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Russian Revolution
Russians overthrow their democracy, U.S sends aid. -
Iron Curtian
A barrier separating the former Soviet bloc and the West due to the decline of communism after the world war II. -
Potsdam Conference
Stalin said Germany was on and wanted communism. -
Atomic Bomb - Hiroshima/Nagasaki
Atomic bomb ended the war even though the U.S had to drop two different bombs. -
Molotov Plan
The system created by the Soviet Union in order to provide aid to rebuild the countries in Eastern Europe that occupied the USSR -
Hollywood 10
The Hollywood Ten was a group of movie producers who appeared before the HUAC. They were asked about their affiliation with communism. -
Truman Doctrine
American foreign policy announced by Harry S. Truman set to counter Soviet geopolitical expansion during the cold war. -
Marshall Plan
Americans plan to rebuild Western Europe or any country threatened by Russia giving over $13 billion to aid the countries. -
Berlin Blockade
After the World War II Germany, the Soviet Union blockaded the city of Berlin closing all access starving the people of Berlin to death. -
Berlin Airlift
The USSR cut Berlin from all supply and stripped them of material leaving them with no food or shelter. -
NATO
North Atlantic Treaty Organization is a military alliance between many North American and European countries. -
Soviet bomb test
Russia successfully tested their first nuclear device at Semipalatinsk and called it RDS-1 or "First Lightning". -
Alger Hiss Case
Alger Hiss was a former American government official accused by ex-communist, Whittaker Chambers, of spying for the Soviet Union. -
Korean War
North Korea invaded South Korea starting a war between north and south Korea dividing the country into two. -
Rosenburg trial
Julius and Ethel Rosenberg were United States citizens who spied for the Soviet Union. -
Army-McCarthy hearings
Joseph McCarthy claimed to have a list of 205 communists working in the state department. -
Warsaw Pact
In answer to NATO, the Soviet Union created an alliance between 7 other Soviet satellite states called the Warsaw pact -
Hungarian Revolution
The Hungarian Uprising was a nationwide revolt against the communist government of the Hungarian People's Republic. -
Adding to the tension between the US and Russia, a United States U2 spy plane was shot down while in Soviet airspace.
Adding to the tension between the US and Russia, a United States U2 spy plane was shot down while in Soviet airspace. -
U-2 Incedent
Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR) shot down an American U-2 spy plane in Soviet air space and captured its pilot, Francis Gary Powers. Confronted with the evidence of his nation’s espionage, President Dwight D. Eisenhower was forced to admit to the Soviets that the U.S. Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) had been flying spy missions over the USSR for several years. -
Bay of Pigs Invasion
The CIA launched what its leaders believed would be the definitive strike: a full-scale invasion of Cuba by 1,400 American-trained Cubans who had fled their homes when Castro took over. However, the invasion did not go well: The invaders were badly outnumbered by Castro’s troops, and they surrendered after less than 24 hours of fighting. -
Berlin Wall
The Communist government of the German Democratic Republic, or East Germany began to build a barbed wire and concrete between East and West Berlin. The official purpose of this Berlin Wall was to keep Western “fascists” from entering East Germany and undermining the socialist state, but it primarily served the objective of stemming mass defections from East to West. -
Cuban Missile Crisis
The U.S. and Soviet Union leaders engaged in a tense, 13-day political and military standoff over the installation of nuclear-armed Soviet missiles in Cuba. The U.S. blocked Cuba which leads to Khrushchev and President Kennedy to agree that the Soviet's would remove their missiles and the U.S. would not invade Cuba. President Kennedy also secretly agreed to remove the U.S. missiles from Turkey. -
Assassination of Diem
Following the overthrow of his government by South Vietnamese military forces the day before, President Ngo Dinh Diem and his brother are captured and killed by a group of soldiers. The death of Diem caused celebration among many people in South Vietnam, but also lead to political chaos in the nation. The US became more involved in Vietnam as it tried to stabilize the South Vietnamese government and beat back the communist rebels that were becoming an increasingly powerful threat. -
Assassination of JFK
The Kennedys and Connallys waved at the large and enthusiastic crowds gathered along the parade route. As their vehicle passed the Texas School Book Depository Building at 12:30 p.m., Lee Harvey Oswald allegedly fired three shots from the sixth floor, fatally wounding President Kennedy and seriously injuring Governor Connally. Kennedy was pronounced dead 30 minutes later at Dallas’ Parkland Hospital. He was 46. -
Tonkin Gulf Resolution
The Gulf of Tonkin Resolution authorized President Lyndon Johnson to “take all necessary measures to repel any armed attack against the forces of the United States and to prevent further aggression” by the communist government of North Vietnam. It was passed by the U.S. Congress after an alleged attack on two U.S. naval destroyers stationed off the coast of Vietnam. The Gulf of Tonkin Resolution effectively launched America’s full-scale involvement in the Vietnam War. -
TET Offset
A coordinated series of North Vietnamese attacks on more than 100 cities and outposts in South Vietnam. The offensive was an attempt to foment rebellion among the South Vietnamese population and encourage the United States to scale back its involvement in the Vietnam War. U.S. and South Vietnamese forces managed to hold off the attacks, despite heavy casualties, North Vietnam achieved a strategic victory with the Tet Offensive. -
Assassination of MLK
