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Berlin Airlift
The Berlin Airlift was a response to the Soviet blockade of Berlin starting in 1948. Several western allies flew thousands of flights into the city, delivering several thousand tons of supplies each day, eventually forcing the Soviets to end the blockade.
-Containment: the idea that the democratic nations would not allow communism to continue spreading around the world
Containment: goal of the western allies to prevent the spread of Communism around the world -
NATO Forms
NATO, or the North Atlantic Treaty Organization, was formed in response to the threat of Soviet aggression. Founded by twelve countries, its goal was to create an alliance that could help each other in the event that another member country came under attack. NATO proved successful in helping keep a large scale conflict in Europe from developing. Iron Curtain: The line that seperated the Democraric West and the Communist East during the cold war, first mentioned by WInston Churchill -
Korean War Starts
The Korean War was one of the first major conflicts within the Col War, when Communist North Korea invaded Democratic South Korea. China backed the north, while the US and UN backed the south. For three years, fighting raged on. By 1953, the fighting had ceased, but to this day no treaty has been signed and the two countries are still at war.
-Marshall Plan: An American initiative to give aid to countries in Europe to help them recover after WW2 in order to avoid them to turn to communism -
US H-bomb
The first detonation of a hydrogen bomb occurred on Enewetak, an atoll in the Pacific Ocean, This test, codenamed Ivy Mike was of a device not suited for warfare, and was only to prove that said device would be capable of the destructive effects they had calculate it to have.
-Sputnik: first satelite in space, launched by the USSR in 1957 which started te Sapce Race between the US and Russia -
Warsaw Pact Formed
The Warsaw Pact was created in response to West Germany's integration into NATO, and worked in a similar way, with the members being obligated to give aid in the evmnt that one country was to be attacked. This alliance lasted until February of 1991.
-Hydrogen bomb: type of bomb that relies on the nuclear fusion of hydrogen isotopes -
Soviets launch Sputnik
The USSR sent Sputnik, the first satellite, into space in late 1957, much to the dismay of the United States. This shocking devlopment in Soviet technology soon ended up starting the space race.
-Cold War: battle of ideologies and an arns race between the USA and USSR that lasted from the late 40's to the early 90's -
Berlin Wall
The Berlin Wall was constructed in 1961 and separated West and East Berlin. This was done to keep people from defecting into West Berlin, as it had relatively easy to do so before the construction of the wall. It was destroyed in 1989, as tensions winded down.
-detente: the easing of stressed relations between two countries -
Cuban Missile Crisis
US spyplanes had taken pictures of missile building sites in Cuba, where Soviets were stockpiling weapons capable of reaching US cities. JFK set up a blockade and negotiated a deal with Russia that helped avoid nuclear war.
-perestroika: process f reforming the Soviet government under Gorbachev -
SALT I agreement is signed
The SALT agreement, which stood for Strategic Arms Limting Talks, helped reduce the nuclear arsenal of both the US and USSR, helpig to ease tensions. SALT II would also be agreed upon, extending the provisions of the first talks.
-Saddam Hussein: 5th presidet of Iraq, serving for 24 years, executed by the US after the invasion of Iraq in 2003 -
Mikhail Gorbachev comes to power
Mikhail Gorbachev's rise to power was a turning point for the Soviet Union, focusing on reforms and a decrease in cold war tensions. He pushed for Glastnost as well as Perestroika, which helped the Soviet Union move towards a more democratic state.
-al Qaeda: terrorist organization founded by Osama bin Laden responsible for the 9/11 attacks, leading to the War on Terror -
Major arms control agreement is reached
The Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty was ratified in 1988, which led to an agreement to destroy all missiles wit ranges between 500 and 5,500 kilometers. This helped greatly reduce the threat of nuclear war as well as ease tensions even further between the US and USSR. -
Iron Curtain begins to crumble
Starting in 1989, several of the satellte nations began movig towards democracy and began movements demanding more freedoms. Though some of these were put down by Soviet forces, others proved successful, allowing several countries to become democratic. -
Soviet Union collapses
December 26th marked the official dissolution of the USSR. Gorbachev resigned the previous day and declared his position void, handing over all powers of the secretary general to president Boris Yeltsin. The Soviet flag was lowered from the Kremlin and replaced with the pre-revolution Russia flag. -
European Union established
The European Union was officially established with the Maastricht Treaty, and integrated 28 countries together into a politico-economic union, now being considered a potential superpower. -
Al Qaeda attacks the United States
On September 11th, 2001, several terrorists hijacked a total of four passenger planes, crashing them into the World Trade Center, the Pentagpn, and a field in Pennsylvania. This resulted in the loss of 2,996 people, and prompted the declaration of war on terrorism by president George W. Bush. -
US invades Iraq
Prompted by the Bush administrations testimony that there were weapons of mass destruction in Iraq, US forces led a coalition that swept into Iraq, overthrowing the dictatorship of Saddam Hussein. This would be the beginning of the Iraq War, which would last more than eight years.
