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The Yalta Conference
The Yalta Conference was organized by the "Big Three," referring to Franklin D. Roosevelt, Winston Churchill, and Josef Stalin. The party met to discuss prominent concerns regarding the end of the war. They sought definitive answers as to how they could prevent future war, stabilize Germany, the future of Poland, and finally Russia's entry in the war against Japan. F.D.R. suggested an international peace keeping assembly that in time woul be known as the U.N. As for Germany, the "Big Three" did -
The Yalta Conference (continued)
not come to a conclusion. Churchill then proposed they leave Poland to be independent and liberated. Stalin was not a fan of this proposal, but because Churchill and Britain were the original defenders of Poland, he eventually won the argument. In order to stabilize Germany, the party discussed the idea of having no war reparations, being that high reparations got them all into WWII to begin with. Lastly, F.D.R. pushed Stalin to join the war against Japan. Stalin agreed to join within three -
The Yalta Conference (continued)
months of Germany's surrender in return for "strategic lands." Exactly three months later, Stalin joined in on the war against Japan. However, Russia's part in the war against Japan was essentially useless. The United States had already dropped one atomic bomb and within one day of Russia joining the cause, they dropped another causing Japan to surrender. From this deal, Stalin had had the least casualties and the most gained. The Yalta Conference is significant because it led to four ideas that -
The Yalta Conference (continued)
would revolutionize the world: the creation of the U.N., Poland's Liberation, German reparation nullification, and lastly Russia's entry into the war with Japan. The Yalta Conference was significant because it marked the beginning of tension such as the creation of the Berlin Wall which ultimately caused a global response to communism and also liberated Poland -
Indian Independence (continued)
The India Independence Act of 1947 is significant because it marked the creation of two new sovereign states: India and Pakistan. -
Indian Independence
After World War I, much discontent stirred in India. The British made millions of dollars from Indian exports while the Indians themselves were left in poverty. Eventually, the Indian people banded together behind the leadership of Ghandi to gain the basic rights that they deserved. It was not until World War II that India gained its gained momentum towards independence. British and Indian relations were at an all time low and the Allies were afraid of losing India to the Axis powers. Ghandi and -
Indian Independence (continued)
his followers were no longer appeased by the hollow promises that the British always threw at them. After the war, Ghandi organized the "Quit India" movement to hasten the British departure. On August 15, 1947 India became a sovereign state along with Pakistan. Due to religious disagreements, the Indians and the people of Pakistan would clash for many years, resulting in hundreds of thousands of deaths, including Ghandi who was assassinated at a pray vigil. -
The Korean War
The Korean War began on June 25, 1950, when the army of communist North Korea crossed the border into non-communist South Korea. This was the first military action during the Cold War. The US had involved its own troops by July. They fought on the side of the pro-Western South Koreans. The war was extremely bloody and claimed the lives of around five million people, both soldiers and civilians. Near the end of the conflict, the US leaders were eager to sign a armistice because they feared the -
The Korean War (Continued)
conflict would turn in World War III. The conflict ended in July, 1953. The Korean War was a significant turning point in the Cold War because it was the first armed conflict of the war. It also showed that the US was willing to use its military might to protect democratic nations from the threat of communism, which it would again do during the Vietnam War. This is significant because it proved the Cold War had the potential to become a global war that would devastate the world. -
The Cuban Missile Crisis
On October 14, 1962 United States President John F. Kennedy was informed of Soviet Nuclear Missiles held within Cuba found by a U-2 spy plane. Over the next two weeks he and the Soviet Premier Nikita Khrushchev put their countries on the brink of war with promised mutual destruction. Kennedy refused to have Soviet missiles in such close proximity to the USA but did not want to attack Cuba for fear that they would fire the nuclear weapons. He decided to publically declare the US would -
The Cuban Missile Crisis (Continued)
Not invade Cuba if the Soviet Union withdrew its arms. The US also would have to remove its nuclear weapons from Turkey within 6 months. While the public thought that that was the extent of the deal Kennedy secretly stated the US would invade Cuba within 24 hours if the deal was not accepted. Nikita Khrushchev accepted the offer with little time left but the crisis was over with no major conflict.
