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• The establishment of the United Nations in San Francisco
The name "United Nations", coined by United States President Franklin D. Roosevelt, was first used in the "Declaration by United Nations" of 1 January 1942, during the Second World War, when representatives of 26 nations pledged their governments to continue fighting together against the Axis Powers. States first established international organizations to cooperate on specific matters. The International Telecommunication Union was founded in 1865 as the International Telegraph Union, and the -
• The Yalta Conference
The Yalta Conference of 1945 was the second of three conferences held between the three Allied superpowers during the World War II era. During this particular confrence, which was to be the last one attended by President Roosevelt before his death, there was discussion about what to do with Germany and how to end the war in the pacific with the Japanese. -
• The Potsdam Conference
On 16 July 1945, the "Big Three" leaders met at Potsdam, Germany, near Berlin. In this, the last of the World War II heads of state conferences, President Truman, Soviet Premier Stalin and British Prime Ministers Churchill and Atlee discussed post-war arrangements in Europe, frequently without agreement. Future moves in the war against Japan were also covered. The meeting concluded early in the morning of 2 August. -
• The Army-McCarthy Hearings
He charged that the State Department harbored Communists. McCarthy was a spellbinding speaker and critics hesitated to challenge him openly for those under McCarthy's knife faced loss of work and damaged careers. -
• The launch of Sputnik
The size of this technology gap became apparent in 1957, when the Soviets used one of their rockets to launch Sputnik, the first artificial satellite to orbit Earth. The realization that the rocket used to launch Sputnik could carry a hydrogen bomb to American shores added to American shock and fear. -
The u-2 Incident
In May 1960, the Soviet military again demonstrated its arms capabilities by using a guided missile to shoot down an American U-2 spy plane over Soviet territory. Because these spy planes flew more than 15 miles high, American officials had assumed that they were invulnerable to attack. The U-2 incident shattered this confidence, and made Americans willing to expend considerable resources to catch up to—and surpass—the Soviet Union.
