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Vietnam War
Vietnamese Nationalists and Communists joined to fight the French armies. The United States supported the French armies, but the French were defeated. This caused a domino theory. After the french defeate a peace conference met. Vietnam was divided and the US and French set up antiCommunist governments. -
Mao Zedong takes control of China
In October, 1949 Mao Zedong gained control over this country. He considered it the People's Republic of China. His victory and control over the country fueled U.S. anti-communist feelings. Many people in the United States viewed the takeover of China as another step in a Communist campaign to conquer the world. -
Korean War
A military conflict between the Republic of Korea, supported by the United Nations, and the Democratic People's Republic of Korea, supported by the People's Republic of China and the Soviet Union. The war was a result of the political division of Korea by agreement of the victorious Allies at the conclusion of the Pacific War. -
Soviet Union invades Hungary
Hungary withdrew from the Warsaw pact to declare hungary neutral. They then appealed to the United Nations and Western governments to protect their neutrality. This caused the soviet union to invade and attack Hungary. -
Fidel Castro takes control of Cuba
Castro led the movement in overthrowing Fulgencio Batista in January 1959. Castro was a harsh dictator. When Castro nationalized the Cuban economy, he took over U.S.owned sugar mills and refineries. President Eisenhower ordered an embargo on all trade with Cuba. Relations with the United States went away, so Castro went to the Soviets for economic and military aid. This caused more tension during the Cold War. -
Bay of Pigs Invasion
The CIA planned an invasion of Cuba and began to train anti-Castro Cuban exiles to carry it out and these exiles landed at the Bay of Pigs in Cuba. Kennedy approved the invasion but refused to send U.S. planes to support it. Castro's forces defeated the invaders, humiliating the United States. -
Cuban Missle Crisis
Khrushchev secretly began to build 42 missile sites in Cuba. Soon an American spy plane discovered the sites and Kennedy declared that missiles so close to the U.S. mainland were a threat. He demanded that the Soviets remove the missiles and announced a quarantine of Cuba to prevent the Soviets installing more missiles. Many were afraid this would start World War III. -
Soviet Invasion of Czechoslovakia
In the morning, the Soviet army invaded Czechoslovakia along with troops from four other Warsaw pact countries. They took Czechoslovakians captive in their own borders. This made citizens more against the Soviet union and the Warsaw pact countries and contributed harshly to the Cold War. -
Nixon Visits China
an important step in formally normalizing relations between the United States and the People's Republic of China. Improved relations and was very important and successful in the Cold War. -
SALT treaty talks
two rounds of bilateral talks and corresponding international treaties involving the United States and the Soviet Union on the issue of armament control. There were two rounds of talks and agreements: SALT I and SALT II. A treaty made out of this was START. (Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty) -
Iran Revolution
The events involving the overthrow of Iran's monarchy, Pahlavi dynasty, and its replacement with an Islamic republic under Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, the leader of the revolution. -
Civil War in Nicaragua
The Civil War in Nicaragua lasted a little over a decade and weakend the country's economy. The Sandinistas had aided other socialist rebels in nearby El Salvador. To help the El Salvadoran government fight those rebels, the United States supported Nicaraguan anti-communist rebel forces. They are called Contras. -
Soviet war in Afghanistan
A onflict involving the Soviet Union, supporting the Marxist government of the Democratic Republic of Afghanistan at their own request against the Islamist Mujahideen Resistance. The mujahideen found other support from a variety of sources including the United States, United Kingdom, Saudi Arabia, etc. Due to the interminable nature of the war, the conflict in Afghanistan has often been referred to as the Soviets' Vietnam. -
Fall of the Berlin Wall
East Germany and West Germany met as a single, free nation.In the intervening 40 years, the Berlin Wall became a symbol of infamy and hatred. It was also the symbol of a government power’s ability to restrict, or annihilate, the freedoms of a populace. This caused much rejoice and happiness among the people and less tension across the Cold War. -
Mikhail Gorbachev takes control of USSR
He was the last head of the USSR. Gorbachev believed that the Comecon and Warsaw Pact could be reformed into more effective entities. -
Soviet Union collapses
Failed attempts at reforms, a falling economy, and war in Afghanistan led to this general collapse of the Soviet Union. The Soviet Union finally collapsed in 1991 when Boris Yeltsin seized power in the aftermath of a failed coup that had attempted to topple reform-minded Gorbachev. -
Iraq War
An ongoing military campaign with the invasion of Iraq by a multinational force led by troops from the United States and the United Kingdom. The invasion of Iraq led to an occupation and the eventual capture of President Hussein, who was later tried in an Iraqi court of law and executed by the new Iraqi government.