-
Yalta Conference
The Yalta Conference was a meeting between Winston Churchill, Joseph Stalin, and Franklin D. Roosevelt early in February 1945. -
President Roosevelt dies
President Roosevelt suddenly dies, leaving Vice President Truman to take over as President. -
WWII ends
VE Day is also known as Victory in Europe day. Great Bitain and the United States celebrated victory. On this day, German troops around Europe laid down their weapons and surrendered. -
Postdam conference
The Postdam conference was a meeting between the United States, the Soviet Union, and Great Britain to negotiate terms for the end of WWII. Germany was split into sections zones. -
Dropping of the Atomic Bombs
At 8:16 a.m. Japanese time, an American B-29 bomber dropped the world’s first atom bomb, over the city of Hiroshima. About 80,000 people are killed and another 35,000 were injured. Another 60,000 died by the end of the year from the effects of the bomb. -
Iron Curtain
The iron curtain was a boundary dividing Europe into two areas until the end of the cold war. -
Truman doctrine
The Truman doctrine was an American policy to stop Soviet imperialism during the Cold War. -
Marshall Plan
The Marshall Plan was an American aid to Western Europe, in which the United States gave $13 billion to help rebuild Western European economies after the end of World War 2. The Marshall Plan successfully sparked economic recovery, restoring the confidence of the European people. -
Berlin blockade begins
The Berlin Blockade was an attempt by the Soviet Union to limit the ability of France, Great Britain and the United States to travel to their sections of Berlin -
Berlin Aircraft
The United States began an airlift of food, water, and medicine to the people of West Berlin. -
NATO established
The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) was established by 12 nations: the United States, Great Britain, France, Belgium, the Netherlands, Denmark, Italy, Luxembourg, Norway, Iceland, Canada, and Portugal. The military alliance provided self-defense against the Soviet Union. -
Soviets explode first atomic bomb
At a remote test site in Kazakhstan, the USSR successfully explodes its first atomic bomb “First Lightning.” They built buildings and put animals in cages to test the effects of the bomb. The bomb destroyed the buildings and incinerated the animals. -
Chinese civil war
The Chinese Civil War fought between forces loyal to the Kuomintang-led government of China and forces loyal to the Communist Party of China. -
Korean war
The Korean War was a war between North and South Korea. The United States fought for the South and China fought for the North. -
US tests first hydrogen bomb
The United States explodes the world’s first thermonuclear weapon, the hydrogen bomb, in the Pacific. The test gave the United States a short term advantage in the nuclear arms race with the Soviet Union. -
SEATO
The Southeast Asia Treaty Organization was an international organization for defense in Southeast Asia. It was created by the Southeast Asia Collective Defense Treaty/ -
First summit meeting
President Ronald Reagan and Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev held a summit conference. Even though there were no agreement made, the meeting promised well for the future. -
Warsaw pact formed
The Warsaw Pact was a treaty among the Soviet Union and seven Soviet satellite states in Central and Eastern Europe. -
Vietnam war
The Vietnam war was between North and Sourth Vietnam. North Vietnam was allied with the USSR and South Vietnam was allied with the United States. The US feared that if North Vietnam won the war other contries would fall to communism. -
Soviets launch first satellite.
The successful launch of the satellite Sputnik I by the Soviet shocked and frightened many Americans. Americans reacted with fear that the Soviets had gotten so far ahead of the United States. -
NASA
The United States created NASA to lead the space race against the Soviet Union. -
Cuba becomes communist
Cuba becomes the first Communist state in the western hemisphere. Fidel Castro led his rebels against the dictator Fulgencio Batista. -
Bay of pigs invasion
The CIA sent 1,400 cuban refugees in atempt to overthrow Fidel Castro. There were unexpected counterattacks by Castro's military. The attempt was a complete failure. -
Berlin wall
East German decides to begin building the Berlin Wall to permanently close off entrance to the West. The Berlin Wall stood for the next 28 years. -
Cuban Missile Crisis
During the Cuban Missile Crisis, leaders of the U.S. and the Soviet Union were involved in a 13-day political and military standoff over the installation of nuclear-armed Soviet missiles on Cuba.
