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Harry S. Truman's Presidency: April 12th, 1945-1953

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Harry S. Truman's Presidency: April 12th, 1945-1953

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Description:
Truman, Churchill, and Stalin met to discuss peace settlements in Europe. Significance:
Demilitarized Germany under four zones of Allied occupation and it established the Polish-Soviet border.

Pictured below are leaders Churchill, Truman, and Stalin at the Potsdam Conference

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The Iron Curtain Speech: March 5th, 1946

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The Iron Curtain Speech: March 5th, 1946

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Description:
Winston Churchill gives a speech that condemns the Soviet Union’s policies and he coins the term “iron curtain” referring to the division of Eastern and Western Europe.
Significance:
This announced the beginning of the Cold War

A brief clip of Churchill's "Iron Curtain" Speech

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Description:

This was a policy to stop the spread of communism as a response to a series of moves by the Soviet Union to increase communist influence.

Significance:

Kept many countries from falling under Communism in Eastern Europe and Asia

CONTAINMENT POLICY
CARTOON BY SAGE STOSSEL
Wednesday, April 28, 2010, at 10:56 pm

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Description:

Established that the United States would provide political, military and economic assistance to all democratic nations under threat from external or internal authoritarian forces.

Significance:

It set a precedent for collective security.

TRUMAN DOCTRINE
Cartoon by J.S. Puck
September 5th, 2011

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Description:

A comprehensive program formed to rebuild Europe. Fanned by the fear of Communist expansion and the rapid deterioration of European economies in the winter of 1946–1947, Congress passed the Economic Cooperation Act in March 1948 and approved funding that would eventually rise to over $12 billion for the rebuilding of Western Europe.

Significance:

It generated a resurgence of European industrialization and brought extensive investment into the region.

Pictured below: the hunger-winter of 1947, thousands protest in West Germany against the disastrous food situation (March 31, 1947). The sign says: We want coal, we want bread

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Description:

Coming off of World War II (and the defeat of a totalitarian Nazi regime), many Americans feared our own government would become what we just had defeated. Truman himself had similar concerns, but as the Cold War heated up, he became more open to its development. After much discussion and debate over structure, Truman finally signed the National Security Act in September 1947, which gave birth to the CIA.

Significance:

It allowed America to control the war and help to win the war.

"To promote the national security by providing for a Secretary of Defense; for a National Military Establishment; for a Department of the Army, a Department of the Navy, and a Department of the Air Force; and for the coordination of the activities of the National Military Establishment with other departments and agencies of the Government concerned with national security.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled."
-  The National Security Act of 1947

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Description:

The US, United Kingdom and France controlled the Western part of Berlin while the Soviet Union controlled the Eastern part of Berlin.  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 air bases in western Germany.

Significance:

It showed that USA was willing to stand up to Stalin, also it became clear that neither side was willing to start a shooting war with the other over somewhere that wasn't their own territory,or directly threatened their own territory.

U.S. Navy and Air Force aircrafts unload at Tempelhof Airport during the Berlin Airlift. (U.S. Air Force)

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Description:

The idea that if any member was attacked, the United States would respond with a large-scale nuclear attack.

Significance:

The threat of this form of response was meant to serve as a deterrent against Soviet aggression on the continent. It was also the largest peacetime military alliance in the world.

"The Parties to this Treaty reaffirm their faith in the purposes and principles of the Charter of the United Nations and their desire to live in peace with all peoples and all governments. They are determined to safeguard the freedom, common heritage and civilisation of their peoples, founded on the principles of democracy, individual liberty and the rule of law. They seek to promote stability and well-being in the North Atlantic area. They are resolved to unite their efforts for collective defence and for the preservation of peace and security. They therefore agree to this North Atlantic Treaty..."
-  The North Atlantic Treaty

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People’s Republic of China: October 1, 1949

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People’s Republic of China: October 1, 1949

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Description:
The announcement ended the costly full-scale civil war between the Chinese Communist Party and the Nationalist Party broke out immediately following World War II and had been preceded by on and off conflict between the two sides since the 1920’s.

Significance:

This led to the United States suspending diplomatic ties with PRC.

“A drama begins with a prologue but the prologue is not the climax. The Chinese Revolution is great – but the road after the revolution will be longer, the work greater and more arduous.”
- Mao Zedong, 1949

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Description:

This began when the North Korean Communist army crossed the 38th Parallel and invaded non-Communist South Korea. As Kim Il-sung's North Korean army, armed with Soviet tanks, quickly overran South Korea, the United States came to South Korea's aid.

Significance:

It was the first armed war during the Cold War.

