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The Russian Revolution
The Russian Revolution was a communist revolution in Russia in 1917. This was significant because it set up the ideological differences between democratic America and communist Russia. -
The Potsdam conference
Conference between the world powers. It was significant because it discussed How to keep peace in Europe, control of defeated Germany, post-war boundaries, and the defeat of Japan. -
Atomic Bomb-Hiroshima/Nagasaki
The U.S dropped two atomic bombs on Japan. The soviet union was upset that the U.S used the bombs. This created more tension between the U.S and The Soviets. Also created a new era of warfare. -
Iron Curtain
Iron Curtain, the political, military, and ideological barrier erected by the Soviet Union after World War II to seal off itself from the capitalist east Germany. This showed that there had to be something about all these countries falling to communism. -
Hollywood 10
The Hollywood 10 were people who were accused of being a communist while working in Hollywood. These people refused to answer questions about being a potential communist. They were then convicted and sent to prison. This was significant because people then believed there were communist in Hollywood. -
Truman Doctrine
The Truman doctrine was support for free people who were resisting an outside force and resisting communism. They gave money to many countries like Greece and France. The Truman doctrine kept many countries from turning to communism. -
Marshall Plan
The Marshall plan was a massive economic assistance for Europe to keep countries from choosing communism. The U.S gave $12 billion dollars and gave supplies to Europe. The soviets and countries under their power rejected the help. Which drove the countries apart more. -
Molotov Plan
The Molotov Plan was the system created by the Soviet Union in 1947 in order to provide aid to rebuild the countries in Eastern Europe that were politically and economically aligned to the Soviet Union. It can be seen to be the Soviet Union's version of the Marshall Plan. Which further proved that the Soviets wanted all countries to under communist rule. -
Berlin Blockade
Stalin and the soviets built a blockade around Berlin to cut off all supplies to Berlin. Trying to starve the people and force the U.S out of Berlin. This showed that the soviets were trying to eliminate capitalism. -
Alger Hiss case
Alger Hiss who worked in the state government, was accused of being a spy for the soviet union. This caused people to think there was a communist conspiracy that was trying to destroy the U.S. This was important because it rose concerns about people being spies and people started being accused. -
Berlin Airlift
When the Berlin blockade was formed the U.S ahd to make a big decision. They decided to stay in Berlin and give support. They used planes to drop resupply the city. This was significant because it showed we would people at risk to stop communism and made capitalism look good to the world. -
NATO
The North Atlantic Treaty Organization was formed by the U.S and allies. The U.S did this to say if Russia invades any countries in NATO they would come to defense. -
Soviet bomb test
In 1949 the soviets successfully tested an atomic bomb. They did this long before the U.S thought they would. This was important because it struck fear into Americans. -
Korean War
Korean War, conflict between the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (North Korea) and the Republic of Korea (South Korea). The war reached international proportions in June 1950 when North Korea, supplied and advised by the Soviet Union, invaded the South. The United States joined the war on the side of the South Koreans, and the People’s Republic of China came to North Korea’s aid. This was the first time the U.S used military to fight the spread of communism. -
Rosenburg trial
The Rosenbergs were accused of with connection with passing U.S bomb secrets to the soviets. They were then convicted and sentenced to the electric chair. This was important because it put fear into Americans. -
Army-McCarthy hearings
The Army–McCarthy hearings were a series of hearings held by the United States Senate's Subcommittee on Investigations to investigate conflicting accusations between the United States Army and U.S. Senator Joseph McCarthy. McCarthy was accusing the army of communism and McCarthy was being accused of blackmail. -
Battle of Dien Bien Phu
The First Indochina War between the French Union's Far East Expeditionary Corps and Viet Minh communist revolutionaries. It was, from the French view before the event, a set piece battle to draw out the Vietnamese and destroy them with superior firepower. The battle occurred between March and May 1954 and ended in French defeat that influenced negotiations underway at Geneva among several nations over the future of Indochina. Which is significant because other countries got involved. -
Geneva Conference
The Geneva Conference was a conference among several nations that took place in Geneva, Switzerland from April 26 – July 20, 1954. It was intended to settle outstanding issues resulting from the Korean War and the First Indochina War.The Geneva Accords that dealt with the dismantling of French Indochina proved to have long-lasting repercussions. This conference was significant because it divided Vietnam at the 17th parallel. -
Warsaw Pact
The warsaw pact was formed by the soviets in response to NATO being formed by the U.S. It was made up of Russia and it's satellite countries. It was significant because it showed that Russia was against the U.S. -
Hungarian Revolution
The Hungarian Revolution was a nationwide revolution against the Hungarian People's Republic and its Soviet-imposed policies, lasting from 23 October until 10 November 1956. Leaderless when it first began, it was the first major threat to Soviet control since the Red Army drove Nazi Germany from its territory at the End of World War II in Europe. -
U2 Incident
The U2 incident was a confrontation between the United States and the Soviet Union that began with the shooting down of a U.S. U-2 reconnaissance plane over the Soviet Union and that caused the collapse of a summit conference in Paris between the United States, the Soviet Union, the United Kingdom, and France. This raised tensions between the U.S and the Soviets. -
Assassination of Diem
Ngô Đình Diệm, the president of South Vietnam was supported by the U.S. Diem and is brother were both murdered on November 2 1963. This was significant because HE was supported by the U.S. which means the U.S lost a great allie. -
Assassination of JFK
John F. Kennedy, the 35th President of the United States, was assassinated on November 22, 1963, in Dallas, Texas, while riding in a presidential motorcade through Dealey Plaza. Kennedy was riding with his wife, the Texas Governor and his wife when he was fatally shot by former U.S. Marine Lee Harvey Oswald firing from a nearby building. President Kennedy was pronounced dead about thirty minutes after the shooting. This is significant because it made Lyndon B. Johnson president. -
