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Nuclear arms begins
Nuclear BombThe Nuclear Arms Race was during The Cold War, right at the end of World War II. It was a race between the United States and the Soviet Union, it was a race to have better weapons than each other. The United States started out on top being the only one with nuclear power but in 1949 the Soviet Union also got nuclear weapons. Four years later both sides had the more powerful, hydrogen bomb. However, if either side used their threats both sides would have complete destruction. -
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The War in Korea part 1
The old Korean borderJapan conquered Korea at the beginning of the twentieth century while it was still an independent kingdom. When World War II came to its end, American and Soviet forces decided to temporarily split Korea on the 38th parallel of latitude. The leader of North Korea, Kim Il Sung, decided to become an ally of the Soviets while South Korea’s dictatorial leader, Syngman Rhee, sided with the US . North Korea called for the reunification of Korea (“heroic struggle”) and invaded South Korea. -
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The War in Korea part 2
They overran most of the south when the United Nations decided to act. UN troops arrive to help South Korea. They were not able to push back the North Koreans, though, until they stopped the advance in August on what is known as the Pusan Perimeter.UN troops were able to land behind enemy lines and cut off supplies for the North Koreans.They surrendered soon afterwards. Pushed them back up to the Yalu river. -
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The War in Korea part 3
China sends troops to help out the North Korean troops and manages to push South Korea back to the 38th parallel. This then turned into a stalemate where neither side can push forward.Both sides signed a armistice to end the fighting. almost 2 million troops stayed on either side of the demilitarized zone, an area with no military forces on it, and remained their till this very day. -
The NATO is formed
The United States, Canada, and many other countries got together to form the North Atlantic Treaty Organization. NATO was countries that pledged to help each other if one was attacked. -
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The Chinese Civil War part 1
Communist Control in ChinaMao Zedong led communist forces in a civil war against nationalists ending in a victory for Zedong. Mao set up The Peoples Republic of China, China was finally under communist control. People hoped that communism would build a new China and would end foreign domination and supported Mao. One after another nationalist held cities fell, Mao’s People’s Liberation Army was victorious. Mao Zedong built a one party totalitarian state. -
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The Chinese Civil War part 2
To boost agriculture Mao called for collectivization in an effort to increase productivity, later Mao Zedong led a program known as The Great Lead Forward. He wanted people to put superhuman effort on increasing farm and industrial out put. However, The Great Leap Forward failed and China took a long time to recover. Then Mao launched The Cultural Revolution, its goal was to purge China of bourgeois tendencies. Red Guards attacked all those who they considered bourgeois. -
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The Cuban Revolution
Cuban Map.Fidel Castro orginized an army so that they could fight against the dictator. By 1959, they were finally successful and Castro became the new leader. Castro wanted support from the Soviet Union so he restricted political freedom and put most of the land under the government. In 1961, John F. Kennedy supported an invasion into the new communist regime. This invasion, known as the Bay of Pigs Invasion, was a failure and many of the US-trained Cubans exiles were captured. -
Vietnam is Divided
In an international conference western and communist powers agreed to temporary divide Vietnam. Ho’s communists controlled North Vietnam. South Vietnam supported by the US was led by Ngo Ding Diem who ran a non-communist government. US supported the south scared that the domino theory would happen and communism would keep spreading. At first they only provided supplies and military advisers, later sending thousands of troops. -
The Warsaw Pact is Made
To get back the Soviet Union formed their own alliance with seven fellow communist countries in Eastern Europe called the Warsaw Pact. But unlike NATO, the Soviet Union was clearly in charge and the leader over the other countries. The Warsaw Pact divided Europe into “eastern” and “western” blocs. The east was Soviet-dominated countries that were basically dictated by the Soviet Union. The west was led by the United States. -
The Berlin Wall
After WWII, Berlin was divided into two pieces, democratic West Berlin and communist East Berlin. Low-paid people in East Berlin became unhappy with communism and in a massive exodus fled to West Berlin. However, to stop the exodus, East Germany built a wall that sealed off West Berlin from the fleeing people wishing to live better. The massive barrier topped with barbed wire was patrolled by guards and was strong enough to stop a tank. The Berlin Wall went through four generations of changes. -
Cuban Missile Crisis
The Soviet Union sent over many nuclear missiles to Cuba which angered President Kennedy. He set up a naval blockade around Cuba to prevent any more missiles from being sent to the communist country and demanded that the Soviets remove the missiles right away. For a few days, the whole world tensed knowing that this could be the start of a nuclear war. Thankfully, though, the Soviets agreed and a nuclear war was averted. -
