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Francis Gary Powers
was an American pilot whose Central Intelligence Agency U-2 spy plane was shot down while flying a reconnaissance mission in Soviet Union airspace, causing the 1960 U-2 incident
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Francis_Gary_Powers -
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NATO
NATO was the first peacetime military alliance the United States entered into outside of the Western Hemisphere. After the destruction of the Second World War, the nations of Europe struggled to rebuild their economies and ensure their security. The former required a massive influx of aid to help the war-torn landscapes re-establish industries and produce food, and the latter required assurances against a resurgent Germany or incursions from the Soviet Union. The United States viewed an economic -
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China's Civil War
The Chinese Civil War was a civil war in China fought between forces loyal to the Kuomintang-led government of the Republic of China, and forces loyal to the Communist Party of China -
WW2 End ( http://www.historynet.com/world-war-ii )
Japan formally surrendered. World War II was over. A new age of nuclear weapons had begun, and a cold war between the two superpowers that emerged from the the United States and the Soviet would result in many "surrogate wars" in the decades to come, wars fought in and between nations backed by one side or the other. -
United Nations
UN that was intended to maintain the status quo of the international world order, the Security Council (SC) often found itself in a stalemate situation, unable to act efficiently. Indeed, on several occasions it can be said that the SC was used as a tool of superpower influence.the United Nations was the second attempt at creating a collective security system within only a few decades -
Churchill's Iron Curtain Speech
he declared stood “at the pinnacle of world power.” It soon became clear that a primary purpose of his talk was to argue for an even closer “special relationship” between the United States and Great Britain—the great powers of the “English-speaking world”—in organizing and policing the postwar world. In particular, he warned against the expansionistic policies of the Soviet Union. -
Truman Doctrine
established that the United States would provide political, military and economic assistance to all democratic nations under threat from external or internal authoritarian forces. -
Marshall Plan
Secretary of State George C. Marshall issued a call for a comprehensive program to rebuild Europe. The Marshall Plan generated a resurgence of European industrialization and brought extensive investment into the region. It was also a stimulant to the U.S. economy by establishing markets for American goods. -
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Berlin Airlift
It started when Soviet forces blockaded rail, road, and water access to Allied-controlled areas of Berlin. The United States and United Kingdom responded by airlifting food and fuel to Berlin from Allied airbases in western Germany. It stopped when Soviet forces lifted the blockade on land access to western Berlin. -
USSR's first Atomic Bomb test
At a remote test site at Semipalatinsk in Kazakhstan, the USSR successfully detonates its first atomic bomb, code name “First Lightning.” In order to measure the effects of the blast, the Soviet scientists constructed buildings, bridges, and other civilian structures in the vicinity of the bomb. They also placed animals in cages nearby so that they could test the effects of nuclear radiation -
Korean War
the Korean War began when some 75,000 soldiers from the North Korean People’s Army poured across the 38th parallel, the boundary between the Soviet-backed Democratic People’s Republic of Korea to the north and the pro-Western Republic of Korea to the south. This invasion was the first military action of the Cold War. By July, American troops had entered the war on South Korea’s behalf. As far as American officials were concerned, it was a war against the forces of international communism itself. -
H-Bomb
After the Soviet atomic bomb success, the idea of building a hydrogen bomb received new impetus in the United States. In this type of bomb, deuterium and tritium (hydrogen isotopes) are fused into helium, thereby releasing energy. There is no limit on the yield of this weapon.The scientific community split over the issue of building a hydrogen bomb. Edward Teller, who had explored the idea of a 'super' during the Manhattan Project, supported its development. -
