-
When did WW2 end?
World War 2 ended with the surrender of the Axis Power.
http://www.primaryhomeworkhelp.co.uk/war/end.html
http://www.whenguide.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/04/World-War-2.jpg -
United Nations
The representative of 50 countries met in San Francisco at the United Nations Conference on International Organization to draw the United Nations Charter. The proposals were worked out by the Representatives of China, the Soviet Union, the United Kingdom and the United States
http://www.un.org/en/sections/history/history-united-nations/ -
Churchill's Iron Curtain Speech
This was one of the most famous orientations of the Cold War, former British Prime Minister Winston Churchill disagrees with the Soviet Union’s policies in Europe and declares, “From Stettin in the Baltic to Trieste in the Adriatic, an iron curtain has descended across the continent.”
http://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/churchill-delivers-iron-curtain-speech
http://www.westminster-mo.edu/explore/history-traditions/PublishingImages/About-Us-Churchills-Speech.jpg -
Truman Doctrine
President Harry S. Truman established that the United States would provide political, military and economic assistance to all democratic nations under threat from external or internal forces.
https://history.state.gov/milestones/1945-1952/truman-doctrine
http://whenintime.com/EventDetails.aspx?e=3eefb74b-3829-4c8a-bcc6-042675f7b33b&t=/tl/King2481/Cold_War/ -
Marshall Plan
The Marshall Plan (officially the European Recovery Program, ERP) was an American initiative to aid Western Europe, in which the United States gave $13 billion (approximately $130 billion in current dollar value as of March 2016) in economic support to help rebuild Western European economies after the end of World War 2.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marshall_Plan
http://marshallfoundation.org/marshall/wp-content/uploads/sites/22/2014/06/marshallplanhistory2.jpg -
Berlin Airlift
Instead of withdrawing from West Berlin, however, the U.S. and its allies decided to supply their sectors of the city from the air. This effort, known as the “Berlin Airlift,” lasted for more than a year and carried more than 2.3 million tons of cargo into West Berlin.
http://www.history.com/topics/cold-war/berlin-airlift
https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/d/d8/C-54landingattemplehof.jpg -
NATO
The North Atlantic Treaty Organization was created by the United States, Canada, and several Western European nations to provide collective security against the Soviet Union.
https://history.state.gov/milestones/1945-1952/nato -
USSR's First Atomic Bomb Test
At a remote test site at Semipalatinsk in Kazakhstan, the USSR successfully detonates its first atomic bomb, name "First Lightning". In order to measure the effects of the blast, the Soviet scientists constructed buildings, bridges, and other civilian structures in the vicinity of the bomb. They also placed animals in cages so that they could test the effects of nuclear radiation on mammals.
http://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/soviets-explode-atomic-bomb -
China's Civil War
Chinese Communist leader Mao Zedong declared the creation of the People’s Republic of China (PRC). The announcement ended the costly full-scale civil war between the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) and the Nationalist Party, or Kuomintang (KMT), which broke out immediately following World War II and had been preceded by on and off conflict between the two sides since the 1920’s.
https://history.state.gov/milestones/1945-1952/chinese-rev -
Korean War
he Korean War began when some 75,000 soldiers from the North Korean People’s Army poured across the 38th parallel, the boundary between the Soviet-backed Democratic People’s Republic of Korea to the north and the pro-Western Republic of Korea to the south.
http://www.history.com/topics/korean-war
http://media-2.web.britannica.com/eb-media/39/550x390x151339-004-68FCF709.jpg.pagespeed.ic.pmnrGAFF-S.jpg -
H-Bomb
After the Soviet atomic bomb success, the idea of building a hydrogen bomb received new moves in the United States. In this type of bomb, deuterium and tritium (hydrogen isotopes) are fused into helium, thereby releasing energy. There is no limit on the yield of this weapon.
http://www.atomicarchive.com/History/coldwar/page04.shtml
http://blog.nuclearsecrecy.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/06/Ivy-Mike-cloud-470x500.jpg -
Dwight D. Eisenhower
Bringing to the Presidency his prestige as commanding general of the victorious forces in Europe during World War II, Dwight D. Eisenhower obtained a truce in Korea and worked incessantly during his two terms (1953-1961) to ease the tensions of the Cold War.
https://www.whitehouse.gov/1600/presidents/dwightdeisenhower -
Stalin's Death
To the great relief of many, he died of a massive heart attack on March 5, 1953. He is remembered to this day as the man who helped save his nation from Nazi domination—and as the mass murderer of the century, having overseen the deaths of between 8 million and 10 million of his own people.
