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United States in World Affairs
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Korean War
Began when some 75,000 soldiers from the North Korean People’s Army poured across the 38th parallel, the boundary between the Soviet-backed Democratic People’s Republic of Korea to the north and the pro-Western Republic of Korea to the south. In July 1953, the Korean War came to an end. In all, some 5 million soldiers and civilians lost their lives during the war. The Korean peninsula is still divided today. -
Bay of Pigs Invasion
On January 1, 1959, Fidel Castro drove his guerilla army into Havana and overthrew General Fulgencio Batista. For the next two years, officials at the U.S. State Department and the CIA attempted to push Castro from power. In April 1961, the CIA launched a full-scale invasion of Cuba by 1,400 American-trained Cubans who had fled their homes when Castro took over. However, The invaders were badly outnumbered by Castro’s troops, and they surrendered after less than 24 hours of fighting. -
Cuban Missile Crisis
In a TV address on October 22, 1962, President John Kennedy notified Americans about the presence of the missiles, explained his decision to enact a naval blockade around Cuba. U.S. also agreed to Soviet leader Nikita Khrushchev’s offer to remove the Cuban missiles in exchange for the U.S. promising not to invade Cuba. -
U.S. build-up of troops in Vietnam War
The Tet Offensive played an important role in weakening U.S. public support for the war in Vietnam. -
Nixon and Brezhnev sign first SALT
The SALT agreements signed on May 27 addressed two major issues. First, they limited the number of ABM sites each country could have to two. Second, the number of intercontinental ballistic missiles and submarine-launched ballistic missiles was frozen at existing levels. -
Paris Peace Accords are signed
The settlement included a cease-fire throughout Vietnam. It addition, the United States agreed to the withdrawal of all U.S. troops and advisors and the dismantling of all U.S. bases within 60 days. In return, the North Vietnamese agreed to release all U.S. and other prisoners of war. -
OPEC places embargo on oil to U.S.
In response to American aid to Israel, on October 16, 1973, OPEC raised the posted price of oil by 70%, to $5.11 a barrel. The following day, oil ministers agreed to the embargo, a cut in production by five percent from September's output and to continue to cut production in five percent increments until their economic and political objectives were met. -
U.S. signs treaty agreeing to return Canal Zone and control of canal to Panama
In Washington, President Jimmy Carter and Panamanian dictator Omar Torrijos sign a treaty agreeing to transfer control of the Panama Canal from the United States to Panama at the end of the 20th century. The Panama Canal Treaty also authorized the immediate abolishment of the Canal Zone, a 10-mile-wide, 40-mile-long U.S.-controlled area that bisected the Republic of Panama. -
Camp David Accords- Pres. Jimmy Carter sponsors peace talks between Egypt and Israel
At the White House in Washington, D.C., Egyptian President Anwar el-Sadat and Israeli Prime Minister Menachem Begin sign the Camp David Accords, establishing a permanent peace agreement between Egypt and Israel.The accords were negotiated during 12 days of intensive talks at President Jimmy Carter’s Camp David retreat in the Catoctin Mountains of Maryland. The final peace agreement was signed March 1979. -
U.S. establishes full diplomatic relations with China
On January 1, 1979, U.S. President Jimmy Carter grants China full diplomatic recognition, while agreeing to the People's Republic of China's "One-China" policy and severing normal diplomatic relations with Taiwan. -
Grain Embargo on Soviet Union
U.S. places embargo on sales of American grain to Soviet Union, boycotts Moscow Olympic Games, and delays completion of SALT II -
Ronald Reagan orders invasion of Grenada
On October 25, U.S. Marines invaded Grenada, where they encountered unexpectedly heavy antiaircraft fire and ground resistance by the Cuban soldiers and laborers building the controversial airstrip. In two days they subdued the air and ground forces. http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/americanexperience/features/general-article/reagan-grenada/ -
Iran weapons deal
Americans public learns that U.S. secretly sold weapons to Iran in hopes of gaining release of American hostages in Lebanon. -
U.S. invades Panama and captures Manuel Noriega
On December 20, 1989, over 27,000 U.S. troops invaded the small Central American country of Panama. President George Bush said he was removing an evil dictator, General Manuel Noriega, who was brutalizing his own people. -
Bush and Gorbachev hold summit in Washington, D.C.
Bush promised Gorbachev a large economic aid package and vowed that the German army would remain relatively small. The Soviet leader dropped his opposition to German membership in NATO. In October 1990, East and West Germany formally reunified and shortly thereafter joined NATO. -
Persian Gulf War
Hussein defied United Nations Security Council demands to withdraw from Kuwait by mid-January 1991, and the Persian Gulf War began with a massive U.S.-led air offensive known as Operation Desert Storm. After 42 days of relentless attacks by the allied coalition in the air and on the ground, U.S. President George H.W. Bush declared a cease-fire on February 28, and by that time, most Iraqi forces in Kuwait had either surrendered or fled. -
Attack on U.S.- The War on Terror
A series of airline hijackings and suicide attacks committed by 19 militants associated with the Islamic extremist group al-Qaeda against targets in the United States, the deadliest terrorist attacks on American soil in U.S. history. The attacks against New York City and Washington, D.C., caused extensive death and destruction and triggered an enormous U.S. effort to combat terrorism. Some 2,750 people were killed in New York, 184 at the Pentagon, and 40 in Pennsylvania.
