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HUAC (House Un-American Activities Committee)
HUAC was created to investigate possibly harmful activities of facists, Nazis, and communists. HUAC focused on the movie industry and uncovered people who had been communists in the 30s and 40s. HUAC started blacklists, lists of people who were or had been communists, and those whose name was on the list were immeadiatly fired. An example of HUAC targeting the movie industry was the Hollywood 10. They refused to testify against themselves and plead the fifth ammendment. All ten were imprisoned. -
Nuclear Arms Race
The nuclear arms race was a competition for in nuclear warfare between the United States, the Soviet Union, and their allies during the Cold War. In addition to the American and Soviet nuclear stockpiles, other countries developed nuclear weapons. -
Yalta Conference
Stalin, Churchill and Roosevelt met to discuss what to do with Germany. They decided to divide it into four zones, one for each country of the allied powers. Germany was required to pay reparations to the Soviets, if the Soviets allowed free elections and would help Germany fight against Japan. The leaders also discussed the future of Poland and created the United Nations, which is sitll in effect today. The United Nations is a post-war alliance between the United States and 12 other countries. -
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President Truman
Harry Truman was president of the United States when the Cold War began in 1945. Truman was among the first world leaders who realized that the Soviet dictator, Joseph Stalin, would try to seize territory after World War II. Truman started America's policy of helping countries that were threatened by communist takeover. Without his strong leadership, the Soviets might have expanded their power much farther. -
The United Nations
In June of 1945, representatives from 50 countries including the United States, met in San Francisco, California, to establish a new organization. The United Nations was like the League of Nations formed after World War I. The United Nations was meant to encourage cooperation among nations and to prevent future wars. -
Potsdam Conference
The Potsdam Conference was a meeting with the leaders of the Allies near the end of World War II. The conference took place in Potsdam, Germany, and was a continuation of the Yalta Conference. The leaders discussed growing concern that communism and Soviet influence might spread in the postwar world. Truman wanted to meet with Stalin in hopes he would live up to his promises from Yalta. In that regard, the Potsdam Conference was not succesful. -
CIA (Central Itelligence Agency)
The CIA collects intelligence information and takes part in secret actions against foreign targets. The CIA was very active int he 1950's. During Eisenhowers 1st term the CIA helped overthrow governments in Guatemala and Iran. The CIA tried to assist in the Bay of Pigs but was discovered. -
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The Second Red Scare
Red Scare means a widespread fear of communism. Joseph McCarthy was a U.S. Senator, and on Februaru 9, 1950, gave a speech in which he claimed that 205 known communists were working for the U.S. Department of State. In a later speech he took a step further by showing a list of 57 communists working for the state department. The Hollywood Ten were ten Hollywood writers and directors who were thought to be radicals and were called before HUAC. They all refused to cooperate and were put in jail. -
Communists take over Cuba
In 1934, Fulgencio Batista had overthrown the government of Cuba which messed up the social reform that had been begun by four separate Presidents. In 1952, he established a dictatorship. Later on Fidel Castro took over and turned Cuba into a communist country. -
The Truman Doctrine
The Truman Doctrine was Truman's pledge to provide economic and military aid to countries threatened by communism. Greece and Turkey were in danger of being taken over by Soviet-supported communists, so the United States stepped in by using the Truman Doctrine. The US kept Greece and Turkey from becoming communist countries. -
Marshall Plan
The Marshall Plan was a plan for the reconstruction of Europe after World War II. Between 1948 and 1951, the United States spend over $13 billion in 17 different countries. The Marshall Plan provided food and farm equipment, and rebuilt factories and homes. The Marshall Plan offered aid to the Soviet Union but Stalin refused the aid. -
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Berlin Blockade/ Airlift
The Berlin Blockade was the Soviet response to West Germany wanting to have a more democratic government. The Soviets blocked any road, rail, and river way to West Berlin from getting any resources. The one thing they didn't block, were the airstrips. Within days British and American airplanes made deliveries of supplies to West Berlin. This was called the Berlin Airlift. Allies built additional airsrtips and 277,000 flights were made, carrying 2.3 million tons of supplies. It lasted 327 days. -
NATO
NATO, also known as the North Atlantic Treaty Organization, was a military alliance with six other countries (Canada, Denmark, Iceland, Italy, Norway, and Portugal). According to NATO, an armed attack against any of these nations, was an attack against them all. In the mid 1950's, Greece, Turkey, and West Germany joined the alliance. Today there are over 26 members of NATO, some which were formerly communist. -