http://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/joseph-stalin-dies
https://static-secure.guim.co.uk/sys-images/Guardian/Pix/pictures/2011/5/27/1306515131778/Stalin.jpg -
End of the Korean War
After three years of a bloody and frustrating war, the United States, the People’s Republic of China, North Korea, and South Korea agree to an armistice, bringing the Korean War to an end. The armistice ended America’s first experiment with the Cold War concept of “limited war.”
http://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/armistice-ends-the-korean-war
https://maddysagebiel.files.wordpress.com/2014/06/korean-war-ends-3a217bbf554bf103.gif -
Mutually Assured Destruction/MAD Plan
Mutual assured destruction, or MAD, is a doctrine of military strategy and national security policy in which a full-scale use of nuclear weapons by two or more opposing sides would cause the complete annihilation of both the attacker and the defender.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mutual_assured_destruction -
SEATO
The United States, France, Great Britain, New Zealand, Australia, the Philippines, Thailand and Pakistan formed the Southeast Asia Treaty Organization, or SEATO. The purpose of the organization was to prevent communism from gaining ground in the region. Although called the “Southeast Asia Treaty Organization,” only two Southeast Asian countries became members.
https://history.state.gov/milestones/1953-1960/seato -
Warsaw Pact
The Soviet Union, Albania, Poland, Romania, Hungary, East Germany, Czechoslovakia, and Bulgaria as members. The treaty called on the member states to come to the defense of any member attacked by an outside force and it set up a unified military command under Marshal Ivan S. Konev of the Soviet Union.
http://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/the-warsaw-pact-is-formed
http://pre00.deviantart.net/0f84/th/pre/i/2013/363/8/5/warsaw_pact___2000_by_atamolos-d6zzbzz.png -
Vietnam War
The Vietnam War was a long, costly armed conflict that pitted the communist regime of North Vietnam and its southern allies, known as the Viet Cong, against South Vietnam and its principal ally, the United States. The war began in 1954 , after the rise to power of Ho Chi Minh and his communist Viet Minh party in North Vietnam, and continued against the backdrop of an intense Cold War between two global superpowers.
http://www.history.com/topics/vietnam-war/vietnam-war-history -
Eisenhower Doctrine
A country could request American economic assistance or aid from U.S. military forces if it was being threatened by armed aggression from another state. “to secure and protect the territorial integrity and political independence of such nations, requesting such aid against overt armed aggression from any nation controlled by international communism.”
https://history.state.gov/milestones/1953-1960/eisenhower-doctrine -
Sputnik
The world’s first artificial satellite was about the size of a basketball, weighed only 183 pounds, and took about 98 minutes to orbit the Earth on its elliptical path. That launch ushered in new political, military, technological, and scientific developments. While the Sputnik launch was a single event, it marked the start of the space age and the U.S.-U.S.S.R space race.
http://www.coldwar.org/articles/50s/sputnik.asp
http://media.salon.com/2014/03/sputnik.jpg -
When did Fedel Castro take over Cuba?
During that time, Castro’s regime was successful in reducing illiteracy, stamping out racism and improving public health care, but was widely criticized for stifling economic and political freedoms. Castro’s Cuba also had a highly antagonistic relationship with the United States most notably resulting in the Bay of Pigs invasion and the Cuban Missile Crisis. 1959 is when he took over.
http://www.history.com/topics/cold-war/fidel-castro
http://adst.org/wp-content/uploads/2013/12/castro-1959.gif -
Francis Gary Powers
the pilot of an American U-2 spyplane was shot down while flying though Soviet airspace. The fallout over the incident resulted in the cancellation of the Paris Summit scheduled to discuss the ongoing situation in divided Germany, the possibility of an arms control or test ban treaty, and the relaxation of tensions between the USSR and the United States.
https://history.state.gov/milestones/1953-1960/u2-incident -
John F. Kennedy
John F. Kennedy (1917-1963) was the 35th president of the United States. Elected in 1960 at the age of 43, he became the youngest person ever to be voted into the White House. Kennedy served from 1961 until his assassination in November 1963.
http://www.shmoop.com/cuban-missile-crisis-detente/john-f-kennedy.html
http://www.historylink.org/db_images/ACF38.JPG -
Bay of Pigs
the CIA launched what its leaders believed would be the definitive strike: a full-scale invasion of Cuba by 1,400 American-trained Cubans who had fled their homes when Castro took over. However, the invasion did not go well: The invaders were badly outnumbered by Castro’s troops, and they surrendered after less than 24 hours of fighting.