Tonkin Gulf Resolution
The Gulf of Tonkin Resolution, enacted August 10, 1964, was a joint resolution that the United States Congress passed on August 7, 1964, in response to the Gulf of Tonkin incident. It gave U.S. President Lyndon B. Johnson authorization, without a formal declaration of war by Congress, for the use of conventional military force in Southeast Asia. This is important because it allowed Johnson to send armed troops to Vietnam with a declaration of war. -
Operation Rolling Thunder
Operation Rolling Thunder was the continuous bombing of vietnam by the U.S. The bombing lasted three years. This was significant because many americans were against it. -
Assassination of MLK
Martin Luther King Jr was an African American civil rights leader. He was fatally shot at the Lorraine Motel in Memphis, Tennessee, on April 4, 1968, at 6:01 p.m. CST. He was rushed to St. Joseph's Hospital, where he died at 7:05 p.m. This was significant because MLK was the prominent leader of the civil rights movement. -
Assassination of RFK
On June 5, 1968, presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy was shot shortly after midnight at the Ambassador Hotel in Los Angeles. Earlier that evening, the 42-year-old junior senator from New York was declared the winner in the South Dakota and California presidential primaries in the 1968 election. He was pronounced dead at on June 6, about 26 hours after he had been shot. -
Invasion of Czechoslovakia
The invasion was a joint invasion of Czechoslovakia by five Warsaw Pact countries – the Soviet Union, Poland, Bulgaria, East Germany and Hungary – on the night of 20–21 August 1968 Approximately 250,000 Warsaw pact troops attacked Czechoslovakia that night, with Romania and Albania refusing to participate. This was significant because it stopped liberalisation reforms and strengthened the communist party. -
Riots of Democratic convention
The 1968 Democratic National Convention was held August 26–29 at the International Amphitheatre in Chicago, Illinois. Tens of thousands of Vietnam War protesters battle police in the streets, while the Democratic Party falls apart over an internal disagreement concerning its stance on Vietnam. Over the course of 24 hours, the predominant American line of thought on the Cold War with the Soviet Union was shattered. -
Tet Offensive
The Tet Offensive was a series of surprise attacks by the Vietcong and North Vietnamese forces, on scores of cities, towns, and hamlets throughout South Vietnam.This was significant because it was considered to be a turning point in the Vietnam War. -
Election of Nixon
On November 5, 1968 Nixon was elected president. His election permanently disrupted the new deal plan. Nixon was significant because he ended American involvement in Vietnam. -
Kent State
The Kent State shootings, also known as the May 4 massacre or the Kent State massacre, were the shootings on May 4, 1970, of unarmed college students by members of the Ohio National Guard at Kent State University in Kent, Ohio, during a mass protest against the bombing of Cambodia by United States military forces. Guardsmen fired approximately 67 rounds over a period of 13 seconds, killing four students and wounding nine. This was significant because it caused a national response. -
Nixon visits China
Nixon’s historic visit began the slow process of the re-establishing diplomatic relations between the United States and communist China. U.S. President Richard Nixon's 1972 visit to China was an important strategic and diplomatic overture that marked the culmination of the Nixon administration's resumption of harmonious relations between the United States and China after years of diplomatic isolation. -
Ceasefire in Vietnam
When the cease-fire went into effect, Saigon controlled about 75 percent of South Vietnam’s territory and 85 percent of the population. The South Vietnamese Army was well equipped via last-minute deliveries of U.S. weapons and continued to receive U.S. aid after the cease-fire. After the cease-fire the north took over the south. This was significant because Vietnam became a communist country. -
Fall of Saigon
The fall of Saigon was the capture of Saigon, the capital of South Vietnam. The capture of the city was preceded by Operation Frequent Wind, the evacuation of almost all the American civilian and military personnel in Saigon, along with tens of thousands of South Vietnamese civilians who had been associated with the southern regime and would be killed if they were captured by the north. This was important because the city would then fall to communism. -
Reagan elected
he 1980 United States presidential election was the 49th quadrennial presidential election. It was held on November 4, 1980. Republican nominee Ronald Reagan defeated incumbent Democrat Jimmy Carter. Due to the rise of conservatism following Reagan's victory, some historians consider the election to be a realigning election that marked the start of the "Reagan Era". This was significant because His main goal was to destroy communism and his actions were to achieve that goal. -
SDI announced
The Strategic Defense Initiative was a space defense against missiles from Russia. Also know as "star wars". The US did not have the technology yet but convinced the world they did. This forced Russia to try to get up and spending all their money. Russia did not have the money or know-how to keep up with the US. This was significant because it proved Russia could not keep up with the US's technology. -
Geneva Conference with Gorbachev
The Geneva Summit of 1985 was a Cold War-era meeting in Geneva, Switzerland. It was held on November 19 and 20, 1985, between U.S. President Ronald Reagan and Soviet General Secretary Mikhail Gorbachev. The two leaders met for the first time to hold talks on the arms race. This is significant because because the two leaders form a good relationship. -
‘Tear down this wall’ speech
U.S. President Ronald Reagan in West Berlin on Friday, June 12, 1987, calling for the General Secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union, Mikhail Gorbachev, to open up the barrier which had divided West and East Berlin since 1961. Reagan's advisors warned him to not go and said it was a bad idea. He did it anyway. Reagan call out Gorbachev. This was significant because it started the end of the soviet union. -
Fall of Berlin Wall
On the evening of November 9, 1989, East Germany announced an easing of travel restrictions to the west, and thousands demanded passage through the Berlin Wall. Faced with a growing demonstration, East German border guards allowed citizens to cross. This was significant because it broke the divide between the communist Soviet bloc and the western democratic, capitalist bloc.