Stalin's Death
Stalin sat in on the major Allied conferences, including those in Tehran (1943) and Yalta (1945). His iron will and deft political skills enabled him to play the loyal ally while never abandoning his vision of an expanded postwar Soviet Empire.Stalin did not mellow with age; he prosecuted a reign of terror, purges, executions, exiles to the Gulag Archipelago (a system of forced-labor camps in the frozen north), and persecution in the postwar USSR, suppressing all dissent and anything that smack -
Fidel Castro take over of cuba
is a Cuban politician and revolutionary who governed the Republic of Cuba as Prime Minister
https://www.google.com/webhp?sourceid=chrome-instant&ion=1&espv=2&ie=UTF-8&safe=active&ssui=on#q=fidel%20castro&safe=active&ssui=on -
End of the Korean War
In July 1951, President Truman and his new military commanders started peace talks at Panmunjom. Still, the fighting continued along the 38th parallel as negotiations stalled. Both sides were willing to accept a ceasefire that maintained the 38th parallel boundary, but they could not agree on whether prisoners of war should be forcibly “repatriated.” (The Chinese and the North Koreans said yes; the United States said no.) Finally, after more than two years of negotiations, the adversaries signed -
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Dwight D. Esenhower
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dwight_D._Eisenhower
Eisenhower was an American politician and general who served as the 34th President of the United States from 1953 until 1961. -
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SEATO http://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/seato-established
international organization for collective defense in Southeast Asia created by the Southeast Asia Collective Defense Treaty, or Manila Pact, signed in September 1954 in Manila, Philippines. -
MAD Plan
Mutual assured destruction (Mad) is a doctrine of military strategy and national security policy dealing with nuclear weapons
https://www.google.com/webhp?sourceid=chrome-instant&ion=1&espv=2&ie=UTF-8&safe=active&ssui=on#safe=active&q=mutual+assured+destruction+cold+war+definition -
War Saw Pact
Warsaw Pact is the name commonly given to the treaty between Albania, Bulgaria, Czechoslovakia, East Germany, Hungary, Poland, Romania, and the Soviet Union https://www.google.com/?gws_rd=ssl&safe=active&ssui=on#safe=active&q=warsaw+pact -
Vietnam War
conflict pitting the U.S. and the remnants of the French colonial government in South Vietnam against the indigenous but communist Vietnamese independence movement
https://www.google.com/search?q=when%20was%20jfk%20shot%20and%20killed&rlz=1CAHPZV_enUS655US658&espv=2&biw=1342&bih=589&source=lnms&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwi9383eg4fMAhUFt4MKHSbECBEQ_AUIBSgA&dpr=1&gws_rd=ssl&safe=active&ssui=on#safe=active&q=define+the+vietnam+war -
Eisenhower Doctrine
Eisenhower promised military or economic aid to Middle Eastern countries needing help in resisting communist aggression.
<a href='http://www.google.com/search?q=eisenhower doctrine&biw=1342&bih=589&source=lnms&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwivjLzhzv_LAhWitYMKHSUJCwoQ_AUIBSgA&dpr=1&safe=active&ssui=on' -
Sputnik
Sputnik is a series of Soviet artificial satellites.
https://www.google.com/search?q=sputnik&biw=1342&bih=589&source=lnms&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwjRjoSPzv_LAhXkxIMKHQ4YD5YQ_AUIBSgA&dpr=1&gws_rd=ssl&safe=active&ssui=on#safe=active&q=sputnik+define+ -
John F. Kennedy
35 president, youngest man and the first Roman Catholic to hold that office.
http://www.history.com/topics/us-presidents/john-f-kennedy -
Bay of pigs.
an unsuccessful invasion of Cuba by Cuban exiles, supported by the U.S. government.
https://www.google.com/search?q=define%20bay%20of%20pigs&rlz=1CAHPZV_enUS655US658&espv=2&biw=1342&bih=589&source=lnms&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwjr2ub9_obMAhWKsIMKHUsSBV8Q_AUIBSgA&dpr=1&gws_rd=ssl&safe=active&ssui=on -
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Berlin Wall
was a barrier that divided Berlin from 1961 to 1989
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Berlin_Wall -
Cuban missile crises
confrontation between the United States and the Soviet Union concerning Soviet ballistic missiles deployment in Cuba. known as the "hottest" point in the cold war.
