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Collapse of the Paris Peace Conference
The Paris Peace Conference collapsed because there were big disagreements between America, Britain, France, and Italy. -
"Iron Curtain" Speech
Made by Winston Churchill, the speech referred to the Berlin Wall as the "Iron Curtain". Stalin took this speech as an attack and felt like Churchill was encouraging anger towards the Soviet Union from the West. This speech started the Cold War. -
The Truman Doctrine
The Truman Doctrine was created when President Truman asked Congress for $400 million in military and economic provisions in Turkey and Greece to prevent the spread of communism in those areas. The greater effect of the Truman Doctrine made it so the U.S. would help any democratic nation that was threatened by authoritarian forces. -
Marshall Plan
The Marshall Plan was an U.S. initiative that provided foreign aid to Western Europe to help with economic recovery after WWII. It provided $13.3 billion in foreign aid to Western Europe. -
Creation of Israel
The head of the Jewish Agency, David Ben-Gurion, established the State of Israel in what was Palestine, stemming from the Zionist ideas of Theodor Herzl. -
Israel Declares Independence
Israel became in independent state. -
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Berlin Blockade/Airlift
The Berlin Blockade/Airlift was the first significant international crisis during the Cold War. The Soviet Union blocked the West's access to railways, roads, and canals to the parts of Berlin that was under the West's control. -
NATO Formed
Originally created with twelve countries, NATO was created with the idea that an attack on one country within NATO would be an attack on all countries within NATO. This was a much more effective version of the League of Nations. -
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Korean War
The Korean War was started because North Korea wanted to unite with South Korea under a communist regime. The Korean War was a proxy war for the Cold War in which America aligned itself with South Korea and the Soviet Union aligned itself with North Korea. -
Creation of Warsaw Pact
The Warsaw Pact was created in reaction to the creation of NATO. The Warsaw Pact was the Soviet Union's version of NATO, originally containing the Soviet Union, Albania, Bulgaria, Czechoslovakia, East Germany, Hungary, Poland, and Romania. -
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The Vietnam War (America)
The Vietnam War started because North Vietnam wanted to invade Southern Vietnam and reunite under a Communist regime. A conflict very similar to the Korean War, this was also a proxy war in the Cold War. America entered the Vietnam War on April 1, 1965. -
Khrushchev Secret speech
Titled "On the Cult of Personality and Its Consequences", by Nikita Khrushchev was a report that denounced the brutality of Stalin's regime. He made his speech to the 20th Congress of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union. -
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Hungarian Revolution
The Hungarian Revolution was a countrywide revolution to overthrow the communist government of Hungary. It was brutally suppressed by Soviet Union troops. -
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Suez Crisis
The Suez Crisis was when the Egyptian government took control of the Suez Canal from the British/French company that controlled it. This threatened the relationship between America and its allies, Britain and France. -
Sputnik
Sputnik was the first artificial Earth satellite which was launched by the Soviet Union. This marked the start of the space age and the space race between America and the USSR. -
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Bay of Pigs Invasion
The Bay of Pigs Invasion was when the Cuban Democratic Revolutionary Front (funded by America) was the failed attempt at a military landing on the southwest coast of Cuba. -
Construction of the Berlin Wall
The Berlin Wall was constructed to separate East and West Germany, the East side being controlled by the Soviet Union. It was built to stop citizens of East Germany from escaping to the West (not a good sign). -
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Cuban Missile Crisis
The U.S. had found out that the Soviet Union had installed nuclear missiles in Cuba, a response to America's missiles in Italy and Turkey. A naval blockade, courtesy of the U.S., surrounded Cuba to make sure no more missiles would come. This resulted in a thirteen day stand off between U.S. and Soviet Union forces. -
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SALT I
SALT I, standing for Strategic Arms Limitation Talk, was an agreement between America and the USSR to limit the amount of ballistic missiles and missile deployment sites to decrease chances of mutually assured destruction. -
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Prague Spring
The Prague Spring was a period of time when citizens of Czechoslovakia fought for more rights. -
Brezhnev Doctrine
In response to the Prague Spring, the Brezhnev Doctrine was pretty much the Soviet Union's version of the Truman Doctrine but instead protecting other socialist nations, not Democratic. -
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Detente
Detente is a gradual decrease in tension, in this case, it was the gradual release of tension between America and the USSR. -
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Soviet Invasion of Afghanistan
1,000s of Soviet troops were sent to Afghanistan and immediately took complete military control of Kabul and other large parts of the country. This was a significant event of the Cold War because it was the first time the Soviet Union had ever invaded a country outside of the Eastern Bloc. -
Fall of the Berlin Wall
This marked the start of German reunification and the (somewhat) end of the Cold War.