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Hiroshima
This event signaled the start of an atomic dilpomacy between the USRR and the US. The US dropped a nucleaur bomb on Japan it was a signal to the USRR that we have something more powerful than they do. -
Iron Curtain
Starting at the end of World War II the Iron Curtain became an imaginary boundary dividing Europe into two separate areas. It kept Europe in the west and the Soviet Union/its Communist one-party states in the east. President Churchill however labeled it as a line between the US and allies and Soviet Union and their allies. The Iron Curtain didn't get "lifted" until the end of the Cold War. -
The Truman Doctrine
The Truman Doctrine changed the U.S. pollicies on getting invovled with any commesist. It changed it from being self focused onto focusing on forigen affairs. -
Berlin Airlift
The blockage of Berlin began on June 15, 1948 when the Soviet authorities announced that the Autobahn, the highway connecting western Germany to Berlin, would be closed indefinitely “for repairs.” They then halted all road traffic from west to east, and barred all barge and rail traffic from entering West Berlin. With no way of getting food, fuel and other goods to the people who lived in the western part of the city the Allies would begin using cargo planes to supply their sectors of Berlin. -
North Atlantic Treaty Organization
In April of 1949 Ten Western European nations join the United States and Canada to form the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), an anti-Soviet military alliance that extends the deterrent threat of America's nuclear weapons to cover Western Europe. -
Soviet Atomic Bomb
Less than five years after the U.S. had bomb Japan the Soviet suprised the U.S. with their nuclear weapon knowledge, a lot sooner than the U.S. had thought. This levels the playing field between the two countries. -
People's Republic of China
Mao Zedong, declares the foundation of the People's Republic of China - adding a quarter of the world's population to the communist camp.The United States withheld recognition from the new communist government in China and a year later the Korean War ibroke out. During which communist Chinese and U.S. forces did battle, driving an even deeper wedge between the two nations. -
The Red Scare
The 1950's second "Red Scare" was brought about by U.S. Senator Joseph R. McCarthy who claimed he had a list of people in the government and the Hollywood film industry that were all communist spies/hidden communist. McCarthy said he would try all these people for tresion. This caused fear all throughout the U.S. -
The Warsaw Pact is formed
The Warsaw Pact, included the Soviet Union, Albania, Poland, Romania, Hungary, East Germany, Czechoslovakia, and Bulgaria as members. This pact was a mutual defense organization that put the Soviets in command of the armed forces of the member states if attacked by an outside force they must report to the Soviet Union for commands. It was intacted until 1991 -
Eisenhower Doctrine
With an increasingly tense situation in the Middle East, President Eisenhower had asked Congress for authorization to begin new programs of economic and military cooperation with friendly nations in the region of the MIddle East. Thus the Eisenhower Doctrine was called into action to help smooth things out before a possible World War III in the Middle East. -
Lunch of Sputnik
Another dramatic area of the Cold War was Space exploration. On October 4, 1957 the Soviets became the first in the world
to lunch an artificial satellite and the first to lunch a man-made object into the Earth’s orbit. Sputnik’s launch came as a surprise, and not a pleasant one, to most Americans. -
NASA is formed.
Space exploration served as another dramatic arena for Cold War competition. With the Soviets launching Sputnik it put them one step ahead of the United States. A year before NASA was formed, the Americans launched Explorer I. About ten years later, NASA landed the first man on the moon -
Bay of Pigs Invasion
The hope in this invasion was that the exile force would serve as a rallying point for the Cuban citizenry, who would rise up and overthrow Castro’s government. Under JKF's okay around 1,200 exiles invaved Bay of Pigs in Cuba. This however failed greatly costing the United States, leaving Castro with a soild power in Cuba. -
Berlin Wall
In August of 1961 the Communist government of the German Democratic Republic began to build a barbed wire and concrete wall between East and West Berlin. The purpose of this Berlin Wall was to keep Western “fascists” from entering East Germany and undermining the socialist state.The Berlin Wall stood until November 9, 1989. To this day, the Berlin Wall remains one of the most powerful and enduring symbols of the Cold War -
Cuban Missile Crisis
The Cuban Missile Crisis was a 13-day confrontation between the United States and the Soviet Union in which almost resulted in a nuclear war. At the time President John Kennedy had notified Americans about the presence of the missiles, explaining his decision to enact a naval blockade around Cuba to make it clear the U.S. was prepared to use military force if necessary to neutralize this perceived threat to national security
