-
The Chinese Civil War
China was involved in a political struggle between its communist party, the Communist party of China, and its counterpart, the People's Republic of China. The war had begun previously, but was set aside to ward off Japanese forces. After the end of World War II, the conflict reawakened, and China soon fell into the depths of communism. -
The Berlin Blockade
In the course of the division of Germany after World War II, the Allied Powers introduced new currency to both the Allied and Soviet Union side in t\order to curve the corruption of the current economic market. However, this action was seen as a threat to the Soviet Union, and as a result they blockaded the Allied portion of Germany in retaliation, offering the blockade to be removed if Allies remove the new currency. -
The Berlin Airlift
In response to the Soviet Union's blockade, the Allies flew large masses of airplanes in and out of Berlin, carrying food, medical supplies, and other necessities that would otherwise be impossible to obtain due to the blockade. After over 300,000 trips back and forth, until the blockade was lifted May 12, 1949. -
The Formation of NATO
The United States, amoung eleven other nations, established a pact between them known as the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO). Their mission was to prevent the spread of communism into areas of Europe, and to solve conflicts between them diplomatically without escalation into war. -
National Security Report NSC-68
Requested by Truman, this report was a study on whether the US and the Soviet Union were capable to manufacture and obtain nuclear weapons. This dfocument helped push the US into improving their foreign policy, and changed the approach of dealing with communist nations. -
The Korean War
The Korean War began from the conflict of North korea, supported by the Soviet Union, and South Korea, supported by the United States. Debating the true government of Korea, the sides escalated into war after North Korea invaded South Korea. The conflict lasted 3 years, and the division between the two areas still remains. -
President Truman fires General MacArthur
A World War II hero, MacArthur was soon put in command of military strategy for the Korean War. However, he did not support limiting the war to only involve North and South Korea, and wanted to include China in the conflict as well for pushing his troops out of North Korea. MacArthur would publicly criticize Truman's decision, so as a result he was removed from his office. -
The Warsaw Pact
The Warsaw Pact was an organization formed between the current eight communist countries of the world, similar in process to NATO, but designed to counteract it. Its agenda was to establish communism throughout Europe, and was a threat to American capitalism. -
The Launching of Sputnik
Sputnik was the world's first artifical satellite, released by the Soviet Union. It was feared that if the Soviets could use this power efficiently, it could transport nuclear weaponry to the United States, unstoppable in the sky. This lead to the eventual creation of NASA. -
The Cuban Missile Crisis
Due to strategic placings of nuclear weaponry by the US against the Soviet Union in Europe, the Soviet Union allowed themselves to place nuclear weaponry in Cuba, with possible intention for using against the United States. The United States enlisted the use of a military blockade to prevent more missiles from entering Cuba, and eventually the Soviet Union conceded to an agreement to dismantle and send back their weaponry.