https://www.google.com/search?q=define%20cuban%20missile%20crisis&rlz=1CAHPZV_enUS655US658&espv=2&biw=1342&bih=589&source=lnms&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwifprW7gIfMAhVKkIMKHSYlD_4Q_AUIBigA&dpr=1&gws_rd=ssl&safe=active&ssui=on#safe=active&q=cuban+missile+crisis -
JEK assassination
Shortly after noon on November 22, 1963, President John F. Kennedy was assassinated as he rode in a motorcade through Dealey Plaza in downtown Dallas, Texas
http://www.jfklibrary.org/JFK/JFK-in-History/November-22-1963-Death-of-the-President.aspx -
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Lyndon Johnson
Lyndon Baines Johnson, often referred to as LBJ, was the 36th President of the United States from 1963 to 1969, assuming the office after serving as the 37th Vice President of the United States under President John F. Kennedy, from 1961 to 1963
https://www.google.com/webhp?sourceid=chrome-instant&ion=1&espv=2&ie=UTF-8&safe=active&ssui=on#q=lyndon%20johnson%20presidency&safe=active&ssui=on -
NASA's first moon landing
It is only seven months since NASA's made a bold decision to send Apollo 8 all the way to the moon on the first manned flight of the massive Saturn V rocket.Now, on the morning of July 16, Apollo 11 astronauts Neil Armstrong, Buzz Aldrin and Michael Collins sit atop another Saturn V at Launch Complex 39A at the Kennedy Space Center. The three-stage 363-foot rocket will use its 7.5 million pounds of thrust to propel them into space
http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/apollo/apollo11.html -
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Richard Nixon
Richard Milhous Nixon was the 37th President of the United States, serving from 1969 to 1974 when he became the only U.S. president to resign the office
https://www.google.com/webhp?sourceid=chrome-instant&ion=1&espv=2&ie=UTF-8&safe=active&ssui=on#safe=active&q=richard+nixon+presidency+ -
SALT
the start of a negotiation between the United States and the Soviet Union that were aimed at stop the creation of strategic missiles capable of carrying nuclear weapons.
<a href='http://http://www.britannica.com/event/Strategic-Arms-Limitation-Talks' -
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Gerald Ford
Gerald Rudolph Ford Jr. was an American politician who served as the 38th President of the United States from 1974 to 1977
https://www.google.com/webhp?sourceid=chrome-instant&ion=1&espv=2&ie=UTF-8&safe=active&ssui=on#safe=active&q=gerald+ford+presidency -
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Jimmy Carter
James Earl "Jimmy" Carter, Jr. is an American politician and author who served as the 39th President of the United States from 1977 to 1981. In 2002, he was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize for his work with the Carter Center
https://www.google.com/webhp?sourceid=chrome-instant&ion=1&espv=2&ie=UTF-8&safe=active&ssui=on#safe=active&q=jimmy+carter+presidency -
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Soviets invade afghanistan
The Soviet–Afghan War lasted over nine years from December 1979 to February 1989. Insurgent groups fought against the Soviet Army and allied Afghan forces
https://www.google.com/webhp?sourceid=chrome-instant&ion=1&espv=2&ie=UTF-8&safe=active&ssui=on#safe=active&q=soviets+invade+afghanistan -
Miracle on ice
is the name in American popular culture for a medal-round men's ice hockey game during the 1980 Winter Olympics
<a href='http://www.google.com/search?q=define%20U.S.%20boycott%20of%20the%20summer%20olympics.&rlz=1CAHPZV_enUS655US658&espv=2&biw=1342&bih=589&source=lnms&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwjvypbtkofMAhUrvIMKHSyFC4YQ_AUIBSgA&dpr=1&safe=active&ssui=on#safe=active&q=define+miracle+on+ice' >Miracle on -
Us Boycott of the summer olympics http://www.britannica.com/event/Moscow-1980-Olympic-Games
The Soviet–Afghan War lasted over nine years from December 1979 to February 1989. Insurgent groups fought against the Soviet Army and allied Afghan forces -
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Ronald Regan
Ronald Wilson Reagan was an American politician and actor who was 40th President of the United States from 1981 to 1989
https://www.google.com/webhp?sourceid=chrome-instant&ion=1&espv=2&ie=UTF-8&safe=active&ssui=on#safe=active&q=ronald+reagan+presidency -
Star Wars
