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Red Scare
The fear of communism (then existant within Russia) spreading had finally caught the attention of those living within the US. There was also fear that there were Americans who supported communism living within the United States, along with the superstition that there were communist spies within the US. -
The Yalta Conference
This conference took place in a Russian town during WW2. This is when FDR, Winston Churchill, and Joseph Stalin discussed and made decisions about the war, both before and after. They also talked about Germany, and how they should claim full responsibility for the war and its aftermath effects on the country. -
Creation of the United Nations
It is an international organization, which was founded by 51 countries after the second world war. It "works to maintain international peace and security, developing friendly relations among nations and promoting social progress, better living standards and human rights." Its main goal is to assist other countries when it is needed, in order to make the world a better place to live. -
The Truman Doctrine
Truman had made the promise that he was going to supply countries threatened by communism with both economic and military aide. He also proposed that countries could make decisions based upon the majorities vote. -
Birth of the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA)
The CIA had come to existence when America had ended the war, and president Roosevelt took apart the OSS. It came to be when th CIA and the National Security Council were both created under the National Security Act of 1947. The CIA had proved to be a trusting source of information for the US during the cold war with the Soviet Union. To this day it still protects America. (no exact date was given) -
The Marshall Plan
Also known as the European Recovery Plan, The Marshall Plan was created by general George Marshall in order to help Europe recover after WW2. He was afraid that Europe would turn communist if they didn't recovery properly, so he proposed the idea to Truman and he agreed - The plan was to provide funding to the European community as long as they could rearrange the plan for recovery. This plan stopped the spread of communism to Germany. -
UFO Crash in Roswell, New Mexico
This happened in 1947, when there was evidence of a crash from some sort of mechanism from the air, because there was debris found around a farm area. It wasn't evident of what type of aircraft it was, so further investigation was needed. It was confusing as to whether it was a secret government plane, or an actual UFO. Some people believe it was a government cover up, some believe it was a conspiracy, and others believe it could have actually been a UFO. -
Berlin Airlift
The Berlin Airlift was an attempt to break the blockade, and they also flew necessary supplies or food to West Berlin for relief. This continued a little less than a year. -
China Becomes Communist
The China Communist party was controlled majorly by Mao Zedong, and he got the commuist inspiration from Russia. He was influenced by the "success" within Russia, being that they were communistic. There was a series of events/years leading up to China becoming comunist, but there is no specific date. -
Creation of NATO
NATO stands for North Atlantic Treaty Organization. After WW2, it was created due to the devastation in Europe. It involved 12 countries; US, Canada, Britain, France, Italy, Belgium, Denmark, Portugal, Netherlands, Norway, Luxembourg and Iceland. They used it to protect one another or come to assistance if any of the above were attacked. Since 1949, they have added many more members to NATO, making this force even stronger. -
The Federal Civil Defense Agency
In short, the FCDA was a family matter, explaining to families that everyone within America needed to come together in order to protect the country and their families. They had to protect the country from the possibility of a nuclear war, so women had stepped out of their natural "mother" zone and became a meaningful force within the country by helping whenever possible.
