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russian revolution
Two revolutions went through Russia, ending centuries of imperial rule creating political and social changes that would lead to the formation of the Soviet Union. The Cold War involved the breakdown between the Soviet Union versus the United States and their allies -
Invasion of Czechoslovakia
Hitler’s forces invade and occupy Czechoslovakia, a nation sacrificed on the altar of the Munich Pact, which was a vain attempt to prevent Germany’s imperial aims. -
soviet bomb test
The Soviet Union atomic bomb testing had been recognized as a classified research and development program that was authorized by Joseph Stalin, in the Soviet Union to develop nuclear war weapons during World War II. -
iron curtian
the dividing of boundaries of Europe into two separate areas from the ending of World War II in 1945 until the ending of the Cold War in 1922. the efforts by the Soviet Union to block itself and its satellite states from open contact with their allied states, towards the West. the US just wanted to protect Europe from communism -
Potsdam conference
The Potsdam conference was meant to discuss the rebuilding of European nations as democratic societies (like the US and England) or as communist nations (Russia). The meeting was also marked by growing suspicion and tension between the United States and the Soviet Union. The conference failed to settle most of the important issues which lead to the Cold War. -
Atomic bomb - Hiroshima/Nagasaki
during World War ll, an American B-29 bomber dropped the world’s first deployed atomic bomb over the Japanese city of Hiroshima. Three days later, a second B-29 dropped another A-bomb on Nagasaki. After the surrender of Germany and Japan, the two world powers for decades increased their spheres of influence around the globe by spreading capitalism and communism. Cold War calculations led to a divided Germany and U.S. involvement in wars in Korea and Vietnam. -
Truman doctrine
With the Truman Doctrine, President Harry S. Truman established that the United States would provide political, military and economic assistance to all democratic nations under threat from external or internal authoritarian forces. President Truman is stating that any country that is being forced into communism will have US support during the cold war -
Molotov Plan
The Soviet Union did not agree with the Marshall plan so they created The Molotov Plan which was the system created by the Soviet Union in 1947 in order to provide aid to rebuild the countries in Eastern Europe that were politically and economically aligned to the Soviet Union. -
Hollywood 10
members of the Hollywood film industry publicly denounced the tactics employed by the HUAC during its reoccurrence of communist influence in the American motion picture business. the US and the Soviet Union engaged in a military and political rivalry known as the Cold War. Although the U.S. and its communist rival rarely confronted each other directly, they both attempted to extend their influence and promote their systems of government around the world -
Berlin Airlift
Soviet-controlled eastern Germany led to the first Berlin crisis of the Cold War. The Soviet forces blockaded rail, road, and water access to Allied-controlled areas of Berlin. The United States and United Kingdom responded by airlifting food and fuel to Berlin from Allied airbases in western Germany. -
Marshall Plan
The Marshall Plan was an American opportunity to aid the Western part of Europe, where the United States gave roughly $12 billion in economic assistance to rebuild the Western European economies towards the end of WWII. -
berlin blockade
A major international crisis of the Cold War. During WWII, Germany, and the Soviet Union had blocked the Western Allies' railway, road, and canal access to the sectors of Berlin under the Western control. -
NATO
NATO; was known as the North Atlantic Treaty Organization, or also called the North Atlantic Alliance, is an intergovernmental military alliance between 29 North American and European countries. It was used to try and put an end to communism -
Alger Hiss case
Former State Department official Alger Hiss is convicted of perjury. He was convicted of having perjured himself in testimony about his alleged involvement in a Soviet spy ring before and during World War II. Hiss served nearly four years in jail, but steadfastly protested his innocence during and after his incarceration. -
korean war
A war between North Korea and South Korea. The war had begun on the 5th of June of 1950 when North Korea had invaded South Korea following with a number of clashes among the border. Korea had been split into two sovereign states, as a product to the Cold War. -
Rosenburg trial
The Rosenburg couple accused of selling nuclear secrets to the Russians but treason could not be charged because the United States was not at war with the Soviet Union. Rosenberg asked his brother in law to pass highly confidential instructions on making atomic weapons to the Soviet Union. These materials were transferred to the Russians by Harry Gold The Soviets exploded their first atomic bomb and effectively started the Cold War based on information -
battle of Dien Bien Phu
the engagement in the first Indochina war. After French forces occupied the Dien Bien Phu valley, the Viet Minh commander gathered troops and placed heavy artillery in caves overlooking the French camp. supported by Chinese aid, assaults on the opposition’s strong points began, eliminating the French airfield. as a result, the French to seek out an end to the fighting with the signing of the Geneva Accords. The US not wanting Vietnam to fall into communism began fighting for them. -
Geneva Conference
the discussion between representatives from the United States, the Soviet Union, the People’s Republic of China, France, and Great Britain on the problems in Asia. the conference concluded with splitting Vietnam at the 17th parallel. this left northern Vietnam communist and southern Vietnam against communism or neutral. the US still feared the domino effect from North Vietnam which leads to war. -
Army-McCarthy hearings
A series of hearings that were held by the United States Senate Subcommittee of Investigation to investigate the conflict accusations between the United States Army and the United States Senator Joseph McCarthy. -
Warsaw Pact
the Warsaw pact was a Treaty of Friendship, Cooperation, and Mutual Assistance, The Soviet Union and seven of its European satellites signed a treaty called the Warsaw Pact. The treaty relied on the member states (Soviet Union, Albania, Poland, Romania, Hungary, East Germany, Czechoslovakia, and Bulgaria) to come to the defense of any member attacked by an outside force. -
