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Dropping of the Second Atomic Bomb
On August 9th, 1945, the United States dropped the second and last atomic bomb on Japan. The city of Nagasaki was obliterated, promptly leading Japan to surrender and end the war in the Pacific. This also began the arms race, as the USSR began to create their own atomic bombs to catch up with the USA. -
The Truman Doctrine is Established
The Truman Doctrine was a policy put into place by Harry S. Truman. In short, the Truman Doctrine stated that the United States would protect any democratic nations that were threatened by Communism or any other political ideology taking over the country. This includes the use of military force. -
Creation of NATO
NATO, or the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation, is a military alliance between several Western nations. It was originally put into place to protect several nations from the USSR. If a country were in NATO, it would be called to the defense or aid of another NATO country in times of war. Initially, 12 countries were in the alliance during its creation, but nowadays it has over 30 countries. -
Soviet Unions Tests Their First Nuclear Bomb
In Kazakhstan, the Soviets tested their very first Nuclear bomb. The event began to raise tensions between the US and the USSR, leading to another stage of the Cold War. -
Senator McCarthy's Speech
On February 9th, 1950, Senator McCarthy stated that there were communist spies in the US government. He provided several lists of names, leading to a massive red scare across the US. "McCarthyism" was the term coined for the second Red Scare. Unbeknownst to the public, McCarthy was a fraud abusing this technique to eliminate competitors and gain power. -
Korean War Begins
On June 25th, 1950, Communist-Backed North Korea invaded South Korea in an attempt to take over the country. The USA then followed the Truman Doctrine and joined South Korea, attempting to stop the invasion. Eventually, China joined the war on North Korea's side, causing the war to escalate. Eventually, the war ended at a stalemate, with both countries separated by a border through the middle of Korea. -
First Thermonuclear Bomb Tested
On November 1st, 1952, the United States tested the very first thermonuclear bomb. The bomb was over 450 times more powerful than the "Fat Man", or the bomb dropped on Nagasaki during WW2. -
The Censure of Senator McCarthy
People began to grow very suspicious of Senator McCarthy as none of the people he claimed to be communists could be proven as such. He had never actually caught any spies. Eventually, the Senate voted to censure him. -
Warsaw Pact is Created
Similarly to NATO, the Warsaw Pact was a defense treaty created by the Soviet Union to protect eastern European Soviet satellite states. The initial satellite states who signed were Albania, Bulgaria, Romania, Hungary, Czechoslovakia, Poland, and East Germany. -
Vietnam War Begins
North Vietnam began its invasion of South Vietnam, trying to unite the two under communist rule. The United States had stepped in to try and stop the spread of communism to the south. In South Vietnam, many people supported North Vietnam and joined the fight against the US. These were known as the Vietcong. -
Creation of the IAEA
The IAEA, or the International Atomic Energy Agency, was created to continue atomic research without violence. The program is still in use today. -
Launching of Sputnik 1
The Sputnik 1 was a Soviet Satellite launched into space on October 4th, 1957. The launching of the satellite began the space race between the USSR and the USA. The USA immediately started working on its space program to try and catch up with the Soviets, knowing that their rival now could not only put things into space but also have weapons in space that could strike anywhere in the world. -
Bay of Pigs Invasion Begins
The Bay of Pigs invasion was a military landing on Cuba that the US had backed. Many Cuban exiles landed on the beaches of Cuba and tried to take over the government. The invasion led to a tremendous disaster and failure. -
Cuban Missile Crisis
The Cuban Missile Crisis was a major nuclear standoff between the USA and the USSR. The United States had found out that the Soviets had put missiles in Cuba, meaning that the USSR could launch a nuke and hit almost anywhere in the USA. -
LBJ's Speech on the Great Society
LBJ announced a speech about a greater society in the USA. In this speech, he announced programs that he would be putting into place to help the USA. One of these programs was the Immigration and Naturalization Act, which ended any bias towards immigrants coming to the USA based on race or country of origin. Instead, immigrants would be allowed in if they were there for work or had skills.