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Truman Doctrine
President Truman responded to the spread of communism by creating the Truman Doctrine. The U.S. continued to make containment its policy, one of the main reasons the Cold War started.
http://www.jstor.org/discover/10.2307/20038055?sid=21105871567923&uid=3739552&uid=4&uid=3739256&uid=2 -
Berlin Blockade and Airlift
The Soviet Union did not disrupt the air lift because they knew the U.S. had a stronger air force and navy. The blockade may not have been a battle, but the event ended as a ‘win’ for the U.S.
http://books.google.com/books?hl=en&lr=&id=3I-m9WkwwBYC&oi=fnd&pg=PR9&dq=berlin+airlift&ots=-OA27lW3VJ&sig=I2aP1AypJF_nCkihQeDFWy8K9xE#v=onepage&q=berlin%20airlift&f=false -
McCarthyism
Heightened tensions in the U.S. allowed Senator McCarthy to find an issue to really launch his career on. His accusations caused nationwide panic. Tensions continued even after he was arrested.
http://journals.cambridge.org/action/displayAbstract?fromPage=online&aid=8748807&fileId=S0003055400085142 -
Korean War
The United States got involved in the Korean War in an attempt to contain Communism. The Korean War divided the country in two, with North Korea being communist, and South Korea officially transitioning to Democracy in the 1980s.
http://books.google.com/books?hl=en&lr=&id=3G-z89yP_GsC&oi=fnd&pg=PR7&dq=korean+war&ots=ukWf3iUSMB&sig=_0cqxHRucW0a_Xi8gYWaHfNFtCc#v=onepage&q=korean%20war&f=false -
Brown vs. Board of Education
The result of this case was the beginning to the long road to racial equality in the public school system. It took many years before colored students could feel safe in the non-segregated schools. Even today there is still racism, but not nearly to the extent that it was in the 1950s and 1960s.
https://www.questia.com/library/sociology-and-anthropology/social-issues/human-and-civil-rights/brown-v-board-of-education -
Dien Bien Phu Falls
The Battle of Dien Bien Phu ended the involvement of the French in Vietnam and started the Vietnam War.
http://books.google.com/books?hl=en&lr=&id=W7Q4AgAAQBAJ&oi=fnd&pg=PP8&dq=dien+bien+phu&ots=dGiAE0Rovv&sig=09XKUJn_TOCKgu9-XBt4A9VrLus#v=onepage&q=dien%20bien%20phu&f=false -
Montgomery Bus Boycott
Parks arrest for refusing to give up her seat started the Montgomery Bus Boycott.
http://mlk-kpp01.stanford.edu/index.php/encyclopedia/documentsentry/leaflet_dont_ride_the_bus_come_to_a_mass_meeting_on_5_december/ -
Bay of Pigs Invasion
The Bay of Pigs invasion was a rocky start to John F. Kennedy’s presidency. His miscalculations cost the lives of many and worsened the relations with Cuba. https://www.rienner.com/title/Politics_of_Illusion_The_Bay_of_Pigs_Invasion_Reexamined -
Cuban Missile Crisis
The Soviet Union had placed nuclear missiles in Cuba in order to be closer to the United States. Kennedy and Khrushchev negotiated and eventually agreed on the USSR removing the misses from Cuba.
http://journals.cambridge.org/action/displayAbstract?fromPage=online&aid=8697810&fileId=S0003055400000010 -
Birmingham Demonstrations
Initially President Kennedy didn’t outwardly support the Civil Rights Movement because many of the Senators were from the south and would only be agreeable if everyone else left the issue alone. The Birmingham Demonstrations are what caused Kennedy to risk his own reputation and support the civil rights movement.
"Robert Kennedy Warns of 'Increasing Turmoil': Deplores Denials of Negroes' Rights but Questions Timing of Protests in Birmingham". The New York Times. 1963-05-04. p. 1. -
Gulf of Tonkin
The sea battle between the USS Maddox and three North Vietnamese torpedo boats heightened the Vietnam War. Moïse, Edwin E. (1996). Tonkin Gulf and the Escalation of the Vietnam War. Chapel Hill: University of North Carolina Press. -
Apollo 11
While space exploration continued, the space race died down after Apollo 11 successfully made it to the moon. The goal that Kennedy had made in the beginning of the decade had been met and is still considered one of the biggest accomplishments of man.
http://airandspace.si.edu/explore-and-learn/topics/apollo/apollo-program/landing-missions/apollo11.cfm -
Fall of Saigon
The Fall of Saigon led to the U.S. troops pulling out of the war, thus ending the war.
http://www.vnafmamn.com/black_april.html -
Soviet War in Afghanistan
The Soviet Union caused Afghanistan to engage in a civil war. The United States, along with other countries, fought to keep Communism out of Afghanistan. The war led to The U.S. boycotting the 1980 Moscow Summer Olympics and a significant increase in military spending.
Fisk, Robert (2005). The Great War for Civilisation: the Conquest of the Middle East. London: Alfred Knopf. pp. 40–41. -
The fall of the USSR
The Soviet Union collapsed and separated into 15 different countries, thus ending the Cold War.
http://www.coldwar.org/articles/90s/fall_of_the_soviet_union.asp
