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Berlin Blockade/ Airlift
Stalin cut off all rail road links to West Berlin. The Allied Powers decided to supply Berlin by air. The blockade lasted 318 days and on May 12, 1949 Stalin abandoned the blockade. This event is significant because the Iron Curtain became permanent. It started the Arms Race between the United States and the Soviet Union and led to the Allies setting up NATO as a military assistant to resist the Soviet Union. -
Mccarthy gives speech at West Virginia
Mccarthy gave a speech to highlight communism and the people he accused of supporting the political strategy of communism. The speech highlights his view that the United States has lost their high position in the world and he also claimed to have a list of 205 members of the communist party and spy ring employed by the State Department. The speech made Mccarthy a known political name around the country and sparked hysteria around the nation about people with supposed communist beliefs in the US. -
First Atomic Detonation in US
The United States detonates the first nuclear bomb at its Nevada site. The code name for this project was the Manhattan Project and was put together by millions of dollars of federal funds. This project was worked on since WWII and was carried out through the Cold War. The significance of this is that it showed the world that the US had working nuclear powers. -
Cuba Taken Over by Fidel Castro
Batista admitted defeat and left the country January of 1959 to the group of rebels. Castro succeeded in taking power of the Cuban government by July of that year. This event was significant because it was another country that lost its capitalism and was controlled by a dictator. -
American U-2 Spy Plane Shot Down
The U-2 spy plane belonging to the United States was shot down with conducting an espionage over the Soviet Union. The U-2 spy plane belonged to the United States CIA and was top of the technology at the time. The shooting derailed an important meeting between the leaders of the United States and the Soviet Union scheduled for later in the month. -
Soviet Union Launches First Man in Space
Yuri Gagarin became the first man in space, spending 108 minutes in orbit upon the Vostok 1 spacecraft. The spacecraft orbited Earth at an altitude as far as 187 miles and was guided by an automatic control system. This event was a huge loss for the United States in the cold war, who had scheduled their first flight for May of that year. Soviet propagandists used this event to send the message that communism was more effective and higher than capitalism. -
Cuban Missile Crisis
The Soviet Union started building missiles in Cuba. Once this information got out, it triggered a 13 day period of the Cuban Missile Crisis. The US used naval forces to quarantine Cuba. This issue was solved by the Soviet Union taking out the nuclear missiles in Cuba in exchange for a promise from the US not to invade Cuba. The US went into the highest level of readiness for a nuclear war because of the fear for a war to start. This was the event that had both sides question using nuclear arms. -
Nuclear Test Ban Treaty Ratified
After more than eight years of difficult negotiations, the United States, the United Kingdom, and the Soviet Union signed the Nuclear Test Ban Treaty in Moscow. The treaty prohibits nuclear testing and pledges to work towards disarmament to end the arms race. This was later signed by 71 nations. The significance of this is that it put everyone at ease as far as a nuclear war goes. Nuclear weapons were no longer being threatened. -
Czechoslovakia Revolt
The Soviet Union sent troops to Czechoslovakia in order to replace the current government with a pro-communism regime. This was significant for the Soviet Union announcing that they were willing to go to extreme measures in order to maintain Eastern Europe. -
Moon Landing
The US sends the first spaceship to the moon. The liftoff was on nationwide television for all citizens to see. Armstrong was the first of the men to step out of the spaceship with a television camera. This was a major advancement for the United States and for people all over the world. As far as the Cold War, the United States looked at this event as another win. This caused the United States citizens to be confident in their government. -
South Vietnam Falls to Communist Forces
Communist forces from North Vietnam moved to Saigon and met little resistance. South Vietnam forces had fallen under the advancement of North Vietnam. The significance in this is that it was another country to fall to communism and the United States was unable to help this process. -
Soviet Union Invades Afghanistan
The Soviet Union invaded Afghanistan to create a communist regime. After 10 years, the Soviet Union pulled out after many loses. This is significant because it was a communist loss.
