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US Creates and Tests the First Hydrogen Bomb
The United States tested the hydrogen bomb which was the world’s first thermonuclear weapon. This Hydrogen Bomb was about 100 times more powerful than any other nuclear device. In 1949, the Soviets had a successful detonation of an atomic weapon, so the US had to take it a step further and create this new bomb. Unfortunately, it just made the nuclear arms race escalate and the Soviets ended up making a thermonuclear device within the next year. J Robert Oppenheimer opposed the making of this ... -
U-2 Plane Controversy
In May 1960, the USSR shot down an American U-2 Spy Plane and captured its pilot, Francis Gary Powers. This forced President Eisenhower to confess that the US was spying on the Soviets for many years which raised tensions between them. Powers was spying on the Soviets to try to find their military plans. The Soviets then sentenced Powers to 10 years in prison, but less than 2 years later, he was traded for a captured soviet agent in the US engaging in a ”spy swap”. Although he had a small need.. -
Bay of Pigs
The Bay of Pigs is a bay on the southern coast of Cuba. The US had former strong ties with Cuba, but the Castro Regime destroyed it by becoming close with the Soviet Union. In March 1960, President Eisenhower told the CIA to start developing a plan to invade Cuba and overthrow his regime. After Kennedy’s election in November the same year, he learned about the plan and gave his consent. After 2 days of the invasion, Cuban armed forces defeated the United States (Brigade 2506)... -
The Berlin Wall Goes Up
East Germany begins construction on the Berlin Wall, a wall that will separate East and West Berlin. The original purpose of this wall is to keep Western fascists from entering East Germany, but it mostly just kept East and West Berlin citizens from crossing the border. The Berlin wall was taken down on November 9th, 1989 because East Germany approved of citizens crossing the border. That night, some people crossed easily and others were chipping away at the wall. The Berlin wall is now one... -
US Sends a Man to the Moon
American Astronaut Neil Armstrong travels 240,000 miles from Earth and became the first human to walk the moon. President Kennedy held a meeting with congress 8 years before to help develop his plan to send and return a man safely to and from the moon. At this time, the Soviet Union was ahead in space developments. On January 27th, 1967, a fire broke out in the Kennedy Space Center in Florida and 3 astronauts were killed. On July 16th, Apollo 11 took off. On July 20th at 1:46pm, the Eagle... -
1980 Olympic Hockey Game
This Hockey Game against the Soviet Union won the No. 1 Sports Moment of the 20th Century and was called the “Miracle on Ice”. The soviets were the most likely to win. After the first period, they were tied 2-2. In the 2nd quarter the Soviets were leading 3-2, but in the 3rd, the US came back scoring 2 more points. The US won 4-2 and then ended up beating Finland to bring home the gold medal. It was called the “Miracle on Ice” because it was the best international ice hockey story for the...
