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1940
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Iron Curtain
Expansionism is the policy of territorial or economic expansion. The Soviets. The Iron Curtain is an example of this. The Iron Curtain was the name for the non physical boundary dividing Europe into two separate areas, the liberals and the communists. The Soviets didn't want liberal policies infecting their borders, so they forced communist ideals on their surrounding neighbors, expanding communist territory. It followed the time frame of the Arms Race, from 1947 to 1991. -
Truman Doctrine
The domino effect theory was a Cold War policy that suggested a communist government in one nation would quickly lead to communist takeovers in neighboring states. The Truman Doctrine was an American foreign policy whose stated purpose was to counter Soviet geopolitical expansion during the Cold War. -
The Arms Race
Deterrence theory is the idea that an inferior force, by virtue of the destructive power of the force's weapons, could deter a more powerful adversary, provided that this force could be protected against destruction by a surprise attack. The nuclear arms race was a competition for supremacy between the United States, the Soviet Union, and their respective allies during the Cold War. It started in 1947 and ended in 1991. -
Marshall Plan
A sphere of influence refers to a country or area in which another country has power to affect developments although it has no formal authority. The Marshall Plan was an American initiative passed in 1948 to aid Western Europe, in which the United States gave over $12 billion in economic assistance to help rebuild Western European economies after the end of World War II. -
Berlin Blockade
The Berlin Blockade (24 June 1948 – 12 May 1949) was one of the first major international crises of the Cold War. During the multinational occupation of post–World War II Germany, the Soviet Union blocked the Western Allies' railway, road, and canal access to the sectors of Berlin under Western control. -
NATO and the Warsaw Pact
An alliance was a union or association formed for mutual benefit, especially between countries or organizations. NATO and the Warsaw Pact are examples of this. NATO was formed by liberal world powers in 1949, while the Warsaw Pact was founded in 1955 -
Korean War
Proxy wars are wars instigated by a major power which does not itself become involved. Such as the Korean War, which was a product of the Cold War between the Soviet Union and the United States. Korea had been split into two sovereign states in 1948 due to their struggles, and Koreans fought each other. -
Vietnam War
Containment is the action or policy of preventing the expansion of a hostile country or influence. Such as American intervention in the Vietnam War. Vietnam was in a power struggle between their republicans and some communist leaders. America intervened, hoping to stop Soviet influence from gaining a foothold and stopping the expansion of Soviet ideals. -
Hungarian Revolution
A liberation movement is an organization or political movement leading a rebellion, or a non-violent social movement, against a colonial power or national government, often seeking independence based on a nationalist identity and an anti-imperialist outlook. Such as the Hungarian Revolution, which was a nationwide revolution against the Hungarian People's Republic and its Soviet-imposed policies. -
NORAD
Mutual assured destruction is a military strategy and national security policy in which a full-scale use of nuclear weapons by two or more opposing sides would cause the complete annihilation of both the attacker and the defender. The North American Air Defense Command is a joint organization of the United States and Canada that provides aerospace warning, air sovereignty, and protection for Northern America. Their existence enforces mutually assured destruction should the Soviets fire missiles. -
Creation of the Berlin Wall
Erected in the dead of night, the Berlin Wall was a physical division between West Berlin and East Germany. Its purpose was to keep disaffected East Germans from fleeing to the West. This was the communists' attempt to further divide the nation and no give an inch to the liberals. -
Cuban Missile Crisis
The Cuban Missile Crisis was a 13-day confrontation between the United States and the Soviet Union initiated by the American discovery of Soviet ballistic missile deployment in Cuba. This standoff was called brinkmanship. Brinkmanship is the art or practice of pursuing a dangerous policy to the limits of safety before stopping, especially in politics. -
Praque Spring Reforms
Dubcek's effort to establish “communism with a human face” was celebrated across the country, and the brief period of freedom became known as the Prague Spring. But on August 20, 1968, the Soviet Union answered Dubcek's reforms with invasion of Czechoslovakia by 600,000 Warsaw Pact troops. -
SALT and START Talks
Détente is the easing of hostility or strained relations, especially between countries. Such as the SALT and START talks. The talks were negotiations between the United States and the Soviet Union that were aimed at curtailing the manufacture of nuclear missiles. -
Invasion of Afghanistan
The Soviet Invasion of Afghanistan occurred in 1978 to 1980. The Soviet Union sent thousands of troops into Afghanistan and immediately assumed complete military and political control of Kabul and large portions of the country. The United States supported the Afghanistan rebels in order to try and overthrow the communist government and to prevent the spread of communism. -
Perestroika and Glasnost
Perestroika was a political movement for reformation within the Communist Party of the Soviet Union during the 1980's and 1990's and is widely associated with Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev and his glasnost (meaning openness and transparency) policy reform. -
Fall of the Berlin Wall
As the Cold War began to thaw across Eastern Europe, the spokesman for East Berlin's Communist Party announced a change in his city's relations with the West. Starting at midnight that day, he said, citizens of the GDR were free to cross the country's borders. This event symbolized an end to the cold war, and both sides agreed that they could co-exist.
