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The Truman Doctrine
President Harry Truman said the U.S. would support both Greece and Turkey with economic and miltary aid in an effort to prevent them from becoming some of the Soviets satillite nations. The U.S. sent $400 million to the area. -
The Marshal Plan
A program that the U.S. was implementing that aid/money to rebuilding European countries after WWII in order to prevent the spread of Communism. -
The Creation of NATO
NATO was created because the Berlin blockade increased Western European fear of Soviet aggression. Ten Western European nations joined with the U.S. and Canada to form a defensive military alliance. NATO stands for the North Atlantic Treaty Organization. -
China Becomes Communist
A civil war broke out in China between The Communists under Mao Zedong to the north and the Nationalists under Chiang Kai-Shek to the south. Americans favored the Nationalists because they were against Communism. The U.S. sent $2 billion worth of military equipment and supplies to China. The Nationalists lost despite the efforts and the backing of the U.S. -
The Korean War
The Communists of China were battleing for control over the Korean peninsula and battled in the north, the Nationalists fought in the south. The United States backed the Nationalists and spent $3 billion in aid. -
Creation of Warsaw Pact
The Soviet Union created it's own military alliance with the Eastern European satellite nations under its control. -
Vietnam War
North Vietnam fought to take control of Vietnam and make it a communist country. The U.S. backed the southern part of the country in order to keep comunism out. This overall failed and communism spread to Vietnam. -
Launch of Sputnik
The world's first artificial satillite was about the size of a beach ball, it took about 98 minutes to orbit the earth on its elliptical path. That launch was the beginning of new political, military, technological, and scientific developments. -
U-2 Spy Plane Controversy
President of the United States at the time wsa Dwight D. Eisenhower, Soviet Premeir was Nikita Khrushchev. A U.S. U-2 plane was shot down over Soviet Union Airspace, U.S. was guilty of spying on the Soviets. -
Bay of Pigs
Was an unsuccessful action by a CIA-trained force of Cuba to invade southern Cuba, with support and encouragment from the U.S. gobvernment, in an attempt to overthrow the Cuban government of Fidel Castro. -
The Berlin Wall Goes Up
3 million East Germans, 20% of the country's population, had fled to West Germany.This clearly showed the failure of Communist East Germany. When U.S. refused to give up West Germany Khrushchev threw a tantrum and literally built a wall seperating East and West Germany. -
Cuban Missile Crisis
After controversial political decisions and the failed invasion attempt of The Bay of Pigs a U.S. U-2 plane took pictures of several missile bases being built in Cuba. The U.S. set up a blockade to try and avoid a war that was destined for nuclear fallout. Eventually, an agreement was made and the Soviets disarmed the weapons. -
Period: to
Cuban Missile Crisis
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Nixon visits China
President Nixon was looking to strengthen the relationship between the People's Republic of China and the U.S. Nixon visiting China was successful in strengthening the U.S.'s relations and it put China on the U.S.'s side in the cold war against the Soviets. -
Fall of the Berlin Wall
The wall that had once seperated Eastern Germany from Western Germany was ready to fall as protesters got what they wanted, and Germany was united once more. The fall of the wall was more symbolic, because the six checkpoint gates were opened. -
Fall of Soviet Union
Mikhail Gorbachev one of the new Soviet leaders. He wanted the U.S.S.R. to have have better relations with the U.S., once that was done it would allow the Soviets to reduce their military spending and reform their economy. He restored private ownership of land, and replaced central planning with local decision making. This marked the beginning of the end for the U.S.S.R.
