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Period: to
Cold War
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Yalta Conference
The Yalta Conference was a meeting between U.S. President Franklin D. Roosevelt, British Prime Minister Winston Churchill, and Soviet Premier Joseph Stalin to determine the post-war status of Germany. The outcome was that Germany surrender unconditionally and be divided into four occupation zones. -
Bombing of Hiroshima
U.S. President Harry S. Truman attempts to bring a swift end to the remaining war by ordering the world's first military use of an atomic weapon. An atomic bomb was dropped on the Japanese city of Hiroshima. 90% of the city was destroyed and 80,000 people were killed with more dead later due to radiation exposure. This was the first time an atomic bomb was used in war. -
Bombing of Nagasaki
The second and last military use of an atomic bomb was used against Nagasaki killing 40,000 people. This brought about Japans unconditional surrender, but atomic bombs have not been used by the military again since then. Bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. (2009). Retrieved February 09, 2016, from http://www.history.com/topics/world-war-ii/bombing-of-hiroshima-and-nagasaki -
Hukbalahap Rebellion
The Philippines gains independence from the United States and the Hukbalahap Rebellion begins, which was a fight against communist Huk rebels. -
Truman Doctrine
An American foreign policy to stop Soviet imperialism by providing political, military, and economic assistance to democratic nations threat by authoritarian forces. Truman said that "it must be the policy of the United States to support free people who are resisting attempted subjugation by armed minorities or by outside pressures". -
The Berlin Airlift
On June 24, 1948, Soviet forces blockaded road, rail, and water access to Western Berlin. During the Berlin Airlift, which lasted until the Blockade was lifted on May 12th, 1949, U.S. and British planes supplied West Berlin with supplies via air. -
NATO
In order to resist Communist expansion, the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) is founded by Belgium, Canada, Denmark, France, Iceland, Italy, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Norway, Portugal, the United Kingdom, and the United States. It created a system of defence, where members agree to mutual defense in response to an attack. -
Operation Hurricane
Operation Hurricane was the testing of an atomic weapon by the United Kingdom, making them the world's third atomic power. -
Warsaw Pact
A response to NATO, the Soviet Union, Albania, Poland, Romania, Hungary, East Germany, Czechoslovakia, and Bulgaria sign a treaty establishing a mutual defense organization, putting the Soviets in command of the armed forces of the member states. -
Bay of Pigs
The Bay of Pigs invasion was the unsuccessful invasion of Cuba by Cuban exiles in an attempt to overthrow the Communist regime of Fidel Castro. Though the U.S. government supported the rebellion and even trained and supplied the rebels with arms, they were easily defeated by the Cuban army. -
Cuban Missile Crisis
Secret Soviets military bases, including nuclear weapons, are discovered on Cuba, close to the US. In response Kennedy ordered a naval blockade of Cuba. The crisis only got worse and almost brought the US and the USSR to nuclear war. After a tense, 13-day political and military standoff. A compromise was reached when Soviet leader Nikita Khrushchev offered to remove the Cuban missiles and the U.S. promised not to invade Cuba. Kennedy secretly agreed to remove US missiles from Turkey as well. -
JFK Assassination
President John F. Kennedy was assassinated by Lee Harvey Oswald while traveling in a presidential motorcade through Dallas, TX. -
Gulf of Tonkin Incident
A claim that North Vietnamese naval vessels fired on two American destroyers in the Gulf of Tonkin leads to the open involvement of the US in the Vietnam War. -
1980 Summer Olympics
The United States, along with 65 other countries, boycott the Summer Olympics in Moscow because of the Soviet war in Afghanistan. -
Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty
An agreement between the United States and the Soviet Union signed by U.S. President Ronald Reagan and General Secretary Mikhail Gorbachev that eliminated nuclear and conventional ground-launched ballistic and cruise missiles within intermediate range (300-3,400 miles). Treaty Between The United States Of America And The Union Of Soviet Socialist Republics... (INF Treaty). (n.d.). Retrieved February 09, 2016, from http://www.state.gov/t/avc/trty/102360.htm -
Fall of the Berlin Wall
The Berlin Wall was a defining symbol of the Cold War that divided East and West Berlin to keep “fascists” from entering East Germany. The head of the East German Communist Party announced that citizens of the GDR could cross the border, and that weekend it was finally taken down by more than citizens using hammers and picks. “Only today is the war really over.” Berlin Wall. (2009). Retrieved February 09, 2016, from http://www.history.com/topics/cold-war/berlin-wall -
All Soviet institutions cease operations.
