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The Truman Doctrine
President Truman asked Congress for $400 million to support the economy and military in Greece and Turkey. He also said that the US should support free people around the world who were resisting takeovers. Congress agreed with him and decided that it would prevent the Soviet influence from spreading. -
The Marshall Plan
It was proposed by General George Marshall. He proposed that the US had to provide aid to any nation in Europe that needed it. It was approved because when the Soviets too over Czechoslovakia, the Congress needed strong, stable governments in Europe to resist communism. Nutrition was improving, industries were growing, Europe was flourishing, and Communist parties had lost much of their appeal to voters because of the Marshall Plan. -
Creation of NATO
North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) was formed by Belgium, Denmark, France, Great Britain, Iceland, Itlay, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Norway, Portugal, the US, and Canada. They promised that if one country was attacked, all countries were attacked. There was fear that it stimulate an arms race and massive American military aid to Europe, yet, it was still approved. -
The Korean War
It started when North Korea crossed the 38th parallel and was the first military action of the Cold War. America entered the war in July, taking South Korea's side. In July 1953, the Korean War ended with 5 million soldiers and civilians losing their lives. -
US Creates and Tests Hydrogen Bomb
The testing of the bomb gave the US an advantage during the nuclear arms race against the Soviet Union. It was about 1,000 times more powerful than most of the other nuclear weapons. The Soviet Union later made a nuclear device similar to the hydrogen bomb and by the 1970's, so had seven other nations. -
Creation of the Warsaw Pact
The Warsaw Pact is a treaty between Albania, Bulgaria, Czechoslovakia, East Germany, Hungary, Poland, Romania, and the Soviet Union. It was a response to NATO and re-militarization of West Germany. The treaty was based on equality for each nation, yet was also something the Soviet Union could use against their allies and have all power of their combined military. -
Bay of Pigs
It started when the United States CIA invaded Cuba by launching the definitive strike. The definitive strike is a full scale invasion by 1,400 American-trained Cubans who fled their homes when Castro took over. Castro unfortunately had more troops and the CIA surrendered within 24 horus. -
The Berlin Wall Goes Up
The Berlin Wall was a wall between East and West Berlin and was used to keep Western "fascists" from coming into East Germany to prevent them from undermining the socialist state. The wall stayed up until the head of the East German Communist Party said they could cross the boarder whenever they wanted to. As soon as this was announced people were going crazy trying to cross the boarder. -
Cuban Missile Crisis
In 1962, the amount of weapons from the Soviets going to Cuba increased greatly. Kennedy warned that the US wouldn't tolerate the presence of the weapons on Cuba. Then, American U-2 planes took pictures for the president as evidence that the Soviets were building missile bases on Cuba. This was bad for the US because they had missiles ready to launch that could reach U.S. cities in minutes. -
Nixon Visits China
Nixon claims that his visit to China was "The Week that Changed the World". He met up with Prime Minister Zhou Enlai, who urged early peace but did not agree with North Vietnam's political demands. North Vietnamese officials and peace negotiators thought that the US and China would make a deal behind their backs. China continued to supply aid to North Vietnam which helped to launch a major new offensive later on. -
US Invades Grenada
President Reagan sent out about 2,000 troops to invade Grenada because the island was developing ties to Cuba. They overthrew the Cuban government and replaced it with one friendlier to the US. Even though 18 American soldiers died during the invasion, it was necessary to protect the U.S. security. -
Collapse of the Soviet Union
The Soviet Union broke down into 15 seperate countries. The US was happy to see this happen because they were enemies. This also ended the Cold War. The collapse was caused by the victory of freedom by the West. -
German Reunification/Fall of Berlin Wall
This was the first time in 28 years that people in Berlin could cross the border. They were happy and were cheering and dancing. They finally got to see their family they got split apart from. They were using hammers and other tools to break down the wall. -
Vietnam War
Though the Veitnam War didn't start until 1995, the conflict actually started in the 1940's. Over 3 million people died in the Vietnam War with more than half being Vietnamese. The US had more than 500,000 military personnel involved. The end of the war was caused by communist forces taking control of Saigon in 1975. -
US Sends a Man to the Moon
The US realized they were losing the race to space when the Soviets launched Sputnik 1. On May 25, 1961, Kennedy stated "I believe that this nation should commit itself to achieving the goal, before this decade is out, of landing a man on the moon and returning him safely to the earth." 8 years later, Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin were the first 2 men to walk on the moon.