Hundreds of thousands of South Koreans fled south in mid-1950 after the North Korean army invaded

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Dwight D. Eisenhower's Presidency: January 20, 1953-1961

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Dwight D. Eisenhower's Presidency: January 20, 1953-1961

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Khrushchev becomes leader of Soviet Union: March, 1953

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Khrushchev becomes leader of Soviet Union: March, 1953

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Description:

During WWII Khrushchev mobilized troops to fight Nazi Germany in the Ukraine and at Stalingrad. After the war, he helped to rebuild the devastated countryside while simultaneously stifling Ukrainian nationalist dissent. By the time Stalin died in March 1953, Khrushchev had positioned himself as a possible successor. Six months later, he became head of the Communist Party and one of the most powerful people in the USSR
Significance:
Soviet Union leader during much of The Cold War.

Pictured below is Nikita Khrushchev. He became the leader of the USSR after the death of Stalin. He didn't support Stalins ways and wanted to change them.

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Description:

The United States, the People’s Republic of China, North Korea, and South Korea agree to an armistice, bringing the Korean War to an end.

Significance:

Korea was divided permanently along the 38th parallel with a demilitarized zone between them.

End of War makes headlines in newspapers

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McCarthy-US Army Hearings: April-June, 1954

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McCarthy-US Army Hearings: April-June, 1954

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Description:

Already infamous for his aggressive interrogations of suspected Communists, Wisconsin Senator Joseph R. McCarthy earned more notoriety via these televised 1954 Congressional hearings. McCarthy had turned his investigations to army security, but the army in turn charged him with using improper influence to win preferential treatment for a former staff member, Pvt. G. David Schine.

Significance:

These were the first televised congressional hearings.

Joseph Welch confronts McCarthy

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Description:

The United States feared that if a country fell to Communism than the other countries around it would slowly begin to fall to it as well.

Significance:

The U.S. government used the domino theory to justify its involvement in the Vietnam War and its support for a non-communist dictator in South Vietnam.

THE DOMINO THEORY
Cartoon by Mike Luckovich
August 14th, 2007

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Description:

This was a political and military alliance between the Soviet Union and several Eastern European countries. The Soviet Union formed this alliance as a counterbalance to NATO.

Significance:

The signing of The Warsaw Pact became a symbol of Soviet Dominance in Eastern Europe

"In the interests of further strengthening and promoting friendship, cooperation and mutual assistance, in accordance with the principles of respect for the independence and sovereignty of states, and also with the principle of noninterference in their internal affairs,
Have resolved to conclude this Treaty of Friendship, Co-operation and Mutual Assistance, . . ."
-  The Warsaw Pact, 1955

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Description:

Both sides wanted a unified Vietnam, but while Ho and his supporters wanted a nation modeled after other communist countries, Bao and many others wanted a Vietnam with close economic and cultural ties to the West.

Significance:

The war ended up being longer than it was expected to last and caused much controversy in the United States.

French soldiers fight off a Viet Minh ambush.

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Description:

A country could request American economic assistance and/or aid from U.S. military forces if it was being threatened by armed aggression from another state.

Significance:

This singled out Soviet threat by authorizing the commitment of U.S. forces.

EISENHOWER DOCTRINE
Cartoon by BMaster90 on Flickr
March 13, 2013

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Description:

This was the Earth’s first artificial satellite which was launched by the Soviet Union. This came as a surprise to many, who thought the US would be the first to do this

Significance:

This intensified the arms race and raised Cold War tensions

The launch of the Earth's first artificial satelite

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Key Dates:

First living creature in space on October 1957

,First human in space April 12th, 1961

US launched Apollo 8 – first manned orbit of the Moon, December 21st 1968

US Apollo 11 landed on the Moon, Armstrong becomes first man on the moon, July 20th, 1969

Description:

This was a competition in the exploration of space between the United States and the Soviet Union. The Space Race included the exploration of outer space using rocket technology with artificial satellites to send animals and humans into space, and to land people on the Moon.

Significance:

It showed the world which country had the best science, technology, and economic system.

A brief video explaining the start and finish of the Space Race

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Description:

This organization was created in response to the Soviet Union’s launch of the Sputnik

Significance:

This eventually led to many developments in the development of space technology and eventually led to the US landing the first man on the moon.

NASA's top management from 1958-1960

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Fidel Castro Rises to Power: January, 1959

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Fidel Castro Rises to Power: January, 1959

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Description:

After Batista's overthrow in 1959, Castro assumed military and political power as Cuba's Prime Minister. Adopting a Marxist–Leninist model of development, Castro converted Cuba into a one-party, socialist state under Communist Party rule.

Significance:

First communist country in the Western Hemisphere and it also strained relations with the US.

Fidel Castro in a Cuban telecast, May 27, 1960.

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Description:

During the grand opening ceremony of the American National Exhibition in Moscow, Nixon and Soviet leader Nikita Khrushchev engage in a heated debate about capitalism and communism in the middle of a model kitchen set up for the fair.

Significance:

The media captured the debate and it was front page news the next day.

