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The Russian Revolution
The Russian Revolution was composed of two revolutions taking place in Russia, during 1917. The first revolution occurred in February in which the Imperial government was overthrown. The second revolution, occurring in October, resulted in the Bolsheviks being placed in power. -
Potsdam Conference
The Potsdam Conference took place in Potsdam, Berlin and went from July 17 to August 2, 1945. During this conference, President Harry S. Truman, British Prime Minister Winston Churchill, and Soviet Prime Minister Joseph Stalin discussed postwar peace. Although no peace treaties were actually written, the three brainstormed procedures to do so. -
Atomic Bomb - Hiroshima/Nagasaki
The first Atomic Bomb was the Manhattan Project, this bomb was made with the intention of putting an end to the war between the U.S. and Japan. When the bomb was dropped on Hiroshima, it instantly killed 60,000 people, later killing 300,000 more due to radiation poisoning and burns. Japan was under the impression that we only had one bomb, therefore they believed they had a chance against the U.S. Another bomb was dropped on Nagasaki which resulted in mass casualties. -
Iron Curtain
The Iron Curtain was a barrier created by the Soviet Union in 1945 post WWII to separate itself and its dependent eastern and central European allies from direct, open open contact with the west and other areas that identified as non-communists. -
The Truman Doctrine
On March 12, 1947, President Harry S. Truman created an American foreign policy that would help fight Soviet expansion. This doctrine declares that the U.S. is to provide economic and military aid to Greece who at this time was being threatened by Communist insurrection and Turkey who was under pressure of Soviet expansion. -
Hollywood 10
During October of 1947, ten individuals of the Hollywood Film Industry took to the public to expose and criticize the HUAC or House Un-American Activities Committee. The members of the Hollywood 10 refused to answer any questions during interviews and were convicted of contempt of congress, others were blacklisted. -
Molotov Plan
During 1947, the Soviet Union created the Molotov Plan as a gesture to symbolize their refusal to accept aid from the United States. They believed that if they, or any of their satellite states accepted the aid provided from the Marshall Plan that they would come across as weak. To revolt against the Marshall Plan, they provided aid to Eastern Europe, which were countries under the Soviet ruling. -
Marshall Plan
In April of 1948, President Truman signed the Economic Recovery Act of 1948, which later became known as the Marshall Plan. This plan was named after George Marshall who proposed the idea to the U.S. to provide economic aid to Western Europe ton rebuild their economies post WWII. Over twelve billion dollars was put towards helping Western Europe, this money was not only for rebuilding economies but also to help prevent the spread of communism during this time. -
Berlin Blockade
The Berlin Blockade of 1948 is marked as one of the first international crises of the Cold War. The Soviet Union attempted to block the Western Allie's railway, canal, and road access to parts of Berlin that laid within Russian-occupied East Germany. Despite this attempt by the Soviet Union, the Western powers announced their decision to move forward with the creation of West Germany. -
Alger Hiss Case
In 1948, an American government official was accused of being a Soviet spy. Along with this charge, he was convicted of perjury in connection in 1950. -
NATO
NATO or the North Atlantic Treaty Organization of 1949 was formed as a result of the Berlin Blockade. This treaty was an international alliance consisting of twenty-nine states from North America and Europe. The treaty was established on April 4, 1949. The purpose of NATO is for each of its members to commit to protecting each other and create a sense of solidarity. -
Berlin Airlift
The Berlin Airlift was an end of the Berlin Blockade during 1949. The eleven-month against West Berlin was lifted by the Soviet Union but the actual blockade was broken by U.S.-British airlift of supplies meant for West Berlin's two million citizens. -
Korean War
On June 25, 1950 a war between North and South Korea arose because the North invaded the South, with the intentions of turning them to communism. Due to this conflict, the two sides are divided at the 38th parallel. -
Rosenberg Trial
Julius and Ethel Rosenberg were the first American civilians arrested and executed for spying in 1951. The two began their trial in New York Southern District, federal court. The Rosenberg's were accused of selling nuclear secrets to the Russians. Because of the information the Soviet Union received from the couple, they were able to successfully explode their first atomic bomb, thus being the start of the Cold War. -
Soviet Bomb Test
