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Russian Revolution
The Russian Revolution occurred partway through WW1. The public revolted against the old Tsarist government and the Bolsheviks were put in its place. At the end of the revolutions, the USSR was born. -
Potsdam Conference
The Potsdam Conference was a meeting between Harry Truman, Winston Churchill and Joseph Stalin. The three world leaders met to discuss the future of Germany after WW2 -
Atomic Bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki
Towards the end of the war, despite several losses and inevitable defeat, Japan refused to surrender. To avoid an invasion, the US dropped atomic bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki -
Iron Curtain
The barrier of soviet controlled countries in Eastern Europe. In his famous speech delivered in 1946, Winston Churchill said: "From Stettin in the Baltic to Trieste in the Adriatic, an iron curtain has descended across the Continent." The goal of the United States during the cold war was to contain the spread of the Soviet sphere of influence and draw back the Iron Curtain. -
Truman Doctrine
Harry S. Truman's plan to give financial aid to Turkey and Greece in response to soviet threats. Truman stated that "it must be the policy of the United States to support free people who are resisting attempted subjugation by armed minorities or by outside pressures." -
The Hollywood Ten
A group of actors, screenwriters and directors who appeared before Congress after they were accused of ties to the Communist party. The Hollywood Ten are a symbol of the Red Scare in America. -
Berlin Blockade and Airlift
The Soviet Union's blockade of Berlin, in which all access to Berlin from the west was blocked. The Soviets claimed they would drop the blockade if the Allies stopped producing the new form of German Currency, the Deutsche Mark. In response to this, the allies bypassed the blockade by airlifting supplies into Berlin -
Marshall Plan
The American program of economic aid for Europe. The Marshall plan would provide economic assistance to Western European countries to help rebuild after WW2 -
First Soviet Nuclear Test
The Soviets successfully detonated their first atomic bomb in 1949. This spurred the oncoming arms race that the Cold War would see between the United States and the Soviet Union. -
NATO
Nato, the North Atlantic Treaty Organization, is an alliance of Democratic North American and European countries. It was formed to establish defense for allied countries. -
The Korean War
The Korean war was a war between the north and south sides of Korea. The North side was supported by the USSR, while the south side was supported by the United States. -
Khrushchev takes over
Nikita Khrushchev was the first secretary of the USSR from 1953 to 1964. He was quite mild compared to his predecessors, and was responsible for destalinizing the USSR. -
Eisenhower's Massive Retaliation Policy
The Massive Retaliation Policy is a policy of responding to an attack with full force. The intention is to deter an attack to begin with -
Army-McCarthur hearings
A series of hearings investigating claims made by Joseph McCarthy and the US army. McCarthy's search for communists in the US was the ultimate cause for these hearings. With McCarthy came communist hysteria, and after the trials his merit declined. -
Warsaw Pact
A defense treaty signed between the Soviet Union and its satellite states. Essentially, it was the communist version of NATO. It dissolved in July of 1991. -
Vietnam War
The Vietnam War was a conflict between the American aided south Vietnam and North Vietnam. It would be viewed broadly as an attempt by the American government to stop the expansion of the increasingly Communist government of the North. -
The Hungarian Revolution
The Hungarian Revolution was a revolution against the Soviet government in Hungary. Russia sent in troops to crush the revolution, and in 2 and a half weeks, the rebellion was suppressed and the Soviets were victorious. -
U2 Incident
An incident in which an American spy plane was shot down while taking pictures deep into Soviet territory. This incident marked a deterioration in Soviet-American relations. -
Bay of Pigs invasion
A failed invasion of Cuba led by the CIA. The intention was to overthrow the Communist government, but within three days the Cuban Revolutionary Armed Forces successfully repelled the invasion -
Berlin Wall
The Berlin Wall was a physical barrier separating West Berlin from East Berlin. The Berlin Wall came to symbolize the oppressive nature of Soviet Communism. It was demolished in 1989. -
Cuban Missile Crisis
The Cuban Missile Crisis was a confrontation between the United States and the USSR that occurred when the Soviets stationed nuclear weapons in Cuba. This event brought both sides closer to nuclear war than they'd ever been. It was eventually resolved diplomatically, and the Soviets withdrew their weapons. -
Detente under Nixon
Detente is the policy of decreasing tensions between two aggressors. The general idea under Nixon was that there was more to be gained from peace, such as trade and prosperity, and yknow, not gettin blasted by nukes. -
The Reagan Doctrine
The foreign policy adopted during Reagan's presidency lasting until the end of the cold war. The goal was to overwhelm the USSR by developing at such a rate that they could not compete, and by supporting the enemies of communism -
Tear down this wall!
On June 12, 1987, Reagan delivered his famous line: "Mr. Gorbachev, tear down these walls!" This speech was delivered when the United States was in a position of power, as it overwhelmed the USSR, already spread thin. -
Fall of the Berlin Wall
In 1989, the Hungarian government began dismantling the electric fencing along the wall. This led to an influx of refugees pouring out of East Berlin. Civil unrest grew, and demand for the wall's destruction had hit its peak. The time was now, and the wall was to be destroyed. The destruction of the Berlin Wall symbolized Democracy prevailing over Communism, as well as the American victory of the Cold War.
