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Period: to
january 1 1947 - december 31, 1966
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truman doctorine
truman declares active role in greek civil war -
marshall plan
the plan is annoucned setting a precedent for helping countries combat poverty disease and malnutrition -
rio pact
U.S. meet 19 Latin American countries and created a security zone around the hemisphere -
communist takover czechslovakia
he Soviet Union led Warsaw Pact troops in an invasion of Czechoslovakia to crack down on reformist trends in Prague -
Truman's Loyalty Program created to catch Cold War spies
he order established the first general loyalty program in the United States -
Brussels Pact organized to protect Europe from communism
An agreement signed by Britain, France, Belgium, the Netherlands, and Luxembourg, creating a collective defense alliance. It led to the formation of NATO and the Western European Union -
Berlin blockade ends
The United States and United Kingdom responded by airlifting food and fuel to Berlin from Allied airbases in western Germany. -
Russia tested its first atomic bomb
It would only be a matter of months before the U.S.S.R. exploded its own atomic bomb. -
Chiang Kai-shek moved to Formosa and created Nationalist government
Chiang fled to the island of Formosa (Taiwan), where approximately 300,000 soldiers had already been airlifted. -
Truman approved H-bomb development
Truman supported the development of the hydrogen bomb because the Soviet Union had exploded a fission bomb earlier in the year. -
Joe McCarthy begins Communist witch hunt and loyalty tests
In the wake of U.S. President Truman's Executive Order 9835 of March 21, 1947, requiring that all federal civil service employees be screened for loyalty -
korean war begins
Stalin supports North Korea who invade South Korea
equipped with Soviet weapons -
Federal Civil Defense Administration established
The agency distributed posters, programs, and information about communism and the threat of communist attacks. -
United Nations forces recapture Seoul during Operation Ripper.
By the end of March, they have reached the 38th Parallel, and formed a defensive line across the Korean peninsula. -
truman fires macarthur
Truman relieved General of the Army Douglas MacArthur of his commands after MacArthur made public statements that contradicted the administration's policies. -
he Treaty of San Francisco
It was signed by Japan on September 8, 1951, comes into effect, and Japan signs the Treaty of Taipei, formally ending its period of occupation and isolation, and becoming a sovereign state. -
the Marshall Plan ends
with European industrial output now well above that of 1948.
July 23: Gamal Abdel Nasser heads a coup against King Farouk of Egypt. -
Uk tests 1st atomic bomb
in Operation Hurricane. The test makes the UK the world's third nuclear power. -
Death of Stalin
Joseph Stalin died at the age of 74. He was succeeded by Nikita Khrushchev. -
the Cuban Revolution begins
Fidel Castro attempts to overthrow the government of Fulgencio Batista. -
korean war ends
North and South Korea remain separate and occupy almost the same territory they had when the war began. -
ikes atoms for peace speech
President Eisenhower sought to solve this terrible problem by suggesting a means to transform the atom from a scourge into a benefit for mankind -
he USS Nautilus.
the U.S. launches the world's first nuclear submarine and it would become the ultimate nuclear deterrent. -
the Baghdad Pact is founded by Iran, Iraq, Pakistan, Turkey, and the United Kingdom
It is committed to resisting Communist expansion in the Middle East. -
the Viet Minh defeat the French at Dien Bien Phu.
France withdraws from Indochina, leaving four independent states: Cambodia, Laos, and what became North Vietnam and South Vietnam. The Geneva Accords calls for free elections to unite Vietnam, but none of the major Western powers wish this to occur in the likely case that the Viet Minh (nationalist Communists) would win -
Geneva Accords
This set of documents ended the French war with the Vietminh and divided Vietnam into North and South states. The communist leader of North Vietnam was Ho Chi Minh while the US friendly south was led by Ngo Dinh Diem. -
: the Non-Aligned Movement
This movement is designed to be a bulwark against the 'dangerous polarization' of the world at that time and to restore the balance of power with smaller nations -
warsaw pact
The Warsaw Pact was formed with member states East Germany, Czechoslovakia, Poland, Hungary, Romania, Albania, Bulgaria, and the Soviet Union. -
the speech "On the Personality Cult and its Consequences"
he speech marks the beginning of the De-Stalinization. -
Hungarian Revolution
This began as a Hungarian protest against Communist rule in Budapest. It quickly gathered momentum and on 24th October Soviet tanks entered Budapest. Hungary fell to Russia on 10th November 1956. -
Suez Crisis
Following military bombardment by Israeli forces, a joint British and French force invaded Egypt to regain control of the Suez Canal which had been nationalised by the Egyptian leader Nasser. -
Israeli forces withdraw from the Sinai,
they had occupied the previous year.