In 1953, the Soviet Union tested out their first nuclear bomb, or otherwise known as the "First Lightening" and found themselves among a huge success. To ensure the bomb would be good enough, Soviet scientists construction buildings, bridges, and other civilian structures within reach of the bomb. They also went so far as to place live animals in cages to see the effects nuclear radiation on human-like mammals. The explosion was just about equal to the United State's first atomic explosion. -
Army-McCarthy Hearings
U.S. senator; Joseph McCarthy, was accused of being "soft" on the matter of communism during the 1954. During this time, McCarthy was held under investigation by the United States Senate Subcommittee. The purpose of these series of hearings known as the Army-McCarthy Hearings was to investigate conflicting accusations between the U.S. Army and McCarthy. These hearings were said to "dominate national television" from April to June of 1954. -
Battle of Dien Bien Phu
The Battle of Dien Bien Phu was the decisive and climatic engagement in the First Indochina War in 1954. As a result of the French forces occupying the Dien Bien Phu valley, amassed troops and heavy artillery were placed in caves of mountains overlooking the French camp. In March of 1954, the French airfield was eliminated and Viet Mihn forces took over the base which made the French want to put an end to the battle. -
Geneva Conference
The Geneva Conference held on April 26, lasting until July 20, 1954, was a conference in which several nations met to settle outstanding issues resulting from the Korean and first Indochina War. At the conference the Geneva Agreements were signed which entailed that the French would agree to withdraw their troops from Northern Vietnam. The agreements also stated that Vietnam would temporarily be divided at the 17th parallel. -
Warsaw Pact
The Warsaw Pact was created to act as a defense treaty among the Soviet Union, Albania, Poland, Romania, Hungary, East Germany, Czechoslovakia, and Bulgaria during the Cold War. The treaty stated that the member states were obligated to come to defense of any member attacked by an outside force. -
Hungarian Revolution
The nationwide revolt against Communist regime known as the Hungarian Revolution lasted from October 23 until November 10, 1956. The Hungarian People's Republic and its Soviet-imposed policies were the direct target of the revolution. Thousands of civilians were killed and/or severely wounded and nearly a quarter-million Hungarians fled the country. -
U2 Incident
In May of 1960, the USSR shot down an American U-2 spy plane and captured the pilot of the plane, Francis Gary Powers. President Dwight D. Eisenhower was confronted with evidence of his nation’s espionage, and was forced to admit that the U.S. CIA had been flying spy missions over the USSR for years. Powers was convicted on espionage charges which resulted in a 10 year sentence in prison. The U-2 spy plane incident raised tensions between the U.S. and the Soviets during the Cold War. -
Bay of Pigs Invasion
On April 17, 1961, 1,400 Cuban exiles launched what became a failed invasion at the Bay of Pigs on the south coast of Cuba. -
Berlin Wall
The Berlin Wall was a concrete barrier that divided East and West Berlin from 1961-1989. The wall was built by the Communist government of the German Democratic Republic. They used barbed wire fencing and armed guards, families were separated overnight and civilians who attempted to escape were immediately killed on sight. -
Cuban Missile Crisis
From October 16 to October 28, 1962, a thirteen day confrontation occurred between the U.S. and the Soviet Union became known as the Cuban Missile Crisis. This event was initiated by American ballistic missile deployment in Italy and Turkey with consequent Soviet ballistic missile deployment in Cuba. -
Assassination of Diem
On November 2, 1963, Ngo Dinh Diem, the president of South Vietnam was arrested and executed -
Assassination of JFK
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Tonkin Gulf Resolution
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Operation Rolling Thunder
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Tet Offensive
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Election of Nixon
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Riots Democratic Convention
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Invasion of Czechoslovakia
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Assassination of MLK
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Assassination of RFK
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Kent State
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Nixon Visits China
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Ceasefire in Vietnam
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Fall of Siagon
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Reagan Elected
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SDI Announced
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Geneva Conference with Gorbachev
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"Tear Down This Wall" Speech
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Fall of Berlin Wall