http://www.history.com/topics/cold-war/bay-of-pigs-invasion
http://bowienewsonline.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/04/bay_of_pigs.jpg -
Berlin Wall
the Communist government of the German Democratic Republic (GDR, or East Germany) began to build a barbed wire and concrete “Antifascistischer Schutzwall,” or “antifascist bulwark,” between East and West Berlin. The official purpose of this Berlin Wall was to keep Western “fascists” from entering East Germany and undermining the socialist state, but it primarily served the objective of stemming mass defections from East to West.
http://www.history.com/topics/cold-war/berlin-wall -
Cuban Missile Crisis
In a TV address on October 22, 1962, President John Kennedy notified Americans about the presence of the missiles, explained his decision to enact a naval blockade around Cuba and made it clear the U.S. was prepared to use military force if necessary to neutralize this perceived threat to national security.
http://www.history.com/topics/cold-war/cuban-missile-crisis
http://cdn.history.com/sites/2/2013/12/distances-of-major-cities-from-cuba.jpg -
Cuban Missile Crisis
In a TV address on October 22, 1962, President John Kennedy (1917-63) notified Americans about the presence of the missiles, explained his decision to enact a naval blockade around Cuba and made it clear the U.S. was prepared to use military force if necessary to neutralize this perceived threat to national security.
http://www.history.com/topics/cold-war/cuban-missile-crisis -
When was JFK shot and killed?
JFK was shot shortly after noon on November 22, 1963, President John F. Kennedy was assassinated as he rode in a motorcade through Dealey Plaza in downtown Dallas, Texas.
http://www.jfklibrary.org/JFK/JFK-in-History/November-22-1963-Death-of-the-President.aspx -
Lyndon Johnson
Johnson, a Texan who had served in both the U.S. House of Representatives and the U.S. Senate, launched an ambitious slate of progressive reforms aimed at alleviating poverty and creating what he called a “Great Society” for all Americans.
http://www.history.com/topics/us-presidents/lyndon-b-johnson
http://cdn.history.com/sites/2/2013/11/Lyndon_B_Johnson-AB.jpeg -
Richard Nixon
Nixon is best remembered as the only president ever to resign from office. Nixon stepped down in 1974, halfway through his second term, rather than face impeachment over his efforts to cover up illegal activities by members of his administration in the Watergate scandal.
http://www.history.com/topics/us-presidents/richard-m-nixon
https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/3/39/Richard_M._Nixon,_ca._1935_-_1982_-_NARA_-_530679.jpg -
NASA's First Moon Landing
At 10:56 p.m. EDT, American astronaut Neil Armstrong, 240,000 miles from Earth, speaks these words to more than a billion people listening at home: “That’s one small step for man, one giant leap for mankind.” Stepping off the lunar landing module Eagle, Armstrong became the first human to walk on the surface of the moon.
http://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/armstrong-walks-on-moon -
SALT- First Strategic Plan Limitations Treaty
Johnson therefore called for strategic arms limitations talks (SALT), and in 1967, he and Soviet Premier Alexei Kosygin met at Glassboro State College in New Jersey. Johnson said they must gain “control of the ABM race,” and Secretary of Defense Robert McNamara argued that the more each reacted to the other’s escalation, the more they had chosen “an insane road to follow.”
https://history.state.gov/milestones/1969-1976/salt -
Gerald Ford
Ford became the first unelected president in the nation’s history. A longtime Republican congressman from Michigan, Ford had been appointed vice president less than a year earlier by President Nixon. He is credited with helping to restore public confidence in government after the disillusionment of the Watergate era.
http://www.history.com/topics/us-presidents/gerald-r-ford
https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/4/44/Gerald_Ford_(portrait).jpg -
Jimmy Carter
Jimmy Carter struggled to respond to formidable challenges, including a major energy crisis as well as high inflation and unemployment. In the foreign affairs arena, he reopened U.S. relations with China and made headway with efforts to broker peace in the historic Arab-Israeli conflict, but was damaged late in his term by a hostage crisis in Iran.
http://www.history.com/topics/us-presidents/jimmy-carter
https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/5/5a/JimmyCarterPortrait2.jpg -
Soviets Invade Afghanistan
The Soviet Union sent thousands of troops into Afghanistan and immediately assumed complete military and political control of Kabul and large portions of the country. This event began a brutal, decade-long attempt by Moscow to subdue the Afghan civil war and maintain a friendly and socialist government on its border.
https://history.state.gov/milestones/1977-1980/soviet-invasion-afghanistan -
Miracle On Ice
The U.S. hockey team played against the Soviet Union in the medal round of the Olympics. Few expected the American squad to challenge the defending champion Russians, they made three successive comebacks and pulled off an astonishing 4-3 victory. Led by coach Herb Brooks, the underdog Americans went on to triumph in their final game, sealing one of the most unlikely gold medal runs in Olympic history.