February 15: Andrei Gromyko begins his long tenure as Foreign Minister of the Soviet Union. -
First animal to go to space
USSR Sputnik II carried Laika the dog, the first living creature to go into space. -
NATO holds its first summit in Paris
It is the first time NATO leaders have met together since the signing of the North Atlantic Treaty in April 1949. -
The pilot, US citizen Allen Lawrence Pope is captured and imprisoned.
On a bombing mission in support of the anti-Sukarno Permesta Rebellion, a B-26 bomber supplied by the CIA is shot down in Ambon, Indonesia. -
a coup in Iraq, the 14 July Revolution, removes the pro-British monarch.
Iraq begins to receive support from the Soviets. Iraq will maintain close ties with the Soviets throughout the Cold War. -
Iceland expands its fishing zone
United Kingdom opposed the action and eventually deploy some of its navy to the zone, thus triggering the cod wars. -
Fidel Castro wins the Cuban Revolution and becomes the dictator of Cuba
. In the next several years Cuban-inspired guerrilla movements spring up across Latin America -
Luna 1 is launched
in an attempt to impact the Moon but due to an error in device's control systems, resulted in the device missing its target by 5,990 km. -
in an attempt to impact the Moon but due to an error in device's control systems, resulted in the device missing its target by 5,990 km.
It is a Communist insurgent movement that vows to overthrow the anti-communist South Vietnamese regime. It is supplied extensively by North Vietnam and the USSR eventually. -
Paris East/West talks
Talks between Nikita Khrushchev and Dwight Eisenhower concerning the fate of Germany broke down when a USA U2 spy plane was shot down over Russian airspace. -
Sino-Soviet split:
the Chinese leadership, angered at being treated as the "junior partner" to the Soviet Union, declares its version of Communism superior and begin to compete with the Soviets for influence, thus adding a third dimension to the Cold War. -
To Build The World Anew
Sukarno criticizes the United Nations for not being neutral and questions location of the United Nations Headquarters in New York, United States. -
Space Race
Russian cosmonaut Yuri Alekseyvich Gagarin became the first human being in space. -
Bay of Pigs Invasion
A force of Cuban exiles, trained by the CIA, aided by the US government attempted to invade Cuba and overthrow the Communist government of Fidel Castro. The attempt failed. -
Berlin Wall
Berlin wall built and borders sealed between East and West Germany. -
Cuban Missile Crisis
A US spy plane reported sighting the construction of a Soviet nuclear missile base in Cuba. President Kennedy set up a naval blockade and demanded the removal of the missiles. War was averted when the Russians agreed on 28th October to remove the weapons. The United States agreed not to invade Cuba. -
the Brunei People's Party launched a rebellion against the British protectorate of Brunei.
This event was considered to be one of the first stages of the Indonesia-Malaysia confrontation. -
end of the Sino-Indian War.
China occupies a small strip of Indian land known as the Aksai Chin. -
Indonesia-Malaysia confrontation.
Indonesia declare to reject the formation of the Federation of Malaysia through the statement of the then Indonesian Minister of Foreign Affairs, Subandrio. Sukarno himself as the first President of Indonesia, regarded the formation of the Federation of Malaysia as a Neo Colonialism project and as a British puppet state in Southeast Asia. -
: Vostok 6 was launched
Valetina Tereshkova becoming the first woman in space.
June 20: the United States agrees to set up a hotline with the USSR, thus making direct communication possible. -
JFK Assassination
JF Kennedy was assassinated while on a visit to Dallas. Lee Harvey Oswald was arrested for the murder but there has always been speculation that he was not a lone killer and that there may have been communist or CIA complicity. -
the Arab-dominated government of Zanzibar Sultanate is overthrown by John Okello
establishing the new people's republic. The new regime orders a massacre against minorities, -
USSR
Nikita Krushchev removed from office. He was replaced by Leonid Brezhnev. -
China tests its first atomic bomb.
China the world's fifth nuclear power. -
Dominican Civil War:
Forces loyal to former President Juan Bosch overthrow current leader Donald Reid Cabral. -
Vietnam War
150,000 US troops sent to Vietnam. -
Rhodesia declares its independence
which was regarded as an illegal proclamation by British Prime Minister Harold Wilson. Rhodesia was never formally recognised by any country but receives support from neighboring Portuguese Mozambique and the South African apartheid regime in their war against African guerrillas that determined to oust the white government. -
Venera 3
the first man-made object to impact another planet -
the Jakarta Accord
signed by the Indonesian Foreign Minister Adam Malik and Malaysian Deputy Prime Minister Tunku Abdul Razak ending the hostility between Indonesia and Malaysia. -
ow-level armed clashes
Korean DMZ between North Korea and South Korea backed by the United States.