Martin Luther King, Jr. was assassinated in Memphis, Tennessee. An event that sent shock waves reverberating around the world. A Baptist minister and founder of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC), King had led the civil rights movement since the mid-1950s, fought segregation and achieve significant civil-rights advances for African Americans.Helped speed the way for an equal housing bill that would be the last legislative achievement of the civil rights era. -
Assassination of RFK
Senator Robert Kennedy is shot at the Ambassador Hotel in Los Angeles after winning the California presidential primary. Immediately after he announced to his cheering supporters that the country was ready to end its fractious divisions, Kennedy was shot several times by the 22-year-old Palestinian Sirhan Sirhan. He died a day later. -
Riots of Democratic Convention
At the Democratic National Convention in Chicago, tens of thousands of Vietnam War protesters battle police in the streets, while the Democratic Party falls apart over an internal disagreement concerning its stance on Vietnam. Over the course of 24 hours, the predominant American line of thought on the Cold War with the Soviet Union was shattered. -
Invasion of Czechoslovakia
Approximately 200,000 Warsaw Pact troops and 5,000 tanks invade Czechoslovakia to crush the “Prague Spring”–a brief period of liberalization in the communist country. Czechoslovakians protested the invasion with public demonstrations and other non-violent tactics, but they were no match for the Soviet tanks. The liberal reforms of First Secretary Alexander Dubcek were repealed and “normalization” began under his successor Gustav Husak. -
Election of Nixon
February 1968, he had sufficiently recovered his political standing in the Republican Party to announce his candidacy for president. Taking a stance between the more conservative elements of his party led by Ronald Reagan and the liberal Northeastern wing led by Governor Nelson Rockefeller, Nixon won the nomination at the Republican National Convention in Miami Beach. -
Kent State
Four Kent State University students were killed and nine were injured when members of the Ohio National Guard opened fire on a crowd gathered to protest the Vietnam War. In its immediate aftermath, a student-led strike forced the temporary closure of colleges and universities across the country. Some political observers believe the events of that day in northeast Ohio tilted public opinion against the war and may have contributed to the downfall of President Richard Nixon. -
Nixon Visits China
In an amazing turn of events, President Richard Nixon takes a dramatic first step toward normalizing relations with the communist People’s Republic of China (PRC) by traveling to Beijing for a week of talks. Nixon’s historic visit began the slow process of the re-establishing diplomatic relations between the United States and communist China. -
Ceasefire in Vietnam
When the cease-fire went into effect, Saigon controlled about 75 percent of South Vietnam’s territory and 85 percent of the population. The cease-fire began on time, but both sides violated it. South Vietnamese forces continued to take back villages occupied by communists in the two days before the ceasefire deadline and the communists tried to capture additional territory. -
Fall of Saigon
The outskirts of Saigon were reached by the North Vietnamese Army (NVA). The US knew that their presence in the city would quickly become unwelcome, and the remaining Americans were evacuated by helicopter or fixed-wing aircraft.The surrender of Saigon was announced by the South Vietnamese president, General Duong Van Minh: "We are here to hand over to you the power in order to avoid bloodshed." General Minh had become South Vietnam’s president for two days as the country crumbled. -
Reagan Elected
Ronald Reagan a former actor and California governor, served as the 40th U.S. president from 1981 to 1989. Dubbed the Great Communicator, the affable Reagan became a popular two-term president. He cut taxes, increased defense spending, negotiated a nuclear arms reduction agreement with the Soviets and is credited with helping to bring a quicker end to the Cold War. Reagan, who survived a 1981 assassination attempt, died at age 93 after battling Alzheimer’s disease. -
SDI Announced
The Strategic Defense Initiative (SDI), also known as Star Wars, was a program first initiated under President Ronald Reagan. The intent of this program was to develop a sophisticated anti-ballistic missile system in order to prevent missile attacks from other countries, specifically the Soviet Union. With the tension of the Cold War looming overhead, the Strategic Defense Initiative was the United States’ response to possible nuclear attacks from afar. -
Geneva Conference with Gorbachev
The leaders of the Soviet Union and the United States hold a summit conference. The meeting boded well for the future, as the two men engaged in personal talks and seemed to develop a sincere and close relationship.The meeting came as somewhat of a surprise to some in the US considering Reagan’s often incendiary rhetoric concerning communism and the Soviet Union, but it was in keeping with the president’s desire to bring the nuclear arms race under control. -
‘Tear down this wall’ speech
The Berlin Wall, referred to by the President, was built by Communists to keep Germans from escaping Communist-dominated East Berlin into Democratic West Berlin. The twelve-foot concrete wall extended for a hundred miles, surrounding West Berlin, and included electrified fences and guard posts. The wall stood as a stark symbol of the decades-old Cold War between the United States and Soviet Russia in which the two politically opposed superpowers continually wrestled for -
Fall of the Berlin Wall
The head of the East Germany Communist Party announces that GDR could cross the wall whenever they pleased. That night masses of people swarmed the wall. Some crossed freely, while others chipped away at the wall itself with hammers and picks. The Berlin Wall is one of the most powerful and enduring symbols of the Cold War.