http://www.history.com/news/the-miracle-on-ice-35-years-ago -
U.S. Boycott of the Summer Olympics
President Jimmy Carter announces that the U.S. will boycott the Olympic Games scheduled to take place in Moscow that summer. The announcement came after the Soviet Union failed to comply with Carter’s February 20, 1980, deadline to withdraw its troops from Afghanistan.
http://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/carter-announces-olympic-boycott
http://adst.org/wp-content/uploads/2014/02/olympics-boycott-200x300.jpg -
Ronald Reagan
A former actor and California governor, served as the 40th U.S. president from 1981 to 1989. Raised in small-town Illinois, he became a Hollywood actor in his 20s and later served as the Republican governor of California from 1967 to 1975. Dubbed the Great Communicator, the affable Reagan became a popular two-term president.
http://www.history.com/topics/us-presidents/ronald-reagan
https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/1/16/Official_Portrait_of_President_Reagan_1981.jpg -
STAR WARS- Strategic Defense Initiative
The intent of this program was to develop a sophisticated anti-ballistic missile system in order to prevent missile attacks from other countries, specifically the Soviet Union. With the tension of the Cold War looming overhead, the Strategic Defense Initiative was the United States’ response to possible nuclear attacks from afar.
http://www.coldwar.org/articles/80s/SDI-StarWars.asp
http://www.globalsecurity.org/space/systems/images/sdi-image01.jpg -
When did Gorbachev come to power?
Soviet official, the general secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union (CPSU) from 1985 to 1991 and president of the Soviet Union in 1990–91. His efforts to democratize his country’s
political system and decentralize its economy led to the downfall of communism and the breakup of the Soviet Union in 1991.
http://www.britannica.com/biography/Mikhail-Gorbachev
http://media-2.web.britannica.com/eb-media/75/x81675-004-1D38D5FE.jpg.pagespeed.ic.5ROZHiJM8E.jpg -
George Bush Sr.
In 1988, Bush defeated Democratic rival Michael Dukakis to win the White House. In office, he launched successful military operations against Panama and Iraq; however, his popularity at home was marred by an economic recession, and in 1992 he lost his bid for re-election to Bill Clinton. In 2000, Bush’s son and namesake was elected the 43rd U.S. president; he served until 2009.
http://www.history.com/topics/us-presidents/george-bush -
When did Soviets leave Afghanistan?
Despite having failed to implement a sympathetic regime in Afghanistan, in 1988 the Soviet Union signed an accord with the United States, Pakistan, and Afghanistan and agreed to withdraw its troops. The Soviet withdrawal was completed on Feb. 15, 1989, and Afghanistan returned to nonaligned status.
http://www.britannica.com/event/Soviet-invasion-of-Afghanistan -
Tiananmen Square
Nearly a million Chinese, mostly young students, crowded into central Beijing to protest for greater democracy. Chinese troops storm through Tiananmen Square in the center of Beijing, killing and arresting thousands of pro-democracy protesters. The brutal Chinese government assault on the protesters shocked the West and brought denunciations and sanctions from the United States.
http://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/tiananmen-square-massacre-takes-place -
Berlin Wall Falls
The spokesman for East Berlin’s Communist Party announced a change in his city’s relations with the West. Starting at midnight that day, he said, citizens of the GDR were free to cross the country’s borders. East and West Berliners flocked to the wall, drinking beer and champagne and chanting “Tor auf!” (“Open the gate!”). At midnight, they flooded through the checkpoints. More than 2 million people attended the celebration.
http://www.history.com/topics/cold-war/berlin-wall -
Collapse of the Soviet Union
Representatives from 11 Soviet republics (Ukraine, the Russian Federation, Belarus, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Moldova, Turkmenistan, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan) met in the Kazakh city of Alma-Ata and announced that they would no longer be part of the Soviet Union. Instead, they established a Commonwealth of Independent States.
http://www.history.com/topics/cold-war/fall-of-soviet-union
http://mrwigginshistoryclass.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/04/end-of-the-ussr.png -
Boris Yeltsin
Though a Communist Party member for much of his life, he eventually came to believe in both democratic and free market reforms, and played an instrumental role in the collapse of the Soviet Union. Yeltsin won two presidential elections, the first of which occurred while Russia was still a Soviet republic.
http://www.history.com/topics/boris-yeltsin
https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/d/dc/Boris_Yeltsin-2.jpg
.jpg){kind=link}
