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Yalta Conference
The Big Three, Roosevelt, Churchill and Stalin, met in Yalta to discuss postwar Europe. They agreed on free election in Poland, Bulgaria, and Romania. They also discussed that the USSR would attack Japan within 3 months of Germany’s surrender in exchange for control on Manchurian railroads and access to key seaports. -
Potsdam Conference
The Big Three, Roosevelt, Churchill, and Stalin, met in Potsdam for their final wartime meeting. They discussed the future of Europe, but their failure to meet significant agreements, would led to the Cold War. -
Truman Doctrine
In the Truman Doctrine, President Truman promised to help any countries in danger of Communist takeover. The United States would aid any country resisting communism. -
Marshall Plan
The Marshall Plan had an idea that if the United States didn’t help re-build Europe, they will fall into communism. The United States gave $12.5 billion to 16 European countries. This helped Europe flourish and it squashed any chances of communism taking over. Stalin outright rejected this plan. -
Berlin Blockade
The Berlin Blockage was Russia’s response to the French, USA, and UK partitions of Berlin. Russia cut off all roads and rail link to that part. This resulted in Western Berlin to have no access to food supplies and faced starvation. Food had to be brought by U.S. and UK airplanes, which is known as the Berlin Airlift. -
North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO)
NATO consisted of several countries, such as Belgium, Canada, Denmark, France, Iceland, Italy, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Norway, Portugal, the United Kingdom, and the United States. This treaty stated that an attack on one country is an attack on all. This put Western Europe under U.S. protection. This would be a significant step into the Cold War for militarization. -
Beginning of the Korean War
Korea was divided by the 38th Parallel. The North was occupied by the USSR and the South was occupied by the U.S.. On June 5, 1950, the North invaded the South. In response, President Truman ordered a massive military buildup. The UN also labeled the North Koreans as the aggressors. -
End of the Korean War
President Eisenhower threatened to use nuclear weapons. This threat lead to an armistice being signed and the end of the Korean War. At the end, the North remained affiliated with Russia, while the South stayed affiliated with the U.S.. -
Battle of Dien Bien Phu
This was a nationalist movement to get rid of the French in Vietnam. The Vietnamese leader, Ho Chi Minh, grew more communist. With the victory of the nationalist in the Battle of Dien Bien Phu, a peace was called. Vietnam was split on the 17th parallel. Ho Chi Minh was given the north, while Ngo Dinh Diem, pro-Western government, was given the south. -
Warsaw Pact
This pact was formed with the members East Germany, Czechoslovakia, Poland, Hungary, Romania, Albania, Bulgaria, and the Soviet Union. This was a communist military to counterattack the NATO. -
Hungarian Revolution
In 1956, Hungary tried to rise up against Russia for independence. They tried to request help from the U.S., but was shot down. This resulted in them being slaughtered by the Russians. They fell to the Russians on November 10, 1956. -
Suez Crisis
The French and British attacked Egypt to regain control of the Suez Canal, which was nationalized by the Egyptians. The two countries were forced to retreat when the U.S. refused to supply them with oil. -
Bay of Pig Invasion
This was an attempt by the U.S. to overthrow the communist government of Fidel Castro in Cuba. This was a failed attempt. -
Cuban Missile Crisis
A U.S. spy discovered that the Soviet Union was secretly constructing nuclear missile bases in Cuba. President Kennedy set up a naval blockade and demanded the removal of the missiles. The Russians agreed on October 28, 1962. They would remove the weapons if the United States agreed to not invade Cuba. -
Vietnam War
In the mid of March, 1965, “Operation Rolling Thunder” had begun. This involved the bombing of Northern Vietnam. LBJ thought that an orderly escalation of American troops into Vietnam would defect the enemy. Pro-war hawks argued that if the United States were to leave Vietnam, other nations would doubt the U.S. and turn to communism. This war would become the longest and most unpopular foreign war in U.S. history. -
Vietnam War with Cambodia
President Nixon extended the war to Cambodia. Cambodia, even thought neutral, was used by the North Vietnamese as a place to hold troops, weapons, and supplies. On April 29, 1970, President Nixon ordered American troops to attack enemies in Cambodia. This caused a protest at Kent State University, which resulted in the National Guard shooting 4 students. On June 29, 1970, President Nixon removed troops from Cambodia. -
President Nixon Visits China
China and the Soviet Union had a disagreement over their interpretations of Marxism. Nixon and Kissinger, Nixon’s national security advisor, used the tension between China and the Soviet to play off one country against the other. They wanted to get the Soviet Union and China to put pressure on North Vietnam into peace. On February 21, 1972, President Nixon visits China to improve the relationship between the United States and Beijing. -
Nixon Visits Moscow
Nixon visit Moscow to negotiate détente or relax tension between the Soviet Union and China. This lead to several agreements that slow down the arms race between the U.S. and the Soviet Union. The first being the AMB, anti-ballistic missile, treaty, which limited the two to not cluster defensive missiles. The second agreement was the SALT, Strategic Arms Limitation Talks, which aimed to freeze the numbers of long-range nuclear missiles for five years. -
End of the Vietnam War
The North Vietnamese invades South Vietnam and the South quickly falls. This results in the South falling into Communist forces and the end of the war. On April 29. 1975, Americans evacuated Vietnam. This war cost America about $188 billion, with 56,00 deaths and 300,000 wounded. -
Iranian Hostage Crisis
A group of anti-American Muslim stormed into the U.S. embassy in Tehran and took hostages. They demanded the the U.S. return the exiled shah who had arrived in the U.S. two weeks earlier for cancer treatments. Carter tried to resolve this by first trying economic sanctions on Iran but that failed. He then tired a commando rescue mission, which also failed. The hostage will not be released until January 20, 1981, after 444 days of captivity. -
Soviets Invade Afghanistan
The Soviet Union invaded Afghanistan because they bordered Iran. This invasions posed a threat to America’s oil supplies. This invasion is the Soviet Union’s own version of Vietnam. -
Strategic Defense Initiative
Reagan’s strategy for dealing with the Soviet Union was to initiate a new arms race and outspend the Soviet. Reagan felt that the U.S. economy was better at supporting expensive arms race than the Soviet Union’s economy. On March 23, 1983, Reagan announced a missile-defense system called the Strategic Defense Initiative, SDI, also known as Star Wars. This plan called for orbiting battle satellites in space that would fire laser beams to shoot down intercontinental missiles. -
Intermediate Range Nuclear Forces Treaty
Reagan and Gorbachev signed the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty, which banned all intermediate-range nuclear missiles from Europe. -
Fall of the Berlin Wall
In December, 1989, the Berlin walled is destroyed. The two sides would later reunite in October, 1990. -
Fall of Communism in Eastern Europe
In 1989, several communist regime in Europe fell. These included Poland, Hungary, Czechoslovakia, East Germany, and Romania.