Soviet Premier Nikita Khrushchev and United States Vice President Richard Nixon debate the merits of communism versus capitalism

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Description:

A U-2 plane being flown by Gary Powers was shot down by the soviets while on a secret mission to over fly and photograph denied territory from his U2 spy plane deep inside Russia

Significance:

This strained relations with the Soviet Union again and an important summit meeting between the US and Soviet Union was cancelled.

Part of the U-2 wreckage on display at Central Armed Forces Museum in Moscow

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Eisenhower Farewell Address: January 17th, 1961

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Eisenhower Farewell Address: January 17th, 1961

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Description:

President Dwight D. Eisenhower warns the American people to keep a careful eye on what he calls the “military-industrial complex” that has developed in the post-World War II years.

Significance:

Eisenhower expressed his concerns about the growing size and cost of the American defense.

" We now stand ten years past the midpoint of a century that has witnessed four major wars among great nations. Three of these involved our own country. Despite these holocausts America is today the strongest, the most influential and most productive nation in the world. Understandably proud of this pre-eminence, we yet realize that America’s leadership and prestige depend, not merely upon our unmatched material progress, riches and military strength, but on how we use our power in the interests of world peace and human betterment."
- Eisenhower during his Farewell Address

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John F. Kennedy's Presidency: January 20, 1961-1963

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John F. Kennedy's Presidency: January 20, 1961-1963

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Description

President John F. Kennedy learned of the invasion plan made by the CIA under Eisenhower, concluded that Fidel Castro was a Soviet client posing a threat to all of Latin America and, after consultations with his advisors, gave his consent for the CIA-planned clandestine invasion of Cuba to proceed. Launched from Guatemala, the attack went wrong almost from the start. Components of Brigade 2506 landed at the Bay of Pigs on April 17, 1961 and were defeated within 2 days by Cuban armed forces under the direct command of Castro.

Significance:

Resulted in a dangerous confrontation between the United States and Soviet Union as the ties between Cuba and USSR became closer

BAY OF PIGS
CARTOON BY NATE BEELER
Thursday, January 8th, 2009

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Description:

Many people from East Berlin were fleeing to West Berlin which had a devastating effect on the East German economy. In order to put a halt to this, East Germany built a wall to keep people from leaving the East

Significance:

It stopped East Berlin people from going to the West.

View from the West Berlin side of graffiti on the wall in 1986.

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Cuban Missile Crisis: October 14th, 1962

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Cuban Missile Crisis: October 14th, 1962

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Description:

This was a direct and dangerous confrontation between the United States and the Soviet Union during the Cold War and was the moment when the two superpowers came closest to nuclear conflict. The crisis was unique in a number of ways, featuring calculations and miscalculations as well as direct and secret communications and miscommunications between the two sides.

Significance:

Both superpowers began to reconsider the nuclear arms race and took the first steps in agreeing to a nuclear Test Ban Treaty.

President Kennedy meets in the Oval Office with General Curtis LeMay and the reconnaissance pilots who found the missile sites in Cuba.

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Nuclear Test Ban Treaty: Signed August 5th, 1963

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Nuclear Test Ban Treaty: Signed August 5th, 1963

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Description:

People were becoming increasingly worried about their safety due to the development and bettering of nuclear technology. This concern led both the US and Soviet Union to sign this arms control agreement

Significance:

It banned all nuclear tests in the atmosphere, in space, or underwater.

President Kennedy signs the Limited Nuclear Test Ban Treaty

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Lyndon B. Johnson's Presidency: November 22, 1963-1969

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Lyndon B. Johnson's Presidency: November 22, 1963-1969

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Gulf of Tonkin Resolution: August 10th, 1964

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Gulf of Tonkin Resolution: August 10th, 1964

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Description:

Authorized President Johnson to take any measures he believed were necessary to retaliate and to promote the maintenance of international peace and security in southeast Asia.

Significance:

This resolution became the legal basis for the Johnson and Nixon Administrations prosecution of the Vietnam War.

Secretary of Defense Robert S. McNamara points out action in Gulf of Tonkin during a briefing at the Pentagon.

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Richard M. Nixon's Presidency: January 20, 1969-1974

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Richard M. Nixon's Presidency: January 20, 1969-1974

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Description

Between the late 1960s and the late 1970s, there was a thawing of the ongoing Cold War between the United States and the Soviet Union.

Significance:

Led to formal agreements on arms control and the security of Europe.

Leonid Brezhnev (left) and Richard Nixon (right) during Brezhnev's June 1973 visit to Washington; this was a high-water mark in détente between the United States and the Soviet Union

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First Man Lands on Moon: July 20th, 1969

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First Man Lands on Moon: July 20th, 1969

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Description:

Apollo 11 was the spaceflight that landed the first two humans on the Moon. Mission commander Neil Armstrong and pilot Buzz Aldrin, both American, landed the lunar module Eagle

Significance:

This was one small step for man and one giant leap for mankind.

