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The Russian Revolution
The Russian Revolution was the first successful communist revolution in the world. It laid the ideological groundwork for the differences that would become the cold war in the 20th century. -
Soviet bomb test
The Soviet bomb test was a confidential research and development program authorized by Joseph Stalin. This displays the effort made by the Soviet Union during the Cold War to advance their war tactics. -
The Potsdam Conference
The Potsdam conference was a meeting where Joseph Stalin, Winston Churchill, and Harry S. Truman met to discuss how to administer Germany, which had surrendered nine weeks earlier. The conference failed to resolve any issues at hand, thus laying the groundwork for the war that followed. -
Atomic Bomb- Hiroshima/Nagasaki
The United States bombed Hiroshima and Nagasaki on August 6th, 1945 and August 9th, 1945 in an attempt to receive unconditional surrender from Japan. This upset the soviet union because they were trying to make their own bomb and Truman's willingness to bomb Japan frustrated them, thus adding extra tension to the cold war -
Iron Curtian
The Iron Curtain was military barrier created by the Soviet Union after World War 2 to protect itself and it's allies from contact with non-communist regions. This idea came to light after Winston Churchill's iron curtain speech. This contributed to the cold war because it closed off all communication that the Soviet Union could have with other countries thus essentially ending all potential positive relationships. -
Truman Doctrine
The Truman Doctrine was an American Foreign policy that was made to rebut the geopolitical expansion of the soviet union during the cold war. This added tension between the Soviet Union and the United States. -
The Molotov Plan
The Molotov Plan was a program implemented by the Soviet Union with the intent of providing aid to restore countries in Eastern Europe that were politically and economically aligned to the Soviet Union. This shows the Soviet Unions initiative to become allies with countries they believed would help them win the war. -
The Hollywood 10
The Hollywood 10 were ten people involved in Hollywood, examples including producers directors and screenwriters who refused to answer questions regarding possible affiliation with communism. This added an extra layer to the hostility surrounding espionage in the cold war. -
The Marshall Plan
An initiative passed by America to help Western Europe by giving them $12 billion in economic assistance to help rebuild Western Europe economies post World War. This displays America's alliance with Western Europe during the cold war. -
Alger Hiss Case
The Alger Hiss case was a case where an American Government official named Alger Hiss was accused of being a Soviet spy. He was involved with the united nations before his eventual trial and conviction. This shows America's paranoia about Soviet spies during the cold war. -
Berlin Blockade
The Berlin Blockade was a period of time where the western allies railways, canals, and roads were blocked off by the Soviet Union. This ended up a disaster due to the fact that not being able to leave the country limited Berlins access to resources from other countries. This was a large period of tension in the Cold War -
Berlin airlift
When the Soviet Blockade of land routes into western Berlin was implemented, the United States decided to help the people of Berlin by airlifting them water, medicine, and food. This continued for a year and kept around two million people alive in a time of true crisis. This displayed the United States resourcefulness during the cold war. -
NATO (North Atlantic Treaty Organization)
An international alliance that was formed at the North Atlantic Treaty signing. The alliance is made up of twenty-nine member states from North America and Europe. The creation of this organization reaffirms the alliance between North America and Europe in an effort to defeat the Soviet Union. -
The Korean War
A war between northern and southern Korea. Being a rather extensive war, the Korean war continued for around three years and began with the invasion of South Korea, which was imposed by North Korea. This shows the conflict occurring in Korea during the
cold war. -
Rosenburg trial
Julius and Ethel Rosenburg were tried and convicted of espionage in 1951. They were sent to the electric chair a short time afterward. This shows how suspicious America became about espionage during the cold war. -
Army-McCarthy hearings
The Army–McCarthy hearings were a sequence of hearings created by the United States Senate's Subcommittee on Investigations to examine conflicting accusations between the U.S. Senator Joseph McCarthy and the United States Army. These hearings added an overall feeling of distrust to the Cold War. -
Battle of Dien Bien Phu
The Battle of Dien Bien Phu was the peak of confrontation in the First Indochina War which occurred between the French Union's French Far East Expeditionary Corps and Viet Minh communist revolutionaries This was an important event in the cold war because it displays the hostility between Europe and the Soviet Union. -
Geneva Conference
The Geneva Conference was a conference between many nations that took place in Geneva, Switzerland. It was created with the purpose of settling outstanding issues that were a result of the Korean War and the First Indochina War. This shows that many countries had the intention of settling the cold war peacefully. -
Warsaw Pact
The Warsaw Pact was a treaty signed in Warsaw, Poland made between the Soviet Union and seven Eastern Bloc satellite states of central and Eastern Europe. This treaty displays that every country made allies it believed would help them get through the Cold War. -
Hungarian Revolution
The Hungarian Revolution of 1956, also known as the Hungarian Uprising, was a revolution against the Hungarian People's Republic and its Soviet-induced policies. This shows that people grew tired of the Soviet Unions harsh rulings during the cold war. -
U2 incident
The U-2 incident was an incident where a U-2 spy plane was shot down by the Soviet Air Defense forces when he was performing photographic aerial reconnaissance in Soviet Territory. This shows the intense measure the Soviet Union took to protect their territory during the cold war. -
Bay of Pigs Invasion
