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Russian Communist Revolution
The Russian Revolution set up a communist government in Russia. After WWII, Russia became the USSR due to all the countries under its direct influence and began to spread communism. During this time America had a political and social stance against communism, which lead to conflict with the soviet's goal of spreading it. -
Treaty of Verailles
This treaty was used to make Germany pay for the war debts for WW1 but they could not pay so the Soviet Union went into Germany and split Berlin (also trying to spread communism). -
League of Nations
Though the UN's primary mandate was peacekeeping, the division between the US and USSR often paralysed the organization, generally allowing it to intervene only in conflicts distant from the Cold War. (A notable exception was a Security Council resolution in 1950 authorizing a US-led coalition to repel the North Korean invasion of South Korea, passed in the absence of the USSR.) -
Yalta Conference
A meeting between the United States, Russia, Berlin, and France where they agreed on the splitting of central Europe. -
United Nations
Second attempt at creating a collective security system. The United Nations charter placed more power in the hands of the 5 major states, which were given veto powers and permanent representation in the upper chamber, the secutiry council, which had exclusive jurisdiction in security matters. -
Nuremberg Trials
Series of military tribunals, held by the allied forces after WWII. Procecution of prominent members of political, military, and economic leadership of Nazi Germany. -
Iron Curtain Speech
Winston Churchill condemns the Soviet Union's polocies in Europe and declares, "From Settin in the Baltic to Trieste in the Adriatic, an iron curtain has decended across the continent." Soviet Union was going behind our backs and Churchill spoke out against them. -
Baruch Plan
International control of atomic weapons in the United Nations. Failure resulted in an arms race between the US and USSR during the cold war. -
Truman Doctrine
This treaty was to provide military and economic aid to Greece and Turkey; or to any country threatened by communism. -
Marshall Plan
Reduced the influence and power of communist parties in western Europe. This angered the Soviet Union and was seen as another anti-communist move by the U.S.A. following the Truman Doctrine. -
Berlin Airlift
In the begining of the Cold War the Soviets didn't want any other countries in Germany so they blockaded the city of Berlin and America airlifted supplies. -
General Assembly
It was used to try and create peace between the Soviet Union and the United States. -
NATO created
North Atlantic treaty organization was created by the US, Canada, and several Western European nations to provide collective security against the Soviet Union. -
Chinese Communist Revolution
Chinese leader Mao Zedong created the People's Republic of China (PRC) and this lead to a civil war between the Chinese Communist Part (CCP) and the nationalist party. This lead to WWII. The fall of mainland China to communism led to the United States to suspend diplomact ties with PRC for decades. -
Joseph McCarthy Speech
People were scared of the Soviet Union. The Republican Senator of WIsconsin spent almost five years trying in vain to expose communists and other left wing "loyalty risks" in the United States government. In the cold war, insinuations of disloyalty were enough to convince many Anericans that their government were traitors and spies. -
Korean War
This war started because the Soviet Union wanted to spread communism through out the Pacific. -
Warsaw Pact
A military alliance used to support communism between most eastern European countries. It had major military backing from the U.S.S.R. -
Sputnik launched
Successful launch. This made the USA seem as a threat to the Soviet Union. These two countries have been trying to show their domenense since the cold war began after WWII. -
Bay of Pigs Invasion
JFK took a group of people and trained them to go into Cuba and attack the Cuban leader, Fidel Castro, but failed. -
Fidel Casto Proclaims Communist Cuba
Castro announced that Cuba turns communist. His announcement cam nearly 8 months after the Bay of Pigs invasion. This coupled with the countries proximity to the US, and continues to affect the international relations because it was a key element in the cold war. -
Building of the Berlin Wall
It pevented a war between east and west Germany. East Germany's economy was collapsing because the Soviet Union was draining it of all their resources and west Germany's economy was doing fine under capitalist rule and a new currency (duetsche mark). -
Berlin Wall
Construction of the Berlin Wall began on August 13, 1961 as a way of seperating the three zones controlled by France, Britain, and America from the zone controlled by the Soviet Union. -
Cuban Missle Crisis
United States found out that Soviet Union had issles in CUba. Cuba is close to the United States so we made a blockade around Cuba so they wouldnt get anymore missles shipped in. We made an ageement that they take their missles out of Cuba and we take ours out of Turkey. -
U.S. sends troops to Vietnam
The United States sent troops to attempt the prevention of communism in Korea. -
Apollo 11
Space race between US and Soviet Union. Apollo 11 is the first spacecraft to land on the moon and return safetly. -
SALT 1 and 2
Strategic Arms Limitation Talks; this agreement was signed by the U.S. and the Soviet Union in 1972 and 1979, respectively, abd were intended to restrain the arms race in strategic (long range or or intercontinental) ballistic missles armed with nuclear weapons. -
Non-Proliferation Agreement
International treaty whose objective is to prevent the spread of nuclear weapons and weapons technology, to promote cooperation in the peaceful uses of nuclear diarmament and hgeneral and complete disarmament. -
Kent State Shootings
Involoved the shooting of unarmed college students by the Ohio National Guard. Some students who were shot had been protesting the cambodian campaign, which president Richard Nixon announced. This event furthered public opinion over the role of the United States in the Vietnam War. -
Deng Xiaoping
Leader of China. Led this country far reaching market economic reforms. "paramount leader" of the peoples Republic of China." -
Fall of Saigon
Cease fire and put in place provisions for the protection of the freedom of South Vietnam. If North Vietnam violated agreement, US troops would return to the aid of the South. This was caused by high tension between US and Vietnam after the Vietnam War. -
Pope John Paul ii
He criticized much of the communist world and most certainly helped move people toward the elimination of communism. -
Margaret Thatcher
She helped end the cold war, member of the anticommunist "holytrinity" who altered fate of the west, and sonsequently the fate of those outside it. -
Soviets invade Afghanistan
Soviet Union sent thousands of troops into Afghanistan and assumed complete military and political control of Kabul and large portions of the country. It was a watershed event of the cold war, marking the only time the Soviet Union invaded a country outside the Easten Bloc. -
MAD
Mutually Assured Destruction; a doctrine of the military strategy and national security policy in which a full-scale use of nuclear weapons by the U.S. and Soviet Russia. -
Fall of Berlin Wall
The Berlin wall "fell" to show how the Soviet's economy crashed. -
Lech Walesa
Lech Walesa, the polish politician, played a small but significant role in bringing the Cold War to an end. When the 10th plenary session of the communist party ended, Walesa played a crucial role in organizing Roundtable talks with the party members. His energetic and enthusiastic campaign for Solidarity ensured that it was eventually given legal recognition and opportunity to contest elections. In a way, Walesa paved the way for reforms in other countries by taking the first step. In hindsight -
START 1 and 2
Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty; the first treaty to provide deep reductions of the United States and the U.S.S.R. strategic nuclear weapons. -
Nuclear Deterrent
Credible threat of retalliation to forestall enemy attack. Long ranged manned aircraft carrying nuclear weapons, landed-based intercontinental ballistic missles with nuclear warheads and nuclear powered subs aremed with nuclear ballistic missles. This was because the US and USSR built a stockpile of nuclear weapons.
