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Marshall Plan
U.S. gave billions of dollars to help rebuild Western Europe after the end of WWII. The goals were to help improve trade quality with other places/countries, rebuild places affected by the war, and stop the spread of communism. This brought stability back into Europe. (Source) http://marshallfoundation.org/marshall/the-marshall-plan/ -
Korean War
Communist North Korea crossed 38th parallel and invaded South Korea. U.N. defended for South Korea and China fought for North Korea. 36,000 Americans died.
(Source) http://www.history.com/topics/korean-war -
Soviet Launches Sputnik
The Soviet Union launched Sputnik into space and captured the world's attention because of the technology and it went ahead of the U.S. in terms of the space race. Sputnik was about the size of a volley ball and allowed the Soviet Union to use missiles. (Source) http://history.nasa.gov/sputnik/ -
Bay of Pigs
Failed military invasion of trying to stop the communist government of Fidel Castro. Serves as a reminder to prepare for failure and plan/prepare better. The effects of the Bay of Pigs affected the U.S. badly and president Kennedy was looked at as indecisive.
(Source) http://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/the-bay-of-pigs-invasion-begins -
U.S. Sends a man to the moon
Kennedy wanted to send a man to the moon before the end of the decade to "catch up to and overtake" the Soviet Union with the space race. This decision was challenging in terms of available technology and was taken into consideration before making it public.( Source) http://history.nasa.gov/moondec.html -
Berlin Wall
Wall/Barrier that divided Berlin and became the symbol of the Cold War that divided East and West Berlin until it was destroyed in 1989. This wall restricted the freedom of movement for people traveling to and from places.
(Source) http://novaonline.nvcc.edu/eli/evans/his135/events/berlinwall61.htm -
Olympic Rivalry: 1972 Basketball Game
Team U.S. was favored to win the basketball olympics in 1972 and there were multiple "do-overs" in the game and a lot of controverys due to officiating. The U.S. and Soviet Union had a heated rivalry and realted back to the Warsaw Pact. (Source) http://basketball.about.com/od/internationalbasketball/a/Basketball-At-The-1972-Olympics.htm -
U.S. invades Grenada
Ronald Reagan ordered the marines to invade Grenada due to threats aimed towards American nationals on the Caribbean nation of Grenada. This started to happen in 1973 when Grenada became close with Cuba. The U.S. had to go through this incident with very few knowledge on this situation, and although many troops died it was claimed as a victory for the U.S. (Source) http://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/united-states-invades-grenada