The bay of pigs invasion was an attempted and failed invasion of Cuba by the military. This project was undertaken by the central intelligence agency sponsored rebel group. This shows that many offensive attacks were made during the cold war. -
The Berlin Wall
The Berlin Wall was a concrete barrier which was heavily guarded The wall divided Eastern and Western Berlin. This shows that Berlin was physically and ideologically divided during the cold war. -
The Cuban Missile Crisis
The Cuban Missile Crisis was a thirteen-day long altercation between the Soviet Union and the United States which was triggered by the American discovery of Soviet ballistic missile deployment in Cuba. This displayed America's hostility towards the Soviet Union during the cold war. -
Assassination of Diem
Ngo Dinh Diem was assassinated after being arrested by rebels from northern Vietnam. The assassination of Diem was a turning point in the Vietnam war because it displayed the conflict between northern and southern Vietnam, this would become a key point in the cold war. -
Assassination of JFK
John Fitzgerald Kennedy, otherwise known as JFK was assassinated in Dallas, Texas while riding in a presidential motorcade through Dealey Plaza. This was a low point during the Cold War for the United States because lost their leader during a critical point in the war. -
Tonkin Gulf Resolution
The Tonkin Gulf resolution was a resolution passed by Congress allowing President Johnson to take any measures necessary to rebut and promote the maintenance of international peace and security in southeast Asia. This displays that leaders were given extensive power during the cold war. -
Operation rolling thunder
Operation Rolling Thunder was the name of a gradual and sustained aerial bombardment campaign created by the United States 2nd Air Division, U.S. Navy, and Republic of Vietnam Air Force against the Democratic Republic of Vietnam. This displays the constant power struggle between the U.S and Vietnam during the Cold War. -
Fall of Saigon
The fall of Saigon was the capture of Saigon, the capital of South Vietnam, by the People's Army of Vietnam and the Viet Cong. This was a large turning point in the Vietnam war and in the Cold War because it concluded a long-standing conflict between Nothern and Southern Korea -
Tet offensive
The Tet Offensive was a series of surprise attacks by the Vietcong and North Vietnamese forces, on a multitude of towns, cities, and hamlets throughout South Vietnam. This further displays the confrontation between Northern and Southern Vietnam during the Cold War. -
Assassination of MLK
MLK or Martin Luther King Jr. was shot at the Lorraine Motel in Memphis Tennessee. He later died in the hospital. This was a sad time for Americans during the cold war because they lost one of their most influential civil rights leaders. -
Assassination of RFK
Robert Francis Kennedy, also known as RFK, was fatally shot shortly after midnight at the ambassador motel. Prior to his assassination, he was declared the winner of the presidential primary in South Dakota and California. This assassination proved how strong peoples negative political opinions were during the Cold War. -
Invasion of Czechoslovakia
The invasion of Czechoslovakia, otherwise known as Operation Danube, was a joint invasion of Czechoslovakia the Soviet Union, Poland, Bulgaria, East Germany, and Hungary. The shows the willingness of allies during the Cold War to stand together and fight for their beliefs. -
Riots of Democratic Convention
The Democratic convention was held during a period of violence and chaos which was a large reason why there was a lot of violence at said convention. This is a display of how dark the cold war became. -
Election of Nixion
Richard Nixon was voted into office during the 46th presidential election. Nixion was the Republican nominee. This shows that America was looking for someone to bring them back to their roots during the cold war. -
Kent State
Four Kent State University students were killed and nine were injured when members of the Ohio National Guard shot at a crowd who gathered to protest the Vietnam War. This shows how taboo protesting was during the Cold War. -
Nixon Visits China
President Richard Nixon's trip to China was an important move that marked the culmination of the Nixon administration's continuation of a peaceful relationship with China. The shows that the United States took steps to reconnect with China and reform an understanding during the late stages of the Cold War. -
Ceasefire in Vietnam
After years of fighting President Nixon ordered a ceasefire of the aerial bombings in North Vietnam. The decision was made after the National Security Affairs advisor to the president, also known as Henry Kissinger, returned to Washington from Paris, France with a draft peace proposal. This displays America's willingness to put an end to the Cold war. -
Reagan elected
Ronald Ragan was elected as president in 1981. Reagan was the Republican candidate and this shows that Americans were still looking to return to normalcy during the cold war. -
SDI announced
The SDI otherwise known as the Strategic Defense Initiative was a proposed missile defense system intended to protect the United States from attack by ballistic strategic nuclear weapons. This shows that America became very defensive near the ending of the Cold War. -
Geneva Conference with gorbachov
The Geneva Summit of 1985 was a Cold War-era meeting that took place in Geneva, Switzerland. It was between Soviet General Secretary Mikhail Gorbachev and President Ronald Reagan to discuss international diplomatic relations and the arms race. This was their first meeting. This displays the willingness of the United States to come to agreements with their enemies during the cold war. -
Tear down this wall speech
The tear down this wall speech was a speech made by U.S. President Ronald Reagan in West Berlin, which called for the General Secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union, Mikhail Gorbachev, to open up the barrier that divided West and East Berlin. This shows that the United States was willing to make bold statements to stand up for its beliefs. -
Fall of The Berlin wall
With the fall of the Berlin Wall came the fall of the Soviet Union. This ended the Cold War by physically and ideologically breaking down the barrier separating society into two groups.