Hungarian Revolution
The Hungarian Uprising of 1956, was a revolt that went nationwide against the Marxist-Leninist government of the Hungarian People's Republic and its Soviet-imposed policies. -
U2 incident
A United States U-2 spy plane was shot down by the Soviet Union Air Defence Forces while the United States was performing photographic aerial reconnaissance deep into Soviet territory. The U-2 spy plane was a single pilot aircraft that was flown by pilot Francis Gary Powers was shot down by a surface-to-air missile. This cause pilot Francis' plane to crash near Sverdlovsk. -
Bay of Pigs invasion
The Bay of Pigs invasion was a failure attempt of a military invasion of Cuba that was undertaken by the Central Intelligence Agency. -
Berlin Wall
The Berlin Wall was a wall that had divided Berlin into two seperate states and was guarded so its people could not leave and no one could come in. it was a divide in communism -
Cuban Missile Crisis
The Cuban Missile Crisis was a 13 day long confrontation between the United States and the Soviet Union. That was concerning American ballistic missile deployments with consequent Soviet ballistic missile deployment in Cuba. -
Assassination of Diem
The day before President Ngo Dinh Diem and his brothers' death, the South Vietnamese government was overthrown, military forces captured and killed and kill the brothers. The death of Diem caused celebration among many people in South Vietnam but also lead to chaos in the nation. The United States became more heavily involved in Vietnam trying to stabilize the South Vietnamese government and defeat the communist rebels that were a powerful threat. -
Assassination of JFK
John Fitzgerald Kennedy, the 35th president of the United States, is assassinated while traveling through Dallas, Texas, in an open-top convertible. Lee Harvey Oswald allegedly fired three shots from the sixth floor, fatally wounding President Kennedy and seriously injuring Governor Connally. Kennedy was pronounced dead 30 minutes later at Dallas’ Parkland Hospital. He was 46. -
Tonkin Gulf Resolution
Two U.S. destroyers stationed in the Gulf of Tonkin in Vietnam called in that they were attacked by North Vietnamese forces. President Johnson responded by requesting permission from the U.S. Congress to increase the U.S. military presence in Indochina. Congress passed the Gulf of Tonkin Resolution -
Operation Rolling Thunder
Operation Rolling Thunder was the codename for an American bombing campaign during the Vietnam War. U.S. military aircraft attacked targets throughout North Vietnam. This massive attack was intended to put pressure on North Vietnam’s communist leaders and reduce their capacity to wage war against the U.S. Operation Rolling Thunder marked the first sustained American assault on North Vietnamese territory and represented a major expansion of U.S. involvement in the Vietnam War. -
Election of Nixon
Nixon campaigned to reach the “silent majority” of the middle class and working-class Americans. He promised to bring the US together again, and many Americans, upset after years of war were happy to hear of peace -
Riots of Democratic convention
At the Democratic National Convention in Chicago tens of thousands of Vietnam War protesters battle police in the streets while the Democratic Party falls apart over an internal disagreement concerning its stance on Vietnam. -
Tet Offensive
The Tet Offensive was a series of surprise attacks by the Vietcong and North Vietnamese forces, on scores of cities throughout South Vietnam. It was considered to be a turning point in the Vietnam War. -
Assassination of MLK
King was standing on the second-floor balcony of the Lorraine Motel, where he was staying when a sniper’s bullet struck him in the neck. His assassination led to anger among black Americans, as well as national mourning that helped speed the way for an equal housing bill. -
Assassination of RFK
Senator Robert Kennedy is shot at the Ambassador Hotel in Los Angeles after winning the California presidential primary. Palestinian Sirhan Sirhan was only a foot away when he fired several shots at Kennedy. -
Kent State
Four Kent State University students were killed and nine were injured when members of the Ohio National Guard opened fire on a crowd gathered to protest the Vietnam War. -
Nixon visits China
President Richard Nixon takes a dramatic first step toward normalizing relations with the communist People’s Republic of China by traveling to Beijing for a week of talks. Nixon’s visit began the slow process of the re-establishing diplomatic relations between the United States and communist China. -
Ceasefire in Vietnam
the cease-fire went into effect, Saigon controlled about 75 percent of South Vietnam’s territory and 85 percent of the population. The South Vietnamese Army was well equipped becuase of U.S. weapons and continued to receive U.S. aid after the cease-fire -
Fall of Saigon
the North Vietnamese Army took over Saigon with little resistance, and it was quickly renamed Ho Chi Minh City in honor of their revolutionary leader, Ho Chi Minh -
Reagan elected
Ronald Reagan, a former actor, and California governor served as the 40th U.S. president and helped end the cold war -
SDI announced
The Strategic Defense Initiative, also known as Star Wars, was a program first initiated on March 23, 1983 under President Ronald Reagan. The intent of this program was to develop a sophisticated anti-ballistic missile system in order to prevent missile attacks from other countries -
Geneva Conference with Gorbachev
Meeting in Geneva, President Ronald Reagan and Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev produced no agreements. However, the meeting boded well for the future, as the two men engaged in long, personal talks and seemed to develop a sincere and close relationship. -
‘Tear down this wall’ speech
This speech by President Ronald Reagan to the people of West Berlin contains one of the most memorable lines spoken during his presidency. The Berlin Wall, referred to by the President, was built by Communists in August 1961 to keep Germans from escaping Communist-dominated East Berlin into Democratic West Berlin. -
Fall of Berlin Wall
As the Cold War began to disappear across Eastern Europe, the spokesman for East Berlin's Communist Party announced a change in his city's relations with the West. Starting at midnight that day, he said, citizens of the GDR were free to cross the country's borders.
