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Yalta Conference
A conference where Churchill, FDR, and Stalin met to discuss the end of WWII. Agreements were made that Stalin broke which started the beginning of the Cold War conflicts. -
"Iron Curtain"
The phrase that gained popularity all over the world after Winston Churchill's speech announcing the divide in Europe with the communist control in Eastern Europe and the democratic control in Western Europe inching towards the United States. This event is important because it has been seen as the beginning of the Cold War. By drawing attention to this divide, it could be seen by people around the world that there was an issue going on. -
The Second Red Scare
Americans were afraid of communists entering the country and bring democracy in the United States down. This idea was especially initiated by Joseph McCarthy, who accused people in the U.S. government to be communists. This just increased fear of communism, but now it was worse because it was happening in the U.S. -
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The Second Red Scare
The dates are not correct, only the years because there are no exact dates to be found when the Second Red Scare occured. -
Berlin Blockade Begins
Stalin starts to close off highways routes that allowed for democratic nations to send supplies to West Germany where the countries within NATO set up their roots. This event is important because in return, the US and other NATO countries flew in supplies to West Germany. This was called the Berlin Airlift and caused for the Soviets to eventually back down because it made them look bad. -
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Berlin Blockade/Airlift
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NATO
The agreement between the anit-communist countries in Western Europe and the United States to always protect and defend eachother if someone were to attack them. This is important because it drew the "battle lines" of the Cold War and showed what the sides were on the issue. -
Soviets Explode Atomic Bomb
This event just increased the fear of Communism and the use of nuclear warfare. The United States was shocked and started to prepare for a nuclear attack by the Soviets on the country. -
Communism Takes Control of China
Communism took over in China when Mao Zedong came into power and the old leader of China fled to another country. This event increased the threat of communism in the world and on the United States. It also influenced the events that lead to the Korean War. -
Korean War Begins
North Korea was occupied by communist powers and South Korea was occupied by anti-communist powers. In an effort and desire to reunite Korea as one, and under one kind of government, the North Korea troops crossed the border and attacked South Korea. The United States got involved because they wanted to "contain" communism and prevent it from spreading further. This event is important because it shows the struggles between the two super powers at the time about their ideals. -
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Korean War
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Warsaw Pact
This was the pact between the Communist countries. Like NATO, it was a way of protection and defense in case there was an attack on these countries. It was important because once again, it drew the "battle lines" of the Cold War and showed who was on each side of the conflict. -
Vietnam War
Although the Cold War was not an actual war, the wars that took place during it showed what the Cold War was all about. The Vietnam War, like the Korean War, was a conflict between the Communist North Vietnam and the anit-communist South Vietnam. This war was important in regards to the Cold War because it was another example of the struggle to contain Communism. -
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Vietnam War
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Sputnik and the Space Race
The Soviet Union launched the first satellite into orbit with a dog. This shocked the United States and the western world because it showed that there was a possibility for man to go out into space and showed the possibility for warfare from space. This motivated the U.S. to put the first man on the moon. -
Fidel Castro Takes Over Cuba
Fidel Castro comes into power in Cuba. Because of his Communist ties, this increased the fear and conflict of Communism in regards to the United States, especially since it was so close to home. Cuba is located within the Western hemisphere, so people were afraid that it would begin to take over. It also lead to conflicts such as the missle crisis and the Bay of Pigs Invasion. -
Bay of Pigs
Trained Cuban exiles were sent to Cuba to try and overthrow Castro but it failed miserably. Castro knew they were coming and Kennedy took the blame after trying to hide the fact that the U.S. was involved in it. This was important because it started the resentment between the two countries and eventually lead to the Cuban Missile Crisis. Castro started communicating with the Soviet Union because of what happened. -
Cuban Missle Crisis
Castro agreed to have the Soviets build missile centers in Cuba to prevent the U.S. from attacking Cuba because of the U.S. attempts of ruining Castro's regime. The U.S. found out, made it public, and blockaded Cuba to prevent missiles from entering. Eventually, Castro and Kennedy agreed to remove the missiles in exchange of promise that the U.S. would not invade Cuba. This was the closest to nuclear warfare in the Cold War. -
The Fall of Communism
Communism starts to fall in countries in Europe. This eventually leads to the downfall of the Soviet empire and ends the Cold War.
