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Russian Revolution
The Communist forces, know as the Bolsheviks, took over the Russian government after a series of revolutions. -
The Potsdam Conference.
The first and last talks between Josef Stalin and Harry Truman. A rift was torn between their alliance when America wouldn't allow Russia to have control of Eastern Europe. This happened until August 7th. -
The Atomic Bomb
The United States drops the atom bomb on Japan, surprising the Soviets with his willingness to use it. -
The Iron Curtain
Former British Prime Minister Winston Churchill gave a speech at Westminster College in Fulton, Missouri, condemning the Soviets for expanding their power over eastern Europe. -
Hollywood 10
10 actors are arrested for contempt for not answering questions about treason. -
The Molotov Plan
An aid program developed by the Soviet Union to rebuild eastern European countries who were aligned with the Soviet Union. -
The Truman Doctrine
American foreign policy signed in 1947 to combat Communism expanding to other countries. -
The Marshall Plan
A plan to send economic aid to European countries destroyed by World War II and to rebuild an infrastructure. -
Berlin Airlift
The United States air dropped supplies for the German people who were being isolated by Stalin, who quarantined Berlin when the allies let West Germany unify. -
The Berlin Blockade
The Soviets blocked western Allies from entering Berlin in order to deter a unified Germany. -
NATO
The North Atlantic Treaty Organization was created in 1949 to defend the world against threats, including the USSR. -
Soviet Bomb Test
The Soviet Union tested their first atomic bomb, displaying a change in the US' position in the Nuclear monopoly. -
Alger Hiss Case
State Department Official, Alger Hiss, was convicted of perjury. He was on trial for being a communist in the 30's and 50's.He was also accused of passing secrets from the State Department. -
Korean War
A war between communist backed North Korea and US backed South Korea when North Korea invaded South Korea after conflicts at the border -
The Rosenberg Trial
Ethel and Julius Rosenberg begin their trial for espionage. They were accused of passing secrets to the Russians. -
Army-McCarthy hearings
Senator Joseph McCarthy was on trial for improper use of influence and though he was acquitted, he lost support. -
Battle of Dien Phu
The battle that settled the fate of French Indochina was initiated in November 1953, when Viet Minh forces at Chinese insistence moved to attack Lai Chau, the capital of the T’ai Federation (in Upper Tonkin), which was loyal to the French. -
Geneva Conference
Conference in Geneva, Switzerland ending the war in Indochina. French agreed to withdraw their troops from northern Vietnam. Vietnam would be temporarily divided at the 17th parallel, pending elections within two years to choose a president and reunite the country. During that two-year period, no foreign troops could enter Vietnam. -
The Warsaw Pact
The Soviet Union and seven of its European satellites sign a treaty establishing the Warsaw Pact, a mutual defense organization that put the Soviets in command of the armed forces of the member states. -
Hungarian Revolution
Thousands of protesters took to the streets demanding a more democratic political system and freedom from Soviet oppression. In response, Communist Party officials appointed Imre Nagy, a former premier who had been dismissed from the party for his criticisms of Stalinist policies, as the new premier. Nagy tried to restore peace and asked the Soviets to withdraw their troops. The Soviets did so, but Nagy then tried to push the Hungarian revolt forward by abolishing one-party rule. -
U2 Incident
An international diplomatic crisis erupted when the USSR shot down an American U-2 spy plane in Soviet air space and captured its pilot. -
Bay of Pigs Invasion
The US sent Cubans trained by the US military to push Castro out of power, but were badly outnumbered and surrendered in 24 hours. -
Tet Offensive
The Tet Offensive was a coordinated series of North Vietnamese attacks on more than 100 cities and outposts in South Vietnam. The offensive was an attempt to foment rebellion among the South Vietnamese population and encourage the United States to scale back its involvement in the Vietnam War. Though U.S. and South Vietnamese forces managed to hold off the attacks, news coverage of the massive offensive shocked the American public and eroded support for the war effort. -
Berlin Wall
The Communist government of East Germany began to build a barbed wire and concrete wall between East and West Berlin. The official purpose of this Berlin Wall was to keep Western “fascists” from entering East Germany and undermining the socialist state, but it primarily served the objective of stemming mass defections from East to West. -
Cuban Missile Crisis
Leaders of the U.S. and the Soviet Union engaged in a tense, 13-day political and military standoff in October 1962 over the installation of nuclear-armed Soviet missiles on Cuba, just 90 miles from U.S. shores. -
Assassination of Diem
Following the overthrow of his government by South Vietnamese military forces the day before, President Ngo Dinh Diem and his brother are captured and killed by a group of soldiers. -
Assassination of JFK
Sitting in a Lincoln convertible, the Kennedys and Connallys waved at the large and enthusiastic crowds gathered along the parade route. As their vehicle passed the Texas School Book Depository Building at 12:30 p.m., Lee Harvey Oswald allegedly fired three shots from the sixth floor, fatally wounding President Kennedy and seriously injuring Governor Connally. -
Tonkin Gulf Resolution
The Gulf of Tonkin Resolution authorized President Lyndon Johnson to “take all necessary measures to repel any armed attack against the forces of the United States and to prevent further aggression” by the communist government of North Vietnam. -
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 -
Assassination of MLK
Martin Luther King, Jr. was shot in the neck by a sniper in Memphis, Tennessee on the balcony of his hotel room. -
Assassination of RFK
Senator Robert Kennedy is shot at the Ambassador Hotel in Los Angeles after winning the California presidential primary. Immediately after he announced to his cheering supporters that the country was ready to end its fractious divisions, Kennedy was shot several times by the 22-year-old Palestinian Sirhan Sirhan. -
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. -
Invasion of Czechoslavakia
200,000 Warsaw Pact troops and 5,000 tanks invade Czechoslovakia to crush the “Prague Spring”–a brief period of liberalization in the communist country. -
Election of Nixon
Nixon is elected president. -
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 visits the People’s Republic of China. After arriving in Beijing, the president announced that his breakthrough visit to China is “The week that changed the world.” -
Ceasefire in Vietnam
A ceasefire took place at midnight Greenwich mean time and was to end fighting however it was violated by both sides. -
Fall of Saigon
The Fall of Saigon was the capture of the capital of South Vietnam, by the People's Army of Vietnam and the Viet Cong. The event marked the end of the Vietnam War -
Reagan Elected
Ronald Reagan and running mate George H.W. Bush faced off against President Jimmy Carter and Vice President Walter Mondale. Reagan won the election by an electoral margin of 489-49 and captured almost 51 percent of the popular vote. -
SDI Elected
The Strategic Defense Initiative (SDI), also known as Star Wars, was a program first initiated 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, specifically the Soviet Union. -
Geneva Conference with Gorbachev
For the first time in eight years, the leaders of the Soviet Union and the United States hold a summit conference. Meeting in Geneva, President Ronald Reagan and Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev produced no earth-shattering 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" Speach
In one of his most famous Cold War speeches, President Ronald Reagan challenges Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev to tear down the Berlin Wall. -
Fall of the Berlin Wall
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. This marked the end of the Cold War.
