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Arms Race
Competition between the various countries involved in the Cold War. Each wanted to have the most weapons and also the most powerful ones. -
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Yalta Conference
Roosevelt, Churchill, and Stalin met in the city of Yalta in the Soviet Union to plan the defeat of Germany and discuss the plan for the postwar world. -
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H.U.A.C.
The House of Un-American Activities Committee investigated allegations of communist activity in the U.S. during the Cold War. -
Iron Curtain Speech
Winston Churchill publicly chastised the Soviet Union in this speech, which is considered to have announced the beginning of the Cold War. -
Truman Doctrine
Truman announced his plan to provide $400 million in aid to Greece and Turkey. -
Marshall Plan
This plan aimed to support the recovery and economic restoration of Europe. The US would support any plan Europe created for their restoration after WW II. -
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Berlin Airlift
British and American military aircrafts delivered supplies to West Germany. -
NATO
Organization formed by Canada, the US, Europe, and the UK in order to provide mutual military assistance during an attack on any member. -
Alger Hiss trial began
Alger Hiss was accused of perjury and being a Soviet spy. -
Soviet Detonation of Atomic Bomb
First atomic bomb detonated by Soviets at a test site in Kazakhstan, for research purposes. -
Chinese Communist Revolution
The final stage of military conflic in the Chinese Civil War, which lead to the rule of the Communist party in China. -
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McCarthysim/Red Scare
Many Americans, particularly government officials, were accused of being Communists and placed on a "Blacklist". -
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Korean War
North Korea fought against South Korea. China, the US, and the UN also got involved to provide aid to the two sides. -
Rosenberg Spy Case
The trial of Julius and Ethel Rosenberg began. They faced charges of giving classified military information regarding atomic weapons to the Soviet Union. -
H Bomb
The US detonated it's first hydrogen bomb on an island in the Pacific ocean. -
Stalin's Death
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Dien Bien Phu
A battle between French and Viet Minh forces for the control of a small mountain outpost on the Vietnamese border. -
Domino Theory
Announced by Eisenhower during a news conference, it is the theory that a political event in one country will cause similar events in neighboring countries, like a falling domino causing an entire row of upended dominoes to fall. -
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Guatemalan Coup
The CIA sponsored a mission (codnamed “PB Success”) to overthrow Jacobo Arbenz Guzman, the Guatemalan president at the time. -
Warsaw Pact
A treaty of mutual defense and military aid signed by communist states of Europe under Soviet influence. -
Khrushchev's Secret Speech
In the speech, Khrushchev pointed out examples of how Stalin abused his power and critcized various things he did while in power. -
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Space Race
The US and the Soviet Union competed to create more and better weapons and space crafts. -
Sputnik
The first artificial satellite to orbit Earth, launched by the Soviets. . -
Neutron Bomb
The neutron bomb was invented by physicist Samuel T. Cohen. -
U-2 Spy Plane Affair
A CIA plane on a secret mission flying through Russia and photographing denied territory, was shot down by a Soviet air missile. -
Bay of Pigs
The first attack of an attempt by Cuban exiles, with support of the US, to overthrow Cuban dictator Fidel Castro’s government. -
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Berlin Wall
A fortified wall that divided East and West Berlin, in order to keep citizens from traveling back and forth. -
Cuban Missile Crisis
A photograph taken from an American spy plane revealed that missile bases were being built on Cuban soil by the Soviets. The US demanded the missiles be removed, or we would attack, leading to lasting tension between the two countries. -
U.S.S Scorpion
Sinking of a US nuclear submarine, due to torpedo malfunction. -
Hotline
After the Cuban Missile Crisis was over, the Soviet Union and the United States decided to create a communication link between Moscow and Washington, to reduce the risk of war due to miscommunication. -
Nuclear Test Ban Treaty
An agreement between the United States, the United Kingdom, and the Soviet Union, to ban all tests of nuclear weapons, except those conducted underground. -
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Leonid Brezhnev
General Secretary of the Central Committee of the Communist Party in the Soviet Union. -
Indonesian Coup
Anti-communist coup that lead to the overthrow of Indonesian President Bung Sukarno. -
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Six Day War
Israel fought against the collaborated forces of Jordan, Syria, and Egypt. -
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Vietnam War
War between the Communist forces of North Vietnam supported by China and the Soviet Union and the non-Communist forces of South Vietnam supported by the United States. -
Gulf of Tonkin Resolution
After North Vietnamese torpedo boats attacked US fleets, the US Congress created this resolution as an effort to prevent any further aggression towards the US. -
U.S.S Liberty
While patroling the Eastern Mediterranean Sea, this US navy ship was attacked by Israeli naval forces. -
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Tet Offensive
A series of attacks made by the combined forces of the Vietcong and North Vietnamese troops, on town and cities throughout Vietnam -
Prague Spring Rebellion
The Soviet Union invaded and took over Czechoslovakia. Over 100 people were killed during the invasion. -
Brezhnev Doctrine
Affirmed the right of the Soviet Union to intervene in the affairs of Communist countries, in order to strengthen Communism. -
Vietnamization
President Richard Nixon introduced this plan to encourage the South Vietnamese to put more effort into fighting the war, in hopes that we could gradually withdraw all our soldiers from Vietnam. -
SALT
The US and the Soviet Union agreement regarding the limitation of strategic ballistic missiles and rules for conducting nuclear warfare. -
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Khmer Rouge
Name given to the Communist Party of Kampuchea, who ruled Cambodia from 1975 to 1999. -
Helsinki Accords
Established the borders of Europe to be the same as they had been at the end of World War II. -
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Fidel Castro
Prime minister of Cuba during the Cold War. -
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Afghanistan War
War between the Soviets and the Islamic tribes of Afghanistan, who opposed the Communist government the Soviets had set up. -
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Ronald Reagan
40th president of the United States. -
SDI (Star Wars)
US government program with the goal of providing a space based system to defend from attack by strategic ballistic missiles. -
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Gorbachev
General Secretary of the Soviet Union. -
John Walker
Arrested and convicted of spying for the Soviet Union. -
INF Treaty
Treaty between the US and the Soviet Union, on the elimination of their intermediate range and shorter range missiles. -
German Reunification
East and West Germany joined together, and Berlin was reunited into a single city.