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Korean War
[June 25, 1950 - July 27, 1953] American troops help defend South Korea. It is recorded that a number of 5,720,000 U.S. troops were engaged in war with a total of 33,741 deaths. The war was fought between North Korea's Communist forces against South Korea's non-communist forces, supported by U.N. forces (primarially consisting of U.S. troops). At the 38th parallel, the post-war border between both countries, was where heavy battling took place. The Korean War was apart of the "Cold War". -
Bay of Pigs
[April 17,1961 - April 19, 1961] U.S.-sponsored invasion of Cuba fails. The group of Cuban exiles took off from Nicaragua in B-26 bombers painted like stolen Cuban planes. The CIA had promised a successful plan, but Castro and his advisors knew and were expecting the raid. From the beginning of the invasion, it was a failing disaster. Invaders were pinned, exiles surrendered after a day, and there were 114 killed while 1,100 people became prisoners. -
Cuban Missile Crisis
[October 14,1962 - October 28,1962] U.S. forces Soviet Union to remove nuclear missiles from Cuba. It all began with an American U-2 spy plane secretly photographing the Soviet Union's nuclear missiles being build in Cuba. Attempting to keep it a secret for the Soviet Union and Cuba, JFK secretly met with advisors and decided to place a naval blockade. During the crisis, JFK spoke to the nation on the crisis through a televised address. Tension lessened with a compromise that was held a secret. -
Build-up of Troops
U.S. builds-up of troops in Vietnam War. After suffering a loss in the number of troops, Westmoreland requested more troops on June 18, 1966. After receiving his request, President Johnson agreed, but scaled down the number of requested troops. Along with the addition of more troops to go fight in the Vietnam war, Westmoreland was replaced by Abrams in 1968, followed by the number of troops peaking in 1969. -
Nixon Travels Abroad
President Richard Nixon visits China [February 17, 1972] and Soviet Union [May 22, 1972]. Before going to China, Nixon was briefed for over 40 hours in prepartion by Kissinger. While in China, Nixon spent most of his time in meetings discussing various issues with Mao and Zhou at Mao's private residence. After he returned from China, he then went to Moscow. While there he met with various leading Soviet officials such as Leonid Brezhnev, Alexei Kosygin, and Nikolai Podgorny. -
SALT I
Nixon and Brezhnev sign first Strategic Arms Limitation Treaty (SALT I). SALT I, was the first comprehensive limitation pact signed by the two superpowers. It was signed while Nixon was away in the Soviet Union. At the same time SALT I was signed, the Anti-Ballistic Missile Treaty was signed, which banned the development of systems designed to intercept incoming missiles. It was the start of what they, Nixon and Brezhnev, referred to as "peaceful coexistence". -
Paris Peace Accords
Paris Peace Accords are signed, ending U.S. involvement in Vietnam War. The purpose of the Paris Peace Accords was to establish a peaceful environment in Vietnam and get the Vietnam War to come to an end. Once the Paris Peace Accords were signed, the Vietnam War ended, direct U.S. involvement ended, and it temporarily kept peace between North and South Vietnam. The initial negotiations for the Paris Peace Accords becan 5 years before in 1968, but speed was affected by various delays that arose -
OPEC's Oil Embargo
OPEC places an embargo on oil to U.S. because of the nation's support for Israel in the October War. OPEC, Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries, not only placed an embargo on the U.S., but any nations that supported Israel in the October War. Per OPEC, exports would reduce 5% every month until Israel agreed to evacuate the territories that was occupied during the war. Due to Israel not budging, a full oil embargo was imposed to the U.S. and other countries which caused a energy crisis. -
Return of the Canal Zone
U.S. signs treaty agreeing to return Canal Zone and control of canal to Panama by 1999. The Panama Canal is a 48 mile waterway between the Atlantic and Pacific Ocean. Overtime, under the ownership of the U.S., tension grew over the territorial issues surrounding the Canal Zone. Before the entire Canal Area was returned to Panama in 1999, President Jimmy Carter, leader at the time, signed a treaty in 1977 which gave 60% of the Canal Zone back to Panama. The treaty established a neutral canal. -
Camp David Accords
President Jimmy Carter sponsors peace talks between Egypt and Israel. The CDA were known, in Carter's presidency, as the single greatest achievement as President by arranging a peace agreement between Egypt and Israel. The Camp David Accords were signed by Egypt's President Anwar Sadat, Israeli Prime Minister Menachem Begin, and U.S. President Jimmy Carter. The treaty called for many things such as the establishment of diplomatic relations between the countries, but it did not settle everything. -
Full Diplomatic Relations
U.S. establishes full diplomatic relations with China. Both, China and the U.S., issued "Joint Communiqué on the Establishment of Diplomatic Relations between the People's Republic of China and the United States of America" on December 15, 1978. Due to the diplomatic relations, China and U.S. easily cooperate and make exchanges in various fields of life such as politics, economy, education, culture, science, and technology. New chapters, such as China's leader visiting the U.S., are successful. -
U.S. Takes Action
In response to Soviet invasion of Afghanistan, the United States took action to "return the favor" to the Soviet Union. The U.S. placed an embargo on sales of American grain to Soviet Union on January 4, 1980. They boycotted the Moscow Summer Olympic Games on July 19,1980. The U.S. also delayed the completion of SALT II. The agreement of SALT II was agreed in 1979, but the U.S. withdrew their cooperation and of SALT II in 1986. The U.S. would have never taken action without a valid reason. -
Invasion of Grenada
President Ronald Reagan orders invasion of Grenada after a Marxist revolution in that Caribbean nation. The situation on Grenada had been a concern to American officials since 1979 when the new 'ruler', Maurice Bishop, took power and developed a very close relationship with Cuba. Opposed of who just took power, protesters began to clash with the new government and evidently, massive violence broke out. Since there were already U.S. citizens present on the island, Reagan order 2,000 U.S. troops. -
Iran Weapons Deal
American public learns that U.S. secretly sold weapons to Iran in hopes of gaining release of the seven American hostages in Lebanon [January 1, 1981]. The IWD was also referred to as the Iran-Contra Affair and took place during Reagan's administration. Instead of an arms for hostages deal, it was initially planned that Israel would ship weapons to Iran, and then the U.S. would resupply Israel with weapons and receive the Israeli payment. However, it failed due direct contract to Iran by the EB. -
Invasion of Panama
U.S. invades Panama and captures Manuel Noriega [January 3, 1990]. The invasion was code-named "Operation Just Cause" and took place under the presidency of George H. W. Bush. It had only been 10 years since the treaty was signed returning the control of the Panama Canal to Panama. During the invasion, Panama's leader/general/dictator, Manuel Noriega, was suddenly removed and replaced by Guillermo Endara. Due to the shift in power and swearing into office, the Panamanian Defense Force dissolved. -
Summit in Washington, D.C.
[May 30, 1990 - June 3, 1990] Bush and Gorbachev hold summit in Washington, D.C. While in Washington, D.C., the superpower team discussed and went over various topics. During the summy, the 1990 Chemical Weapons Accord was signed. Their summit was only the beginning of what was to come from the blossoming and successful bussinesship between Bush and Gorbachev. -
Persian Gulf War
[August 7, 1990 - February 20, 1991] U.S.-led multinational force ends Iraqi occupation in Kuwait. There were 2,183,000 U.S. troops present in the Persian Gulf War. Going against Iraq, in response to Iraq's invasion and annexation of Kuwait, was a multi-force including the United States, Britain, France, Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Syria, and Italy. After the deadline for Iraq to unconditionally withdraw from Kuwait, Congress approved an air attack against targets in Iraq as well as those in Kuwait.
