's. -
Dwight D. Eisenhower
America was getting more scared of the thought of Americans becoming communist with each passing day. To minimize this threat, Joseph McCarthy, a senator of Wisconsin began accusing Americans of being communist with little or no evidence and these people's lives would be ruined as they would either be punished or hated by all. The concept of this was called McCarthyism, and it lasted from about 1947-1956. -
Dwight D. Eisenhower
The Korean war started in 1950 when communist North Korea invaded democratic South Korea as an attempt to make Korea a total communist state. The United States came to aid of South Korea while communist China came to the aid of North Korea along with some assistance by the Soviet Union. -
John F. Kennedy
In 1959, Fidel Castro led a revolt that overthrew the Cuban government, turning Cuba into a communist state. In response, Kennedy trained a group of Cuban exiles to overthrow Castro's regime. This was known as the "bay of pigs invasion" and resulted in a huge failure as Cuba remained communist. -
John F. Kennedy
A U.S spy plane took pictures of Russian missiles being built and and installed in Cuba. This resulted in a 13-day political and military stand off between the Soviet Union and the United States about installation of nuclear weapons in Cuba. -
John F. Kennedy
On November 22nd, 1963, John F. Kennedy was assassinated in Dallas, TX while riding in an open-roofed car with his wife. His assassination resulted in the nation's confidence being shook with a long period of strife and grief. -
Lyndon B. Johnson
The Vietnam war was fought between communist North Vietnam backed by the Soviet Union and democratic South Vietnam backed by the United States. This brutal war lasted for about 20 years and was during many highlighted presidency's such as Kennedy, Johnson, and Nixon. -
Richard Nixon
Throughout the Vietnam war, American citizens became very critical of the war and why the United States needed to be involved. President Nixon enacted the policy of "Vietnamization" which took U.S troops out of Vietnam as a result of growing anger in the U.S. -
Ronald Reagan
During his presidency, Reagan achieved his "Reagan Revolution" which aimed to reinforce the principles of democracy and reliance on the government. He openly criticized Russia as an "evil empire" to discourage communism in America. -
George H. W. Bush
The fall of communism in Eastern Europe happened when the Germans took down the Berlin Wall. This represented the end of the Cold War and communism. -
George H. W. Bush
In 1990, Iraqi leader Suddam Hussein ordered the invasion of Kuwait. In response, the U.S led an operation known as "Operation Desert Storm" which was an assault on Iraq to protect Kuwait and its oil rich country and resources. -
George H. W. Bush
In 1991, the great Soviet empire finally collapsed. There were 2 major factors that led to this collapse. The first being the Soviet Union didn't have enough money to keep up in the space and arms races. The second being the independent states within the Soviet Union began to rebel. -
William Clinton
The North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) opened up free trade between Mexico, Canada, and the United States. This agreement promoted globalization and was signed by all 3 countries in 1994. -
George W. Bush
The September 11 attacks were a series of attacks on major U.S buildings by Islamic terrorists in 2001. The U.S responded to these attacks going to war in and invading Afghanistan. -
George W. Bush
The war in Afghanistan followed the invasion of Afghanistan as a result of the 9/11 terrorist attacks. The goal of the United States and its allies was to remove the Taliban from power and disembody the terrorist group, al-Qaeda. -
George W. Bush
The war in Iraq was a armed conflict following the invasion of Iraq that resulted in the overthrowing of Saddam Hussein as the Iraqi government. The war lasted throughout the decade to oppose Hussein's forces and establish a post-invasion of Iraqi government.
