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Events during the Cold War
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West Germany Joins NATO
After Germany was defeated in WW2, it had been divided ever since. The country was sectioned into 4 parts controlled by the U.S., Britain, France, and the Soviet Union. While the first three wanted the same thing for their zones, the Soviets wanted theirs to join communism. This lead to the forming of NATO, which led to the Warsaw Pact, then finally a Communistic E. Germany and free W. Germany. W.Germany joining NATO made the country a defense system in Europe and symbolized a reunited Germany. -
The Warsaw Pact
When NATO was formed in 1949, the strongest nations joined together to prevent the spread of communism from the Soviet Union. As a response, in May of 1955, the Soviet Union and its European allies joined together to form the Warsaw Pact. Known as the "Treaty of Friendship,Cooperation, and Mutual assisstance", it was a military treaty that put the Soviet Union in charge and command of all its members' military. The pact dismembered in 1991. -
Development of ICBMs
The idea of the Intercontiental Ballistic Missile origianted towards the end of WW2 by German scientists. ICBMs were WMDs that could travel long distances and do devastating damage. With their success of the V-2 program, other countries wanted in. During the Cold War,the ICBM became a weapon apart of the arms race between the U.S. and USSR. In September 1955, President Eisenhower declared the development of the ICBM a high national priority. The Atlas and the Titan were the first of the U.S. -
Outbreak of the Vietnam War
The longest military conflict in American history, the Vietnam War's purpose was to prevent the spread of communism at home and abroad. The U.S. had sent financial and military aid to S. Vietnam, who was at risk of being seiged by Communist N. Vietnam. Increased casualties of troops and Vietnam civilians caused protest to the war here at home. The U.S. retreated in 1973, resulting in 58,000 American lives lost. Two years later, S. Vietnam was captured by N. Vietnam. -
Civil Rights Movement 1955-1968
The Civil Rights Movement was a movement that was mostly aimed to eradicate racial dicrimination against African Americans in Southern U.S. The leaders of the movement, being Martin Luther King Jr. and Rosa Parks and others, wanted to get equal rights for African Americans and get the right to vote in the South. Boycotts, sit-ins, and marched were forms of protest used in the movement. The movement achieved its primary goal with the singing of the Civil Rights Act in 1968 by Pres. L.B. Johnson. -
Joseph McCarthy Dies
Born in 1908, McCarthy became Senator of Wisconsin in 1947. During the Cold War, when the second Red Scare spread across America, he began a search for Communists within the U.S. government. In the end, his list of people totaled 205 people. But in 1954, when he targeted the Armed Forces for suspects, his career faced a devastating blow. He died three years later in 1957. -
The Space Race
The Space Race was another battle in the Cold War. It was a race between the U.S. and USSR to see whom would dominate space exploration before the other. The Space Race became very popular amongst citizens of both countries. The USSR seemed to be winning with their launching of Sputnik I in 1957, but the U.S. is believed to win with the moon landing in 1969. -
Report Calls for More U.S. Missiles and Fallout Shelters
A special committee was called by Pres. Eisenhower to discuss America's status in the Cold War. The meeting revealed that the U.S. was falling behind in the production of missiles. H.R Gaither, chairman of the Ford Foundation, urged an increase of military budget focusing on missile production, which was passed, and a $30 billion program to built fallout shelters for Americans. The issue dragged on all the way into JFK's presidency. -
Fidel Castro becomes President of Cuba
Fidel Castro was born in Cuba in 1926. He had grown up to be a lawyer, but due to lack of income, he started to resent successful American businessmen who seemed to control Cuba. He joined the Cuban People's Party in 1947, and soon became a good leader. Castro began overthrowing the country's leaders, and eventually became president in 1976 and promised his people a revolution. Breaking his promise, he made his country the first communist nation in the western hemisphere. -
U.S - Soviet Summit Meeting Falls Apart
On May 1, 1960 the Soviet military shot down a plane suspected of carrying a spy from the U.S., which it did. Later that month, at a summit meeting in Paris, Nikita Khruschev lashed out on Pres. Eisenohower about the situation. He highly insulted the U.S. and dismissed Eisenhower from a planned trip to Russia in June. This incident put a hold on peaceful negotiations between the U.S. and the Soviet Union.