(no specific date was given, only the year) -
Korean War
To this day, the United States and North Korea have not signed a peace treaty. The war is technically active to this day, however one side (US or NK) would have to make the first move to start the war again. North Korea had invaded South Korea, and things quickly escalated. This required the help of the United Nations, so they sent help to them. Throughout this battle, both North and South Korea's capitals had been taken. To this day, there has been no peace treaty signed between the two. -
The Nuclear Arms Race
In short, the Nuclear Arms Race describes itself. It was a race between America and Russia, seeing who could have the most nuclear weapons. The US was quickly producing massive nuclear weapons that were small in size but held a lot of power. The Hiroshima bomb was an important event, but soon enough there were amounts of weapons produced that had much stronger force. -
Creation of the Warsaw Pact
The Warsaw Pact is similar to NATO, because it agreed to send aide to one another if they were to need it. The eastern countries involved in this pact felt threatened by NATO, which was created by the western countries. It was a strong political tool for the Soviet Union, because they had control over these other countries. The pact included Albania, Bulgaria, Czechoslovakia, East Germany, Hungary, Poland, Romania, and the Soviet Union. It ended in 1991 due to the other governments disapproval. -
Vietnam War
It occured in Vietnam/South East Asia. It was divided into the North and the South, with the North being led by Ho Chi Minh, and the South being led by Ngo Dinh Diem. The north had made an attempt to spread communism throughout the nation, however the southern Republic of Vietnam and the US did not agree. President Johnson (US) had sent American Troops to assist the southern region of Vietnam. -
Bay of Pigs
The overall goal of the Bay of Pigs Invasion was to prevent communism from reaching our country. During this effort, the United States military had underestimated the power behind the Cuban military force. We also knew that Cuba had relations with Russia at the time, and that was also a fear because the practices of communism within Cuba would become stronger. Cuba is close to home, and we didn't want these troubles entering our country. -
The Berlin Wall Goes Up
After WW2, the Berlin Wall was built. Germany was divided and then had eastern and western sections. The east was socialist, and the west was capitalistic. Ultimately, the wall was built in order to seperate these two areas of the country and their differing views on government. -
Cuban Missile Crisis
The Cuban Missile Crisis marks the time when the world was closest to having a nuclear war. The Soviet Union had planned to place their nuclear weapons on land in Cuba. Obviously the United States had reason to worry about this placement, so president Kennedy requested that they were removed from the island and returned to Russia, because he was concerned that they were going to launch an attack on the United States. -
Six Day War
What triggered the war, was an attack on Israel. There was also trouble from the Cold War. Terrorist attacks upon Israel from the Arabs also played a part. Israel had not chosen to involve themselves in war, but they knew that they had to defend themselves. -
Tet Offensive
The Tet Offensive began in the morning, when North Vietnamese troops and Viet Cong forces entered the towns in South Vietnam. This happened on the Vietnamese holiday of Tet, which is where the name comes from. The communists had thought that they would gain power by doing this, but instead the southern Vietnamese and US troops fought back, and claimed victory. -
Vietnamization
This plan was designed to end the Vietnam War, and it involved turning over the fighting to the Southern Vietnamese while US troops were removed. Nixon referred to this idea as peace with honor. Nixon had hoped that this would provide the south vietnamese with time to make a anticommunistic government. Nixon wanted to avoid the impression of an embarrassing defeat, so this plan was used to delay the collapse within their economy. -
US Sends a Man to the Moon
The United States and the Soviets were in a "space race" so it was significant that we had accomplished this goal first, because it was a way of proving our success. Neil Armstrong was the first man to be on the moon, followed by Buzz Aldrin. They spent just short of 22 hours on the moon, and successfully returned to Earth. -
Kent State
Also known as the Kent State Massacre, is when four unarmed college students were shot to death by some members of the Ohio National Guard. Nine other students were also injured. Students were protesting against the invasion of Cambodia, which led to them (and some of the protest's bystanders) to be shot. -
Operation Babylift
Operation Babylift occured around the events that took place in Vietnam, when the Vietcong invaded and captured cities in sourthern Vietnam. This led to many citizens leaving the country, which left thousands of children homeless and without any parents or family. They made efforts to remove massive amounts of children from the country and fly them to safety where they were cared for and/or adopted later on. -
The Fall of Saigon
This happened after many years of disagreement when president Nixon wanted to make peace in Vietnam. This was the end of the Vietnam War and marks when Vietnam had turned to a communist area. Many Americans and South Vietnamese citizens evacuated quickly. -
Tiananmen Square
Hundreds of citizens were shot dead by the Chinese army, due to protesting. It was a peaceful protest, so it was a surprise that it lead to this many deaths. They wanted democracy, and they were fed up with the corruption. The protestors consisted of students mostly. -
German Reunification/Fall of Berlin Wall
The east and west eventually came together, and it was mostly a democratic union instead of being entirely a communistic country. The democrats mindset was accepted and they became one, thus the Berlin Wall falling. The Germans now felt as if they weren't divided any longer and it was a large change withing the country, allowing the German Reunification. -
Collapse of the Soviet Union
Mikhail Gorbachev is responsible for both ending the Cold War and the fall of communism within the Soviet Union. He requested reform within the USSR. Once the problems within the USSR became public knowledge, it was easier for the Soviet Union to fall free of communism.
