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Korean War Begins
North Korea invaded South Korea on June 25th, starting the Korean War. US troops join the Korean War on June 30th. -
Primary Source - Truman's Dismissal of Douglas MacArthur
Source: Truman's Dismissal In this document, President Truman is denouncing the position of a widely renown U.S. military general. Clearly, he has the audience of the general American public in mind, as he explicitly states this in his speech. He wants to instill fear among citizens of America at the prospect of encountering foreign ideologies, including communism. -
First Successful Hydrogen Bomb Test
First successful hydrogen bomb test by the US in the Marshall Islands. -
The 1952 US Presidential Election
Dwight D Eisenhower is elected president of the US. -
Atoms for Peace
This speech was spoken by Dwight D. Eisenhower. The message sent here is that the nuclear weapons used at the time need to be repurposed for more peace-engaging acts. This was trying to stop the nuclear arms race. Near the end, it had begun the creation of the International Atomic Energy Agency. Video: Archival Footage -
Hydrogen Bomb - Castle Bravo Testing
This was the first step in Operation Castle, which was essentially a nuclear weapons test. -
Warsaw Pact
This pact formed an alliance between the Soviet Union and other eastern European countries. It was created to counteract the North Atlantic Treaty Organization held by the United States, Canada, and western European countries. -
The Hungarian Revolution
In 1956, Khrushchev opposed the Stalinist government, and he tried to end the forced-labor system. He administered the Hungarian Revolution, in which the Russians control Hungary’s economy, which eventually made Hungarians poor. They revolted here, and Hungary eventually was forced to pay 300 million dollars in reparations to Soviet Union.
This revolt was also a social change in Europe; the general people in Hungary soon followed suit in the revolt after a group of students began the revolution. -
Sputnik I
In 1957, the Soviets had launched the first man-made satellite in human history, and Sputnik I set off the first space race. The new Soviet leader (Nikita Khrushchev) wanted to take advantage of this situation occurring in Berlin. -
The Creation of NASA
The U.S. founded NASA (National Aeronautics Space Administration), to compete with the Soviets in a race for Space. The picture is of the Explorer 1 which was the first successfully launched U.S. satellite. -
Cuba Revolution
This picture is of Fidel Castro who led Cuban revolutionist. He became prime minister of Cuba and established a communist totalitarian government. -
Primary Source - Castro's Plan for Cuba
[Primary Source]http://lanic.utexas.edu/project/castro/db/1959/19590422.html
Abstract: New report written by a Wall Street reporter. One of Fidel Castro's points was to not rely upon the U.S. to provide Cuba with money. In order to accomplish this, he proposes to focus on producing more goods to expand trade and reduce unemployment. He also makes laws that distribute land, prohibits the firing of employees, lowers cost of real estate, and encourages industry.
