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Cold War Innovation
The space and arms race developed as a result of the Cold War. It was imperative that each country never stopped progressing and innovating in science or else they would lose the war. The most competitive field was rocket propulsion. The USSR and US were constantly trying to spy on each other so they developed technology to spy from space as well as to propel long-range nuclear warheads. -
Soviet Expansion Into Eastern Europe
Towards the end of and after WWII the Soviet Union expanded aggressively into Eastern Europe. The Soviets wanted to increase their size geographically, therefore, spreading Communism to more of the world. The Soviets took over Czechoslovakia in 1948 as the final addition to the Soviet Union. -
Berlin Blockade
The Berlin Blockade was when the Soviet Union blocked the Allies' railway, road, and canal access to the parts of Berlin under Western control. This would have greatly impacted West Berlin economically; however, the Allies began flying cargo and other resources into West Berlin. The Allies were able to get more resources to West Berlin after the blockade than before. -
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CIA Sponsors Artists
American abstract painters such as Jackson Pollock, Mark Rothko, and Willem de Kooning were sponsored by the CIA to advertise the freedom and creativity of the Capitalist system.The CIA would fund Artists in order to make art that was a more subtle form of propaganda. -
McCarthy is Censured by the US Senate
Between 1950 and 1956 Senator Joseph McCarthy made unsubstantiated charges that Communists had infiltrated the State Department and the U.S. Army. McCarthy's accusations were a social issue because they stopped any social reform as proposing them would be seen as leftist and would lead to persecution by the government for being a Communist. His incorrect attacks cost hundreds of people their jobs and careers until the Senate publicly disapproved of McCarthy's methods in 1954. -
"In God We Trust"
In an effort to combat the Communists anti-religious stance the United States began making religion a larger part of the daily lives of Americans. In 1954 Congress authorized the addition of "under God" to the Pledge of Allegiance. Additionally, in 1955 the words "In God We Trust" were added to US currency. -
John F. Kennedy Takes Office As 35th President
On Jan. 20, 1961 John F. Kennedy took office. Kennedy's agenda of trying for peace but being ready for war was crucial in preventing the Cold War from turning to a full nuclear war. In his inaugural speech Kennedy requested that "That both sides [of the Cold War] begin anew the quest for peace". -
The Building of the Berlin Wall
When the Berlin wall was built it completely cutoff East Germany from any Western trade. The result of this was large amounts of poverty and the decrepit buildings in half of Berlin.Meanwhile, West Berlin was rebounding economically. It received financial backing from the West, especially the United States -
Pop Culture and the Cold War
From Russia With Love had a surprisingly important effect on the Cold War. From Russia With Love became the most viewed movie in Britain upon release The suave, smart, and deadly James Bond immediately became a pop culture icon and the Bond films glorified the West even further serving as a valuable means of propaganda embedded in culture. -
Cuban Missile Crisis
In 1963 the Soviets sent nuclear weapons to Fidel Castro, Cuba's newest dictator. The effect of Soviet nukes being 90 miles off the coast of Florida was panic in the United States. The psychological toll it took on Americans was tremendous. A newspaper from 1963 described the Cuban Missile Crises as "President Kennedy's finest hour" and "a turning point in Cold-War history" (Newsom). -
Art Race
The US and Soviet Union engaged in competition in the arts. The Soviets succeeded in ballet and chess while the Americans excelled in abstract painting and Jazz. Andy Warhol is an example of an American artist who used his paintings to convey subliminal pro-West ideals. American and the USSR used art to try to prove which culture was superior. -
The Miracle on Ice
The Miracle on Ice is when the United States hockey team beat the Soviet Union in a Semi-Finals game of the 1980 Olympics. The Soviet ice-hockey team was very experienced and regarded as hands down the best in the world. The American team was almost exclusively college kids from New England and Minnesota colleges. The cultural difference between the two teams was starkly contrasting. The Soviets played with discipline, speed, and force while the American team played with grit and toughness. -
Mikhail Gorbachev is elected President
Gorbachev was largely supported in the West for his relatively progressive reforms. Gorbachev brought down the Berlin Wall and worked towards nuclear deescalation. Gorbachev's political views were the main cause of the end of the Cold War. -
Communist Anti-Religious Stance
Communists were against religion and in 1925 they made it official by backing the League of Militant Godless. The Soviet's wanted to eliminate religion replace it with universal atheism. The Soviet government confiscated religious property, ridiculed religion, harassed believers, and taught atheism in schools. The anti-religious position that the Soviet Union took lasted until its fall in the 1990's -
Rising Tension With Russia Today
The President at the United States decided to take an opinion that could start another arms race that would rival the Cold War to twitter. President Trump said "Let it be an arms race. We will outmatch them at every pass and outlast them all" in elaboration to something he had mentioned on Twitter. Arms races are not something countries intend to start, so President Trump's policy of starting an arms race intentionally is very Militaristic. -
Interview With My Dad
My Dad defined the Cold War as "a nonviolent war of nuclear escalation". He said it brought to mind images of Ronald Reagan and Mikhail Gorbachev. His memories from the Cold War were “The wall coming down, Mikhail Gorbachev’s head, and the Miracle on Ice". He thought that the Soviet Union was America's enemy in everything we did during the Cold War. Finally, he said that “I was never afraid during the Cold War... I was a kid and. I saw pictures of Russians in a faraway place and that was it. “
