-
Russian Revolution (1917)
After Russia was losing WW1 due to being unprepared, Russian citizens overthrew the tsar and installed a democratic government in early 1917. Later in the year, a group called the Bolsheviks overthrew the democratic government and formed a communist government. This is significant because this new communist government was the first ever in the world, and it lasted nearly 80 years. -
Potsdam Conference
The Potsdam conference was a post WW2 meeting between the leaders of the U.K. the U.S. and the Soviet Union. This conference was significant because it made Germany's unconditional surrender official. -
Atomic Bomb - Hiroshima/Nagasaki
The bombings on Hiroshima (August 6, 1945) and Nagasaki (August 9, 1945) by the United States on Japan were so devastating, that it caused Japan to surrender unconditionally, even though the Japanese did not have a word for surrender in their language. There bombings were significant because they are the only atomic bombings in history, and it was arguably a big part of the upcoming Cold War. -
Iron Curtain
The iron curtain was a metaphor for a border between the western European countries controlled by the Allies, and the eastern European countries rules by the Soviet Union. This was significant because the Soviets had built a wall to separate west Berlin and east Berlin, and that wall became a symbol of the Cold War. -
Hollywood 10
Hollywood 10 was a name given to ten movie screenwriters and actors who publicly denounced the Un-American Activities Committee. This was significant because it kick started the anti communism movements and probes that occurred in the United States during the Cold War. -
Truman Doctrine
The Truman Doctrine was an American foreign policy announced on March 12, 1947 by President Truman which stated that the United States would provide economic support to the nations of Greece and Turkey in order to not lose them to communism. This event was significant because it caused the formation of NATO, which is still around today. -
Berlin Blockade and Airlift
During the multi-national occupation of post war Berlin in Germany, the USSR blocked off road and canal access to the city. The Allies then started to fly planes into Berlin, which the Soviets did not shoot down in order to avoid another war. This event was significant because the Soviets built the Berlin wall, and it became a symbol of the Cold War. -
Marshall Plan
The Marshall Plan was an American foreign policy in which the United States gave opver 12 billion dollars to aid in western Europe's post WW2 recovery. -
Soviet Bomb Test
Throughout WW2, the USSR had become suspicious that the western Allies had been developing a super weapon, which was made true when the Soviets put spies into American's Manhattan Project. This government project was significant because it became the baseline for many possible horrors of the Cold War that could've become reality if either the US or the USSR decided to use an atomic bomb on the other. -
NATO
North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) is an organization that was developed on April 4, 1949. The organization proposed that if any of it's twelve founding countries were attacked, the other would consider it an attack on all it's members. This is significant because it guaranteed an alliance between most of the major western allies in case of another war. -
Korean War
The Korean War was a conflict between North Korea, who was aided by China and the USSR, and South Korea, who was aided by the United Nations (mainly the United States). The war started on June 25, 1950 and ended on July 27, 1953 with neither side being a clear winner. This war is significant because it was the first indirect armed conflict between the United States and the Soviet Union during the Cold War. -
Khrushchev Takes Over
Nikita Khrushchev was the next Soviet Leader after the death of co-founder and long time leader Joseph Stalin. This is significant because it led to the most tense era of the Cold War which included the Cuban Missile Crisis. -
Eisenhower's Massive Retaliation Policy
President Truman's successor, Eisenhower, wanted to take a different approach to the early Cold War. A few years earlier, the Soviet Union had successfully tested it's first atomic bomb. To combat this major threat, President Eisenhower announced that if the Soviet Union detonated a nuclear weapon on US soil, America would retaliate with a full nuclear attack in retaliation. This is significant because it created the baseline that led to the term MAD (Mutually Assured Destruction). -
Army-McCarthy hearings
The Army-McCarthy hearings were a series of talks between the US army and senator McCarthy in which the US army accused McCarthy of blackmail. This is significant because this ruined McCarthy's time as chairman. -
Warsaw Pact
The Warsaw Pact was a counter to the west's NATO agreement. In the Warsaw Pact, seven countries in eastern Europe, inlcuding the USSR. This is significant because now the countries in NATO could not attack any communist country in eastern Europe, causing a standstill. -
Hungarian Revolution
The Hungarian Revolution of 1956 began as a student protest in which the students used a van with a speaker to project anti-communist propaganda in the capital. This led to the state police shooting a killing a student, causing major uprising's throughout the country. -
U2 Incident
The U2 incident occurred in 1960, where a US spy plane was shot down over the Soviet Union, and the pilot was captured, only to be released two years later. This is significant because it caused the United States and the Soviet Union to lose positive relations even more, prolonging the Cold War. -
Bay of Pigs Invasion
The Bay of Pigs invasion was a CIA mission where former Cuban refugees were trained to invade Cuba and take it over. This is significant because it was the USA's first attempt to take over Cuba from Fidel Castro. -
Berlin Wall
The Berlin wall was a literal wall that was constructed in Berlin, Germany to separate the eastern Communists from the western democracies in Berlin. This is significant because it became a symbol of the cold war. -
Cuban Missile Crisis
The Cuban Missile Crisis was an event where the USSR supplied nuclear missiles to Fidel Castro and Cuba. This is significant because it was the first real threat of nuclear weapons close to the US. -
Vietnam War
The Vietnam war was a war where the US tried to occupy Vietnam. This is important because it caused the US to lose it's first war.