The first moon landing

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Neil Armstrong - First Moon Landing 1969

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Description:

During the late 1960s, the United States learned that the Soviet Union had embarked upon a massive Intercontinental Ballistic Missile (ICBM) buildup designed to reach parity with the United States. In January 1967, President Lyndon Johnson announced that the Soviet Union had begun to construct a limited Anti-Ballistic Missile (ABM) defense system around Moscow. The development of an ABM system could allow one side to launch a first strike and then prevent the other from retaliating by shooting down incoming missiles. Two and a half years later Nixon and Soviet General Secretary Leonid Brezhnev signed the ABM Treaty and interim SALT agreement

Significance:

For the first time during the Cold War, the United States and Soviet Union had agreed to limit the number of nuclear missiles in their arsenals.

Nixon and Brezhnev shake after signing the SALT treaty

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Gerald R. Ford's Presidency: August 9, 1974-1977

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Gerald R. Ford's Presidency: August 9, 1974-1977

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Description:

The Vietnamese continued fighting after the US left the Vietnam War and it ended when Saigon fell to communism in April of 1975

Significance:

Vietnam was unified as the Socialist Republic of Vietnam, though sporadic violence continued over the next 15 years.

Protesters in an Anti-Vietnam War movement

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Jimmy Carter's Presidency: January 20, 1977-1981

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Jimmy Carter's Presidency: January 20, 1977-1981

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Ronald Reagan's Presidency: January 20, 1981-1989

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Ronald Reagan's Presidency: January 20, 1981-1989

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Gorbachev becomes leader of Soviet Union: March 11th. 1985

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Gorbachev becomes leader of Soviet Union: March 11th. 1985

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Description:

With the rapid-fire deaths of Andropov and Chernenko, Gorbachev had outlived his only serious competition, and he was selected to become the new leader of the Soviet Union

Significance:

The Soviet Union would soon come to an end with his presidency

Mikhail Gorbachev at a conference in Moscow

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Iran-Contra Affair: August 20th, 1985-March 4th, 1987

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Iran-Contra Affair: August 20th, 1985-March 4th, 1987

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Description:

It was a secret U.S. government arms deal that freed some American hostages held in Lebanon but also funded armed conflict in Central America

Significance:

It threatened to bring down the presidency of Ronald Reagan.

Reagan meets with aides on Iran-Contra

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Description:

Required destruction of the Parties' ground-launched ballistic and cruise missiles with ranges of between 500 and 5,500 kilometers, their launchers and associated support structures and support equipment within three years after the Treaty enters into force.

Significance:

The treaty marked the first time the superpowers had agreed to reduce their nuclear arsenals, eliminate an entire category of nuclear weapons, and utilize extensive on-site inspections for verification.

Gorbachev and Reagan sign the INF Treaty

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George H. W. Bush's Presidency: January 20, 1989-1993

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George H. W. Bush's Presidency: January 20, 1989-1993

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Tiananmen Square Protest: June 4th, 1989

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Tiananmen Square Protest: June 4th, 1989

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Description:

The protests were halted by troops with assault rifles and tanks killed at least several hundred demonstrators trying to block the military's advance towards Tiananmen Square.

Significance:

Many members of the U.S. Congress, the American public, and international leaders advocated broader economic sanctions

A brief video explaining what happened at Tiananmen Square

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How Bad Is China's Censorship? http://testu.be/1H1R6sz Subscribe! http://bitly.com/1iLOHml It's been 26 years since the protests at Tiananmen Square, so we wanted to revisit the events that led up to the protests and the iconic photo of 'tank man'.

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Fall of the Berlin Wall: November 9th, 1989

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Fall of the Berlin Wall: November 9th, 1989

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Description:
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.

Significance:

It symbolized the end of the Cold War.

People gather near a part of the Berlin Wall that has been broken down after the communist German Democratic Republic’s decision to open borders between East and West Berlin, circa November 1989

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Description:

A bilateral treaty between the United States of America and the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR) on the reduction and limitation of strategic offensive arms.

Significance:

It negotiated the largest and most complex arms control treaty in history

Presidents George H. W. Bush and Mikhail Gorbachev sign START

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Collapse of the Soviet Union: December 26th, 1991

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Collapse of the Soviet Union: December 26th, 1991

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Description:

When Mikhail S. Gorbachev became general secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union in March 1985, he launched his nation on a dramatic new course. His dual program of “perestroika” (“restructuring”) and “glasnost” (“openness”) introduced profound changes in economic practice, internal affairs and international relations. Gorbachev’s actions also inadvertently set the stage for the 1991 collapse of the Soviet Union, which dissolved into 15 individual republics.

Significance:

Led to the end of the Soviet Union

Meeting in Kurapaty, Byelorussia, 1989