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Yalta Conference
The leaders of the United States, Great Britain, and the Soviet Union met at the Black Sea resort of Yalta. They agreed to divide Germany into zones of occupation when WWI ended. Stalin agreed to allow free elections in Eastern Europe. -
Alliance Ends
At the end of WWII, the alliance between the United States and the Soviet Union ended. The United States and the Soviet Unions had different ideas on the future of Europe. -
Iron Curtain Speech
Many people consider this speech the beginning of the Cold War. Churchill’s use of the phrase “Iron Curtain” in this speech made it popular. -
Truman Doctrine
President Harry Truman declares the Truman Doctrine. This supported countries that rejected communism. -
Marshall Plan
Truman launched the Marshall Plan in 1947. This provided food, machinery, and other materials to help rebuild Western Europe. -
Launch of Sputnik
Sputnik 1 was the first artificial Earth satellite. The launch of Sputnik increased conflict between the United States and Soviet Union. -
Berlin Airlift
This airlift supplied food and fuel to citizens of West Berlin when the Russians closed off land access to Berlin. The U.S. joined with western European nations in flying the supplies in. -
Korean War
In 1950, North Korea invaded South Korea with Soviet support. The United Nations helped South Korea. At the end of the war, Korea was still divided at 38th Parallel. -
Warsaw Pact
This pact formed an alliance between Soviets and Eastern nations. It was a mutual defense organization that put the Soviets in command of the armed forces of the member states. -
Vietnam War
The United States sent troops to fight in Vietcong and North Vietnam to try and prevent the spread of communism. In 1969, Nixon began to gradually withdraw U.S. troops using vietnamization. -
U2 Incident
The United States U-2 spy plane was shot down over the airspace of the Soviet Union. At first, the United States denied the planes mission and purpose, but was then forced to admit the truth. The incident was a great embarrassment to the United States. -
Cuban Missile Crisis
The United States discovered 42 Soviet missile sites in Cuba, just 90 miles from U.S. shores. This caused major tension for 13 days until the United States promised not to invade Cuba so the Soviets remove their missiles. -
Miracle on Ice
When the U.S. had to compete against the Soviet Union in the Olympics of 1980, tensions were high because of the war. This made the athletes even more competitive. The USSR hockey team was considered the best hockey team in the world at the time. Miraculously, the US team defeated them 4-3 and went on to win the gold medal.
