Timeline by Riyann Perry

The Cold War (1947-1989)

riperr20473 — 2025-05-06 16:34:48 UTC

The Cold War was not an actual war, but a direct competition between the United States and the Soviet Union. This competition lasted for over 40 years, the Soviet Union continuously pushing for world dominance of communism as the US kept a push for capitalistic democracy. This built incredible tension throughout the world and kept building in wars including the Korean War and the Chinese Civil War, creating more of a division as they progressed.

Yalta Conference (Feb. 1945)

riperr20473 — 2025-05-06 16:40:53 UTC

The Yalta Conference was a discussion between the leaders of the US (FDR), UK (Churchill), and the Soviet Union (Stalin). The meeting was to discuss post war reorganization of Germany and Europe. The idea was to establish "broadly representative" governments and create free elections in Eastern Europe. They also agreed upon dividing Germany into different zones controlled by each of them to prevent such a catastrophy from happening again.

Potsdam Conference (July-Aug. 1945)

riperr20473 — 2025-05-06 17:07:27 UTC

The Potsdam Conference was another discussion between the same countries, except for FDR was now replaced by Truman due to an assassination. This conference was held in hopes each promise made at the last was kept. However, Stalin had refused to allow free elections in communist established countries. This created tension between the countries, the US now suspecting Stalin had plans for "world dominance" and wanted to spread the idea of communism. This conference also established the US making known we had the power of nuclear weapons that we were ready to use towards Japan if unconditional surrender were to not happen. This made Stalin incredibly angry as he didn't realize how advanced we've become, which created further tension between Democracy and Communism.

"The Iron Curtain"

riperr20473 — 2025-05-07 15:57:36 UTC

A term coined by Winston Churchill, used to describe the division of Western Europe and Eastern Communist Europe. The world was more divided than ever, and the soviets tried their best to block themselves off from the Western world while the West was doing their best to try and contain communism, not allowing it to spread and become world dominated.

Truman Doctrine (1947)

riperr20473 — 2025-05-09 16:43:44 UTC

A U.S. established foreign policy that was made as a promise to help aid struggling nations against communistic movements. This created tension throughout this timeline because of our constant efforts to keep communism out of as many countries as possible. This policy led to us helping in several instances including the Marshall plan and the Berlin Blockade which caused us to retaliate with the Berlin airlift. Our constant efforts to keep communism where it was out of fear of world domination.

Containment

riperr20473 — 2025-05-09 16:46:37 UTC

Another foreign policy adapted by the U.S. as a plan to not fully rid of communism, but to keep it contained in areas it was already established and to just prevent it from spreading to other areas. The idea to "contain" communism within its existing boundaries. This policy was again adopted by President Truman and continued to help with the Marshall plan and Berlin Airlift. This continued the tension between the US and USSR because of its leaders wanting to expand their power and our fear not allowing it to happen.

The Marshall Plan (Apr. 3rd, 1948)

riperr20473 — 2025-05-09 16:47:29 UTC

Plan created by the U.S. to help avoid the spread of communism by providing economic stability to Western Europe in hopes they don't fall to the communists. The U.S. provided a variety types of aid including financial, food, fuel, and machinery. This plan helped with the economic stability of Europe and helped get the western portion get back on its feet after WW2 and helped stabilize democratic governments rather than communist governments.

Germany Divided

riperr20473 — 2025-05-09 16:48:06 UTC

After WW2, the US, UK, and USSR agreed to divide Germany into different portions, each stationed with their own armies to prevent any more moves made by them. This obviously created a greater division as Western Berlin was occupied with the Democratic US, as Eastern Berlin was occupied by the communist USSR. This plan almost backfired of itself, as the USSR believed they could achieve their spread of communism by created a blockade, not allowing reinforcements from the US to provide aid to the people of East Berlin and be able to invade and spread communism throughout Berlin. This division highlighted their geographical differences and increased tension further between the US and USSR.

The Berlin Blockade (April 1948-May 12th, 1949)

riperr20473 — 2025-05-09 16:48:42 UTC

A plan created by the USSR in which they had blocked all land and rail traffic into East Berlin. It allowed the Soviets to block any aid from coming into East Germany, which Stalin believed would ensure that West Berlin would eventually fall to communism. This led to another foreign policy, the Berlin airlift which made Stalin realize how prepared the US was to help prevent the spread and keep the containment of communism where it was already established.

The Berlin Airlift (June 1948-Sept. 1949)

riperr20473 — 2025-05-09 16:49:07 UTC

The US response to the Berlin Blockade because although the Soviets had blocked all roads and railroads, they failed to realize we could provide aid through the sky. The airlift became a symbol of defiance, and for 15 long months the US would drop cartons of food and fuel to the citizens of Berlin through various aircraft. This response successfully helped the US avoid war and demonstrated effective cooperation and international aid. Our perseverance showing how we were not afraid to fight back in unusual ways and highlighted the division between the East and West.

Building of the Berlin Wall (Aug. 13th, 1961)

riperr20473 — 2025-05-09 16:49:42 UTC

An enormous wall consisting of concrete and barbed wire, built by the Soviets occupying East Berlin. It was built to keep East citizens from fleeing into West Berlin. The wall became a symbol of division during the Cold War, the isolation furthering the tension between communists wanting to keep Democratic ideologies whereas the US was working to contain the communism that was actively spreading in East Berlin.