Communists take over China
Mao proclaimed the birth of the People's Republic of China with the statement “The central government of the People’s republic of China is established!” before a crowd of 500,000 to 1 million people at Tiananmen Square. -
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Korean War
The Korean War started with 100,000 Korean troops crossing the 38th paralled and invading South Korea; Kim Sung II had ordered the invason. The United States were allies with South Korea and retaliated by attacking Inchon. We regained some of our land there and changed South Korea's fortune. By Octber 1, South Korea was back in good hands. By the end of the war, Korea looked almost identical as it did at the beginning of the war in terms of borders. -
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Nikita Krushchev
Krushchev led the Soviet Union during part of the Cold War. He served as First Secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union from 1953 to 1964, and as Chairman of the Council of Ministers, from 1958 to 1964. Khrushchev was responsible for the partial de-Stalinization of the Soviet Union, and for backing the progress of the early Soviet space program. -
Warsaw Pact
The Warsaw Pact was a military alliance between Soviet-dominated countries of East Europe. The Warsaw Pact had the same purpose as NATO. The pact was entirely controlled by the Soviets and the nations under the Warsaw Pact were ready to defend each other at any time. The Soviet Union helped Soviets solidify control of Eastern Europe. -
U2 Crisis
In 1954 Frank Wisner of the CIA placed Richard Bissell in charge of developing and operating the U-2 spy plane. President Eisenhower gave permission for the U-2 to fly over Moscow and Leningrad for the first time on 4th July, 1956. The U-2 was a great success.Richard Bissell was able to say that 90% of all hard intelligence about the Soviet Union coming into the CIA was "funneled through the lens of the U-2's aerial cameras". -
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Space Race
The space race was a race between the United States and the Soviet Union to determine who could put a man in space first. In July of 1958, NASA took charge of the nations programs for exploring outerspace. On October 4, 1957, the Soviets launched a small staellite into space called Sputnik. The Soviets were ahead in the race, which made the United States very uneasy. The US caught up on July 20, 1969, when Neil Armstrong and Edwin Aldrin landed on the moon. -
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Fidel Castro
In 1959 he used guerilla warfare to successfully overthrow Cuban leader Batista and was sworn in as Prime Minister of Cuba, remaining so until his presidency in 1976. As prime minister, Castro's government established covert military and economic relations with the Soviet Union, leading to the Cuban Missile Crisis. -
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Vietnam War
The Vietnam War started because South Vietnam wanted independence from Frencd and Japanese control. The United States supported South Vietnam and sent in 2,000 troops to help. In 1965 President Johnson escalated the war by ordering airstikes on North Vietnam. The Tet Offensive turned Americans against the war. Nixon soon called for Vietnamizatoin, which pulled out American troops, giving S, Vietnam more responsibilty to fight. S, Vietnam surrendered in April of 1975. -
Bay of Pigs
The Bay of Pigs was a failed attempt of Cuban exiles backed by the United States, to overthrow Fidel Castro. The US supported this because they didn't want communism so close to home. The Bay of Pigs was a failure because the US was exposed and the Cubans uncovered our plan. When we went to attack, Castro and his troops were waiting. The US could have faced consequences such as, the Soviets and Cubans retaliating. The Bay of Pigs allowed the Soviets and Cubans to form a better alliance. -
The Berlin Wall
The Berlin Wall was Krushchev's response to Kennedy building troops in West Germany. It was built to seperate East and West Germany. Almost 25,000 East German soldiers were in place to guard a barbed wire fence around West Berlin in hours. The fencing was soon replaced with a tall, concrete wall. Kennedy responded by sending 1.500 troops from West Germany to West Berlin. The wall divided families, neighborhoods, streets, and even cemeteries. On November 9, 1989, the wall was opened. -
Cuban Missile Crisis
The Cuban Missile Crisis was a confrontation between the United States and the Soviets over Soviet missiles in Cuba. The crisis was caused by the policies and politics of the US and Soviet Union. The Pay of Pigs and Berlin Crisis also contributed. The Cuban Missile Crisis is the closest the US has ever come to a nuclear war. The effects of the crisis were a hotline for the US and Soviet leaders to communicate, the Limited Nuclear Test Ban Treaty, and Kennedy and Krushchev eased tensions. -
Kent State Massacre
The Kent State Massacre was the killing and wounding of 13 students protesting against the American invasion of Cambodia. On April 30th, Nixon announced the invasion on television and not everyone agreed. A group of students decided to protest the invasion on campus. The Ohio National Guard killed four students and injured another nine. Some of the students killed had not even been protesting and all were unarmed.
