Cold War Research

  • The Truman Doctrine

    The Truman Doctrine
    SourcePresident Harry Truman established the Truman Doctrine, would said that the United States would provide military, political and economic assistance to all democratic nations under the threat from external or internal authoritarian forces. The Truman Doctrine was created from a speech that was made my President Truman before a joint session of Congress. The speech was an announcement by the British government that it wouldn't provide military or economic assistance to the Greek Government.
  • Part 2

    Part 2
    Source Historians say that the Truman Doctrine marked the American policy of "containment." The speech is sometimes called "Truman's containment speech." In his speech, Communism could keep what they already have, amd wouldn't let it expand anymore. While signing the legislation into law, Truman made comments that suggest that he was even wanting to go beyond "containment."
  • The Marshall Plan

    The Marshall Plan
    SourceDuring 1948 through 1951, over $13 billion went to Europe for finance and economic recovery. This was called The Marshall Plan, also known as the European Recovery Program. The Marshall Plan successfully helped economic recovery. The plan was named after Secretary of State George Marshall. He announced it on June 5, 1947, in a speech at Harvard University. The Soviet Union viewed the Marshall Plan as an attempt to interfere with the internal affairs of other states.
  • Part 2

    Part 2
    SourceThe Marshall Plan promoted economic integration and federalism in Europe. It also created public organization of the economy just like the economy of the United States. The Marshall Plan could be seen as a decisive moment of the Cold War. It could've helped the gap between West and East. The Marshall Plan can be seen as either a defensive reaction or an indirect offensive action against communism.
  • Part 2

    Part 2
    They believed that it would make it impossible for people who lived there, to get food or supplies. They then thought that would make Britain, France and the United States to leave the city. The United States and it's allies supplied their occupied sections of the city, from the air. This was called the "Berlin Airlift." The Berlin Airlift lasted for more than a year, and carried more than 2.3 million tons of cargo into West Berlin.
  • Part 3

    Part 3
    Historians believed that the Berlin Blockade or the Berlin Wall, was a failure. It increased tensions of the Cold War and made the USSR look like a bad, cruel and an inconsistent enemy to the rest of the world. The blockade also rushed the creation of West Germany. That demonstrated that the United States and Western European nations had common interests. This motivated the created of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization, also known as NATO, and it still exists to this day.
  • Berlin Airlift

    Berlin Airlift
    SourceAfter World War ll was done, the Allies divided Germany into four different parts; a Soviet-occupied zone, a British-occupied zone, a French-occupied zone and an American-occupied zone. The capital of Germany, Berlin, was located in the Soviet zone. But, Berlin was also divided into four different sections. In June 1948, the Russians wanted Berlin to themselves. So they decided to close all railroads, highways and canals from West Germany into West Berlin.
  • Soviets create and test nuclear bomb

    Soviets create and test nuclear bomb
    SourceThe Soviet Union exploded it's first atomic bomb on August 29, 1949. The United States was shocked because they didn't think the Soviet Union would have knowledge so quickly on nuclear weapons. The United States had used two atomic bombs on Japan previously. That caused Japan to surrender during World War ll. The Soviet Union having nuclear weapons caused the United States to question their safety.
  • The Korean War

    The Korean War
    SourceThe Korean War started when roughly 75,000 soldiers from the North Korea came across the 38th parallel. The 38th parallel was the boundary between the North and the South of Korea. The Korean War was the first military action of the Cold War. By July, American troops entered the war, helping South Korea. The Korean War was considered a war against the forces of international communism. In July 1953, the Korean War finally ended.
  • Part 2

    Part 2
    The North Korean invasion was feared by many people, that it was the first step towards a communist campaign, and it would take over the world. In April 1950, a National Security Council report recommended that the United States use military force to "contain" communism from expanding anywhere. The Korean War was a symbol of the struggle between the West and the East, globally.
  • The Berlin Wall Goes Up

    The Berlin Wall Goes Up
    SourceThe Communist government of East Germany began to build a barbed wire and concrete wall between East and West Berlin on August 13, 1961. The Berlin Wall was to keep Western "fascists" from entering East Germany. The Berlin Wall stayed until November 9, 1989, when the East German Communist Part announced that citizens of East Germany could cross the border whenever they wanted to. The Berlin Wall is still one of the most powerful symbols of the Cold War.
  • Part 3

    Part 3
    A Soviet agent made an agreement that if the United States promised not to invade the island, the Soviets would remove their missiles from Cuba. The United States also had to remove Jupiter missiles from Turkey. The Cuban missle crisis was a single event during the Cold War. It also strengthened President Kennedy's image internationally. Both superpowers began to reconsider the nuclear arms race and took steps to agree to a nuclear Test Ban Treaty.
  • Cuban Missile Crisis

    Cuban Missile Crisis
    SourceThe Cuban Missle Crisis was a confrontation between the leaders of the United States and the Soviet Union during the Cold War. It was also considered the moment when two superpowers came the closest to a nuclear conflict. When the United States failed to overthrow Castro in Cuba, Khrushchev made a secret agreement with Castro to put a Soviet nuclear missle in Cuba. The United States discovered this missile.
  • Part 2

    Part 2
    President Kennedy went on national television and told the public about the weapons in Cuba. The Joint Chiefs of Staff want an air strike to destroy the missles, then inade Cuba. Some people just wanted to warn the Soviet Union and Cuba. The President ordered a naval "quarantine" of Cuba. On October 24, Khrushchev stated that the United States "blockade" was considered an "act of aggression" and the Soviet ships would proceed to Cuba.
  • The Six Day War

    The Six Day War
    SourceThe Six Day War was also known as the June War or the Third Arab-Israeli War. It was a war that took place June 5-10, 1967. The Six Day War was against Syria, Egypt and Jordan. The Israelis launched a military campaign against it's enemies. On June 5th, Egypt, Jordan, Iraq and Syria's air forces were destroyed. By June 7th, Israeli forces reached the Suez Canal, and destroyed Egyptian tanks in the Sinai Desert.
  • Part 2

    Part 2
    The same day, the whole west bank of the Jordan River had been cleared of Jordan forces. Syria captured the Golan Heights, and Israeli forces had moved 30 miles into Syria. The Six Day War was a disaster for Arabs. It weakened Gamal Abdul Nasser of Egypt, who was the leader of the Arabs. The war was a disaster for the Arabs military, along with a blow to the Arabs morale. By capturing the Golan Heights, the West Bank of the Jordan River and Sinai, the Israelis captured great strategic values.