this program was to develop a sophisticated anti-ballistic missile system in order to prevent missile attacks from other countries
https://www.google.com/search?q=ronald%20reagan&biw=1342&bih=589&espv=2&source=lnms&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwjW_eTQlIfMAhUDs4MKHd_rDtwQ_AUIBSgA&dpr=1&gws_rd=ssl&safe=active&ssui=on#q=strategic%20defense%20initiative&safe=active&ssui=on -
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Gorbachev coming to power
Since coming to power in 1985, Gorbachev had worked hard to open up the political process in the Soviet Union, pushing through legislation that eliminated the Communist Party’s monopoly on power and establishing the Congress of People’s Deputies. The public at large elected the Congress by secret ballot. By 1990, however, Gorbachev was facing criticism from both reformers and communist hard-liners. The reformers, such as Boris Yeltsin, criticized Gorbachev for the slow pace of his reform agenda. -
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Solviets leaving Afghanistan
The USSR entered neighboring Afghanistan in 1979, attempting to shore up the newly-established pro-Soviet regime in Kabul. In short order, nearly 100,000 Soviet soldiers took control of major cities and highways. Rebellion was swift and broad, and the Soviets dealt harshly with the Mujahideen rebels and those who supported them, leveling entire villages to deny safe havens to their enemy. Foreign support propped up the diverse group of rebels, pouring in from Iran, Pakistan, China, and the Unite -
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George Bush Senior
served as the 41st U.S. president from 1989 to 1993. He also was a two-term U.S. vice president under Ronald Reagan, from 1981 to 1989. Bush, a World War II naval aviator and Texas oil industry executive, began his political career in the U.S. House of Representatives in 1967. During the 1970s, he held a variety of government posts, including CIA director. In 1988, Bush defeated Democratic rival Michael Dukakis to win the White House. In office, he launched successful military operations agains -
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Collapse of the Soviet Union
Conditions in Eastern Europe and the Soviet Union, however, changed rapidly. Gorbachev’s decision to loosen the Soviet yoke on the countries of Eastern Europe created an independent, democratic momentum that led to the collapse of the Berlin Wall in November 1989, and then the overthrow of Communist rule throughout Eastern Europe. While Bush supported these independence movements, U.S. policy was reactive. Bush chose to let events unfold organically, careful not to do anything to worsen Gorbache -
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Tiananmen square
China’s Communist Party unleashed the People’s Liberation Army on protesters camped in and around Beijing’s Tiananmen Square to quell a seven-week-long pro-democracy movement. In one of the nation’s bloodiest crackdowns, hundreds, if not thousands, of people were killed in what today is simply called “Tiananmen.”
But while Beijing was the best-known and, in the end, deadliest protest, it was only one of many similar protests that stretched across China. Sizable occupations were held in around 2 -
The Fall of the Berlin wall
as the Cold War began to thaw across Eastern Europe, the spokesman for East Berlin’s Communist Party announced a change in his city’s relations with the West. Starting at midnight that day, he said, citizens of the GDR were free to cross the country’s borders. East and West Berliners flocked to the wall, drinking beer and champagne and chanting “Tor auf!” (“Open the gate!”). At midnight, they flooded through the checkpoints.More than 2 million people from East Berlin visited West Berlin that -
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Boris Yeltsin
Boris Yeltsin (1931-2007) served as the president of Russia from 1991 until 1999. Though a Communist Party member for much of his life, he eventually came to believe in both democratic and free market reforms, and played an instrumental role in the collapse of the Soviet Union. Yeltsin won two presidential elections, the first of which occurred while Russia was still a Soviet republic. But despite successfully ushering in a freer and more open society, his tenure was marred by economic hardship,
