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Russian Revolution
(March 8, 1917 - November 7, 2018) The Russian people were tired of having no food and being in the war, causing them to begin a rebellion. This lead to their leader, Czar Nicholas, to be overthrown by communist rule. -
Postdam Conference
(Jul 17, 1945 – Aug 2, 1945) The last of 3 big meetings during WW11. President Truman, British Prime Minister Winston Churchill, and leading Soviet Joseph Stalin discussed the peace settlement policies in Europe. There were no attempts to write peace treaties. -
Atomic Bombs
(Aug 6, 1945 – Aug 9, 1945) During the final stages of WW11, The United States dropped two atomic bombs onto Japan. On August 6, 1945 an atomic bomb was dropped onto Hiroshima, and on August 9, 1945 an atomic bomb was dropped onto Nagasaki. The bombing destroyed both cities and killed thousands of civilians, making it a total war. Soon after the atomic bombs were dropped, Japan surrendered. -
Iron Curtain
(March 6, 1946 - December 26 , 1991) Boundary dividing two separate areas of Europe. This was created by the Soviet Union because they did not want any contact from countries not controlled by communism.Iron curtain was continues until the end of the Cold War. -
Hollywood 10
(October 1947) 10 members of the entertainment industry were accused of having communist ties after refusing to answer questions about their alleged involvement with the Communist Party. These 10 celebrities were banned from working in Hollywood ever again. -
Truman Doctrine
(March 12, 1947) President Harry S. Truman foreign policy created against Soviet Union. In the policy, he promises to provide political, military and economical assistance to Turkey and Greece. This became known as the official deceleration of the Cold War -
Marshall Plan
(June 3, 1948- 1951) A program proposed by General George C. Marshall that gave European countries large amounts of economic aid that were significantly effected by WW11 and needed help rebuilding. United States ended up using over 13 billion dollars, which is equivalent to 110 billion dollars in today's money. -
Berlin Blockade and Airlift
(24 June 1948 – 12 May 1949) Attempting to stop France, Great Britain and the United States to travel to their sectors of Berlin, Soviets blocked off all railway, road, and canal access. This caused United States and Britain to supply food and other vital supplies by flying them over. -
NATO
(April 4, 1949) Treaty that states the alliance between several North American and European countries. The first NATO Secretary General, Lord Ismay, stated in 1949 that the organization's goal was "to keep the Russians out, the Americans in, and the Germans down". -
Soviet Bomb Test
(August 29, 1949-12 February 1989) Shortly after WW11, soviets wanted atomic bombs just like the United States, so they began testing out atomic bombs at Semipalatinsk in Kazakhstan. Same happened after United States came up with the first hydrogen bomb, the soviets successfully achieved the hydrogen bomb 3 years later, testing the bombs at the same site. -
Korean War
(Jun 25, 1950 – Jul 27, 1953) War between North Korea, having China and Soviet Union as their allies, and South Korea, with support from the United States. War began when North Korean armies crossed the 38th Parallel and invaded South Korea. -
Khruschev Takes Over
(March 20, 1953-October 1964) Khruschev took over for Joseph Stalin when he died, and became the head of the communist party. He criticized Stalin for arresting and deporting opponents, elevating himself above the party and for incompetent wartime leadership. He began the "de-stalinization process" by renaming the city of Stalingrad and removing Stalin’s remains from Lenin’s mausoleum in Moscow’s Red Square. -
Eisenhower’s Massive Retaliation Policy
(January 12, 1954) President Eisenhower adopted a foreign policy of “massive retaliation." This means that if an aggressor were to attack, a state could retaliate to a much more power, disproportional amount. -
Army-McCarthy Hearings
(April 22, 1954–June 17, 1954) Army-McCarthy hearings
were a series of hearings held by the United States Senate's Subcommittee on Investigations to investigate accusations between the United States Army and U.S. Senator Joseph McCarthy. The Army accused Chief Committee Counsel Roy Cohn of pressuring the Army to give preferential treatment to G. David Schine, a former McCarthy aide. -
Warsaw Pact
(May 14, 1955- July 1, 1991) A treaty signed by the Soviet Union and seven of its European satellites. Treaty declared that the members states come to the defense of any member attacked by an outside force. -
The Vietnam War
(Nov 1, 1955 – Apr 30, 1975) a conflict that marked the communist government of North Vietnam and its allies in South Vietnam against the government of South Vietnam and its principal ally, the United States. Vietnam War was a manifestation of the Cold War between the United States and the Soviet Union and their respective allies. -
Hungarian Revolution
(October 23, 1956 – November 10, 1956) Hungarian people revolt against the communist government. Soviets wanted to destroy the revolution, so they invaded Budapest and other regions of the country. -
U2 Incident
(May 1, 1960) USSR shot down a American U-2 spy plane and captured its pilot, Francis Gary Powers. Since this happened in Soviet air space, president Dwight D. Eisenhower had to confess to the Soviets that they have been flying spy missions over the USSR for several years. The soviets charged the pilot with 10 years, but he only had to serve 2 years for an exchange of one of their captured Soviet agent's. -
The Reagan Doctrine
(February 6, 1961- 1991) President Ronald Reagan pledge his support for anti-communism. He called upon Congress and the American people to stand up to the Soviet Union. -
Bay of Pigs Invasion
(Apr 17, 1961 – Apr 19, 1961) A failed military mission to invade Cuba undertaken by the CIA. This was an attempt to push
Fidel Castro from power. -
Berlin Wall
(August 13, 1961-November 9, 1989) A border built by the Communist government of the German Democratic Republic that separated East and West Berlin. The purpose was to keep fascist from entering East Germany. -
Cuban Missile Crisis
(Oct 16, 1962 – Oct 28, 1962) Confrontation between United States and the Soviet Union over the presence of Soviet nuclear-armed missiles in Cuba. This almost resulted in a nuclear war. -
Detente Under Nixon
(1969–1979) Period of the easing of Cold War tensions between the U.S. and the Soviet Union. During this time, increased trade and cooperation with the Soviet Union and the signing of the SALT treaties occurred. -
Reagan’s Berlin Wall Speech
(June 12, 1987) President Reagan makes a speech in West Berlin asking Soviet Union Leader, Mikhail Gorbachev, to take down the Berlin wall. Some believe this speech helped cause the Berlin wall to be taken down, other feel as though it had no effect what-so-ever. -
Fall of the Berlin Wall
(November 9, 1989) East German Communist Party announced that citizens of the GDR could cross the border whenever they pleased. This caused mass excitement, crowds running to the wall either to cross it or to chip at it. Berlin Wall was a major symbol of the Cold War.
