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Decline of Great Britain
In 1946, Great Britain passed the National Insurace Act and the National Health Service Act which gave medical care to everyone. This created a welfare state, but the cost of healthcare for everyone lead to budget cuts in other areas. They had to dismantle the British Empire and lost the status of a world power. -
The Truman Doctrine
President Truman feared that the Soviet Union would take control of Greece due to Britain's withdrawl. He asked for $400,000 to help Greece and Turkey, but would also help aid other countries who feared the Communists were taking over. Without this aid, communision would not only enter Greece and Turkey, but the rest of the world. -
The Marshall Plan
General George C. Marshall, U.S. secretary of state, came up with the European Recovery Program (Marshall Plan). He believed that the countries struggling with economic issues were most likely to fall under the Communists' controll. Therefore, $13 billion was used to "rebuild war-torn Europe". The Soviet Union refused to join in the plan because they viewed it as the United States' way of trying to buy support of the countries. -
Soviet's German Blockade
The United States, Great Britian, and France wanted to unify their sections and create a West Germany government. The Soviets were against this and created a blockade that was in effect until May 1949. The Soviets lifted the blockade because they wanted to prevent a war. -
Communism in China
Chiang Kai-shek flost control of China to the Communist Mao Zedong. He formed the People's Republic of China, which caused the United States fear of the spread of communism to grow. -
NATO
IN 1949 the United States, Canada, Belgium, Franc, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Great Britain, Italy, Denmark, Norway, Portugal, and Iceland fromed the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO). They argeed that if any one of them was attacked, the others would join in to help defend them. -
Soviet Union COMECON
In response to the Marshall Plan, the Soviet Union created the Council for Mutual Economic Assistance (COMECON) for Eastern European states. This council failed though because it could not provide financial aid. -
West Germany and German Democratic Republic
The Federal Republic of Germany, also known as West Germany, was created in September of 1949 with Bonn as its capital. Less than a month later, the Soviets created the German Democratic Republic with East Berlin as its capital. This caused Berlin to become divided. -
First Atomic Bomb
The Soviet Union exploded its first atomic bomb sometime in 1949. -
Korean War
This war started as an attempt by the Communist government of North Korea to take over South Korea. The Soviet Union was an allie of North Korea. This increased the U.S.'s fear of the spread of communism, so they created alliances around the world. -
Death of Stalin
In 1953 the threat of more purges disappeared when Joseph Stalin died. -
Beginning of Civil Rights Movement
The civil rights movement began after the US Supreme Court ruled that the practice of racial segregation in public schools was illegal. This began a fire of people standing up for themselves and others while demanding equality. -
SEATO
The United States, Great Britain, France, Pakistan, Thailand, the Phillipines, Australia, and New Zealand formed together to create the Southeast Asia Treaty Organization (SEATO). -
Warsaw Pact
The Soviet Union, Albania, Bulgaria, Czechoslovakia, East Germany, Hungary, Poland, and Romania joined together to create the Warsaw Pact. This caused Europe to be divided into hostile alliances, just like in World War I. -
CENTO
Turkey, Iraq, Iran, Pakistan, Great Britain, and the United States created the Cetnral Treaty Organization (CENTO) in 1955. They created this to try to prevent the Soviet Union from expanding into the south. -
Nikita Khrushchev
In 1953 Nikita Khrushchev became a general secretary of the Commmunist Party and soon became the chief Soviet policy maker. He started to take down the ruthless policies of Stalin in 1956 and began to de-Stalinize. -
Hungary
Imre Nagy declared Hungary its own nation in 1956. He promised free elections to end communism,but three days later the Soviet Army attacked Budapest and seized Nagy. Khrushchev did not want Hungary to be free. Two years later, they executed him. -
Rome Treaty and EEC
France, West Germany, Italy, Belguim, the Netherlands, and Luxemburg signed the Rome Treaty which lead to the creation of the European Economic Community (EEC) which was also known as the Common Market. This created a free-trade area with no tariffs on the exchange of each other's goods. -
Sputnik I
The Soviets sent the first human-made space satellite, Sputnik I, into orbit around Earth. This caused the United States to fear that the Soviets were more advanced in missles than them. -
NASA
In October of 1958, the National Aeronautics and Space Administration, or NASA is formed. -
Charles de Gaulle
France exploded its first nulcear bomb in 1960 under the power of Charles de Gaulle under the Fifth Republic. He greatly improved France's economy, but he was forced to resign after numerous student protests and labor strikes. -
Invasion of Cuba
President Kennedy signed a plan for exiled Cuban fighters to invade Cuba at the Bay of Pigs, on the Playa Giron, and Playa Larga in hopes that it would start are revolt against Castro. This invasion failed because many men died and the rest were captured by Castro's troops. -
Berlin Wall
East Germany began building a wall between East and West Berlin. It became a massive barrier of barbed wire, floodlights, machine-gun towers, minefields, and vicious dog patrols. This wall became a symbol to represent the division of two superpowers. -
Blockade of Cuba
President Kennedy learned that the Soviets were carring missles by ships to Cuba, so he decided to put a blockade on Cuba. Khrushchev agreed to turn the ships around and remove their missles from Cuba if President Kennedy agreed to not invade Cuba. -
Domino Theory
President Lyndon B. Johnson sent large amount of US troops to Vietnam to keep the communism in North Vietnam from invading South Vietnam. This was part of the domino theory where if one country fell to communism, the others surrounding it would fall as well, like dominos. -
The Civil Rights Act
President Johnson passed the Civil Rights Act of 1964 that ended segregation and discrimination in the workplace and other public areas. Later, the Voting Rights Act was passed that made it easier for African Americans in Southern states to vote. -
Nuclear Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons
The Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) is opened for signature. This treaty was created to help reduce the likeliness of the use of nuclear weapons in disputes. It was used to help support the use of nuclear technology in a more peaceful manner. -
Soviet Union vs China
There was a seven-month conflict between the Soviet Union and China, both communist countries. There was a large dispute near Zhenbao Island on the Ussuri River in March. Many times throughout those months they were close to entering into a war, but had their issues resolved just in time. -
Decrease in War Support
As the Vietnam War went on, more and more protests against the war became more common. Duing a student demonstration, the Ohio National Guard killed four Kent State University students and wounded nine others. This tragedy startled the nation and caused an even larger percentage of the population to want an end to the war. -
EEC Grows
Britain, Denmark, and Ireland joined the EEC. The population then totaled to 165 million and became the world's largest exxporter and purchaser of raw materials.