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The Start of the Vietnam War
The MaddoxSouth Vietnamese commandos conducted raids on North Vietnamese islands in the Gulf of Tonkin. North Vietnam attacked a U.S. Navy Destroyer; the Maddox. They had mistakenly believed it had assisted the South Vietnamese raids.The Maddox thought they were being attacked again, however it seems as though it was their sonar and radar equipment were malfunctioning because of heavy seas. -
The Resolution
Gulf of Tonkin Resolution was passed by congress, thinking that the attacks were unprovoked. This authorized the President to take all necessary measures to prevent further aggression in Southeast Asia. We then bombed targets in North Vietnam. -
Attack on New Year's Day
North Vietnam guerrilla armies emerged from jungles attacked American, and South Vietnamese troops in cities all across the south. It happened during Tet, the Vietnamese New Year making it very unexpected. Communists lost their best troops, and didn’t hold any cities against American counterattacks. The Tet Offensive was the turning point in the United States. -
Hungary goes for a Reform
While the Soviets dealt with Czechoslovakia defiance, Hungary quietly introduced economic reforms. Since Hungary remained loyal to communism and the Warsaw pact, they were allowed to go ahead with the reforms. These new reforms helped expand its market economy throughout the 1970’s. -
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The Era of Detente
Map of AlliesThe United States and the Soviet Union began Strategic Arms Limitation Talks to limit the amount of nuclear bombs held by each side. More agreements had yet to come to only led to an era in detente. This caused a relaxation of tension in the 1970’s. The era of detente ended in 1979 because the Soviet Union invaded Afghanistan. -
US Leaves Vietnam
President Nixon negotiated the Paris Peace Accord to get troops out of Vietnam. North Vietnam conquered South Vietnam, renaming the capital Saigon, Ho Chi Minh City in 1976. -
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Soviets Invade Afghanistan part 1
The MujahedinSoviets went to war with Afghanistan that lasted for almost ten years. The Soviets have tried to modernize Afghanistan and turn it completely communist but warlords took up arms against this new government. . When the Soviets saw this, their troops moved in for an attack. Fighting the mujahedin, though, proved to be just as hard as the Americans fighting the Vietnamese. Later on in the war, the American government began smuggling modern weapons to Afghanistan for the mujahedin. -
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Soviets Invade Afghanistan part 2
Even before the Americans smuggled weapons for the mujahedin, the Soviets suffered many casualties and, just like the Vietnam War, many Soviets were opposed to this war. They eventually retreated from Afghanistan in 1989. -
Poland Demands a Change
Many of Poland’s shipyard workers began to strike when economic hardships hit. Led by Lech Walesa, the formed the Solidarity, an independent labor union. They got over a million members and demanded for an economic change as well as political changes. The Polish government, under pressure from the Soviets, outlawed the Solidarity and arrested all of its leaders but that did not stop the unrest. Walesa was later released from prison and became a national hero. -
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Communism Falls
Eastern EuropeWhen the Soviets said they would no longer interfere with East Europe reforms, many of the communist governments began to collapse. By 1989, a democracy movement went throughout Eastern Europe. Czechoslovakia and Poland elected a new president. In East Germany, the Berlin Wall was finally opened to West Germany which will lead to the reunification of Germany. Since the beginning of World War II, Eastern European countries were finally free. They dissolved the Warsaw Pact in 1991 and requested th -
Soviet Union Loses Control
Mikhail Gorbachev came to power of the Soviet Union was eager to bring about reforms. He signed arms control treaties with the US, along with pulling Soviet troops out of Afghanistan. He called for glasnost (openess) at home, ending censorship, urging people to discuss the country’s problems. Urged reconstruction of the government and economy, reducing the size of the bureaucracy and backed limited private enterprises. This caused economic turmoil and it spiraled out of control. -
East Germans Run to the West
East Germany banned Soviet publications. Many knew of all the freedom Wet Germany was getting and was anxious to escape to West Germany. When Hungary reopened is borders with Austria, many East Germans fled through the two countries while others demanded change. -
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Hungarians Speak Out
Hungary MapThroughout the 1980’s, Hungarians began to criticize the communist government more openly than before. Then, under the pressure of the public, the government granted greater freedoms and new political parties formed. -
Soviet Union Splits
Bulgaria, and Poland broke out of the Soviet orbit. Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania regained indepedence from the Soviet Union. People tried to overthrow Gorbachev, but failed. The remaining soviet republics separated into 12 independent nations, Russia being the largest. After 69 years the Soviet Union no longer existed. -
Czechoslovakia Splits
When Nazi Germany lost World War II, Czechoslovakia was reunited by communist control. When the Communists began losing power in 1989, many Slovaks demanded for independence. When 1992 came, Slovaks and the Czechs agreed to divide Czechoslovakia peacefully and formed the new nations of Slovakia and the Czech Republic.