The Formation of NATO (April 4th, 1949)

riperr20473 — 2025-05-09 16:50:10 UTC

The Formation of NATO (North Atlantic Treaty Organization) became a military alliance between several West European countries and the USA as a form of a promise to protect each other from potential aggression primarily of the Soviet Union, especially during the time of the Cold War. This formation served as a huge alliance for each country, an attack on one meaning an attack on all countries included. They established a collective defense system to help deter Soviet Aggression.

Bay of Pigs Invasion (April 17-20th, 1961)

riperr20473 — 2025-05-09 16:50:40 UTC

The Bay of Pigs invasion was a failed attempt by the US to help overthrow Cuban leader Fidel Castro. The attempted plan was to send CIA trained Cuban exiles onto the coast of Cuba to try and infiltrate the country and start up a revolution, furthering their want to get rid of communism all together. The plan was an incredible failure as Cuba was aware of our attempts and surprise attacked the exiles and became a huge embarrassment to the US. This not only strengthened the power Fidel had over Cuba, but also furthered the tension between the US and Soviets.

Cuban Missile Crisis (October 16th-29th, 1962)

riperr20473 — 2025-05-09 16:51:11 UTC

The Cuban Missile Crisis was a 13 day standoff between the US and the Soviet Union. The USSR had planted nuclear weapons on Cuban soil and had them facing the coast of the US. This standoff led to immense amounts of tension and became the closest event to a nuclear war. Kennedy declared a naval blockade of Cuban and the issue was eventually resolved through diplomatic agreements. However, this was an incredibly terrifying moment to the US and its citizens, furthering the tension and hatred many felt towards the aggressive Soviets.

The Korean War (June 25th, 1950-July 27th, 1953)

riperr20473 — 2025-05-09 16:51:30 UTC

The Korean war was an intense battle between North and South Korea, and the Soviets and the USA. The Korean War is often forgotten as many agree that it was almost pointless because they ended in the same position. North and South Korea had been divided by the 38th parallel in which the Soviets occupied the north and the US occupied the South. The north had begun an attack on the south, in which the US responded with aid and troops to fight for south Korea. General Douglas MacArthur played an important role in the war, he led the invasion of Inchon, which had successfully driven the North Korean troops further from the 38th parallel. General MacArthur was not afraid to keep pushing them further, eventually pushing them towards Yalu River which bordered China, and the Chinese had sent a warning saying if they had gotten too close, they would attack. MacArthur didn't believe the warning and wasn't afraid of the Chinese and often disobeyed Truman's orders, which led to him being discharged due to insubordination. Eventually after Truman's term, Eisenhower took over and was able to end the war by presenting the possibility of Nuclear conflict. Cease fires were signed, and they had agreed to stay where they started, North and South Korea continuing to be divided by the 38th Parallel. This furthered the tensions as the Soviets and the US fought of opposite sides for their own reasons.

The Vietnam War (Nov. 1st, 1955-Apr. 30th, 1975)

riperr20473 — 2025-05-09 16:51:58 UTC

Again another brutal war based on the division of the US and Soviet Union. Vietnam had been divided by North and South Vietnam, which the US had troops occupied in. The US had a constant battle to keep Vietnam to be taken over Communistic rule and many battles fought were incredibly harsh and deadly. The Vietcong often used geurrilla warfare against the US and South Vietnamese forces. The Vietcong used their knowledge of the territory as a way to sabotage and use booby-traps to fight against the South. The constant battle ultimately led to the US withdrawing from the war and remained Communist. This furthered the fear of communism taking over countries around the world and would eventually lead to the US being taken over, this war being a prime example of our constant battle against the communists.

The Antiwar Movement

riperr20473 — 2025-05-09 16:52:28 UTC

The Antiwar movement was a series of social movements in the US that opposed military conflict, specifically the Vietnam War. Their goal was to pressure the government to withdraw from ongoing conflicts and bring about policy changes related to war. The Vietnam War was the first to be televised, and really sparked the movements to want the war to end, as the people were finally able to see what it was like on that side and see the horrors firsthand. The protests became widespread in various cities across the Country, and was a symbol of renewed focus on social justice.

Detente

riperr20473 — 2025-05-09 16:52:46 UTC

Detente during the Cold war essentially meant a lessening of tensions. This was a period during the Cold War where relations between the US and the Soviet Union had improved through various forms of cooperation, trade, cultural exchange and arms control. The idea was to avoid the possible threat of nuclear war arising and improve communications between the two powers.

Nixon's trip to China (Feb. 21-28th, 1962)

riperr20473 — 2025-05-09 16:53:06 UTC

A pivotal moment in the Cold War in which this trip had improved the relations between the US and China and opened the door to diplomatic normalization. This trip ended the era of a 25 year no relation streak and opened the world for a new era of engagement. It also played a role in the detente with the Soviet Union, because of the new profound relations with China, they were able to negotiate with the Soviets for us. A moment in history which would've sounded impossible years before.

Fall of the Soviet Union (Dec. 25th, 1991)

riperr20473 — 2025-05-09 16:54:02 UTC

After decades of political and economic struggles, the power of the Soviet Union had finally fallen, which ended the 4 decade long Cold War against the US. This marks an incredible change in history as we no longer had to fear from the power of communism. Many internal factors had played as well as the external pressure by the US and NATO. This mark in history led to a balance of global power, with the US emerging once again as the strongest country. The Soviet Union eventually was able to divide into 15 separate states including Russia, Ukraine, Belarus, ect.