-
The Iron Curtain
The United States and the Soviet Union were the two most powerful nations after World War II (Ignitia.com Editors). However, there was friction. The United States wanted the Soviet Union to withdraw from Eastern Europe to be free and allied with the United States (Ignitia.com Editors). There were problems with Communism. Great Britain's famous wartime leader, Winston Churchill, spoke of an "iron curtain", which separated the capitalist West and the Communist East. (Ignitia.com Editors). -
President Harry Truman policy
The United States didn't like how Communism was spreading so they decided to act. In 1947, President Truman made the U.S. policy of containment (Ignitia.com Editors). This policy states that any attempt to spread Communism in other countries would be opposed by the United States (Ignitia.com Editors). -
The Berlin Blockade
Berlin had been divided into four separate zones (Ignitia.com Editors). This was temporary. The Soviets refused to allow the Western Allies access to West Berlin (Ignitia.com Editors). The Soviets hoped the Western Allies to leave their sectors of Berlin (Ignitia.com Editors). The Western Allies refused. At its height, the Berlin airlift, "Operation Vittles", was landing one plane in Berlin every three minutes around the clock (Ignitia.com Editors). It lasted 324 days (Ignitia.com Editors). -
Nuclear Arms Race
The year 1949 was a dark time for the United States. Many nations were falling into the hands of the Communists (Ignitia.com Editors). Both superpowers were afraid of the other achieving nuclear superiority (Ignitia.com Editors). The United States exploded its first bomb in 1952 and the Soviet Union did the same in 1953 (Ignitia.com Editors). By the late 1950s, both sides developed intercontinental ballistic missiles and submarine-launched ballistic missiles (Ignitia.com Editors). -
Korean War
The Japanese ruled Korea from 1905 until Japan's defeat in World War II (Ignitia.com Editors). Korea separated into two. The United Nations tried to help the country to reunite, but it failed (Ignitia.com Editors). The United States tried to help South Korea without ever formally declaring war (Ignitia.com Editors). In the end, an armistice was signed on July 27, 1953, ending the fighting, but not officially ending the war (Ignitia.com Editors). -
Stalin's Death Changes Things
After Joseph Stalin died, Nikita Khrushchev gradually assumed the role in the Soviet Union (Ignitia.com Editors). This changed many things in the Soviet Union. The Communists still believed the Soviet Union would triumph over the West, however, the Soviets became more cautious (Ignitia.com Editors). They began to negotiate with the United States (Ignitia.com Editors). Discussions and agreements would bring "thaws," and then the next crisis would return the Cold War "chill." (Ignitia.com Editors) -
The Invasion of Hungary
The Communist dictator of Hungary, Matyas Rakosi, did lots of damage to the nation's economy after World War II (Ignitia.com Editors). Soviet troops invaded in days (Ignitia.com Editors). Nagy was executed, a hard-line Communist government was made, and about 200,000 people left the country (Ignitia.com Editors). The United States did what it could to help the refugees, including allowing 30,000 people to immigrate to the United States (Ignitia.com Editors). -
Race to Space
The Soviet Union set off a panic in the United States when it launched the first artificial satellite, Sputnik I (Ignitia.com Editors). The United States immediately hurried its rocket programs (Ignitia.com Editors). Then the United States successfully launched their American satellite, Explorer I (Ignitia.com Editors). -
Berlin Wall
Berlin, Germany, was a divided city in 1961 (Ignitia.com Editors). There were West and East Germany (Ignitia.com Editors). The article of Brianttica states, "The wall henceforth ceased to function as a political barrier between East and West Germany." (britannica.com). This was the most infamous symbol of the Cold War (Ignitia.com Editors). -
Cuban Missile Crisis
Castro thought that the United States would eventually invade Cuba (Ignitita.com Editors). So, he arranged with the Soviets to install ballistic missiles in Cuba (Ignitia.com Editors). However, the Soviets didn't only want to protect Cuba but to blackmail the United States in other areas of the world (Ignitia.com Editors). Soon the United States learned about their plan using a U-2 plane (Ignitia.com Editors).