Cold War Names/Terms/Events/Timeline
Yalta: (1945) used to designate the beginning of the Cold War; meeting with “big 3” (Churchill, Stalin, Roosevelt); worked on division of Germany, UN, war reparations, future of Berlin, etc.
Atomic bomb: (1945) US uses first atomic bomb (Hiroshima and Nagasaki); product of Manhattan Project
Iron Curtain: (1946) Churchill delivers “Iron Curtain” speech describing the European divide between Western democracies and Eastern Soviet satellites
Truman Doctrine: (1947) Truman declares active role in Greek Civil War and intention to provide support to countries attempting to establish democracy
Marshall Plan: (1947) cold war strategy for reconstruction of Europe and containment of communism in Europe; named after General and Secretary of State, George Marshall
Berlin Blockade/Airlift: (1948) Stalin cut off supply lines to Americans, French, and British that ran through Soviet sector; backfired when West improvised an airlift to Berliners
NATO: (1949) North Atlantic Treaty Organization ratified to provide peacetime defense of Western Europe; reaction to Berlin Blockade
Mao Zedong / China: (1949) Mao, a communist, takes control of China, creating a second front on Communisim
McCarthy: (1950) Senator Joseph McCarthy begins Communist witch hunt; believed traitors had provided nuclear info to Soviets
Korean War: (1950) war begins; Korea had been part of Japan since 1910 but divided after WWII; no agreement on who would run country if occupation forces (US et al) left and 38th parallel removed
Rosenberg Spy Case: (1953) execution of couple accused of providing classified info from Manhattan Project to Soviets; guilt/innocence still debated today
Stalin: Soviet communist leader from 1925-1953
KGB: (1954) established as intelligence, counterintelligence agency; designed for suppression of internal resistance, electronic espionage, punishment, and enforcing morals
CIA: established in 1947; helped overthrow unfriendly regimes in Iran and Guatemala in 1954 which actually encouraged growth of communism
Dien Bien Phu: (1954) climatic battle between Communist Vietnamese vs. French; French lose which leads to 17th Parallel as established by Geneva Accords; war would continue in 1959
17th Parallel: (1954) the demilitarized zone designated by Geneva Accords as the divide between “Communist” North Vietnam and “Free” South Vietnam; US did not sign because it forbade foreign troops
Warsaw Pact: (1955) military alliance set up by Russians as counterweight to NATO
Sputnik: (1957) 1st orbiting satellite launched; part of propaganda war in arms race
Krushchev: Soviet leader from 1958-1966; demanded removal of troops in 1958; visited US in 1959 and was denied access to DisneyLand for security reasons
Castro: (1959) takes over Cuba; still aliveand still controls Communist Cuba
U2-Affair: (1960) Soviet Union reveals that US spy plane shot down over Soviet territory; flights had been taking place for 4 years; was about to become obsolete with new satellite technology; revealed though that Soviets knew that US knew that Soviets knew….
Kennedy: president from 1961-1963 assassinated in 1963
Bay of Pigs: (1961) failed invasion of Cuba; was actually Eisenhouer’s plan
Berlin Wall: (1961) Berlin border closed and construction of Berlin Wall begins; intended by Soviets to block the flow of immigrants from east to west which was hurting their economy; wall served as symbol of divide and of the failures of communism
Cuban Missile Crisis: (1962) tensions that developed as result of Soviet missile deployment to Cuba; proved to both sides that such weapons and lack of communication were threats to both sides; closest the world ever got to a 3rd world war
Johnson: US president from 1963-1968
Gulf of Tonkin Incident/Resolution: (1964) took place east coast of North Vietnam; opened door to escalation and official documentation of US involvement in Vietnam; incident that alleged that North Vietnamese attacked two US destroyers; resolution passed by Congress says, “to take all necessary measures to repel any armed attack against the forces of the US and to prevent further aggression”; gave Johnson excuse to send forces to Vietnam
Six Day War: (1967) war between Israel and Arab neighbors (Egypt, Jordan, Syria); Israel gained territories that continue today to affect geopolitics of region
USS Pueblo: (1968) North Korea captured naval intelligence vessel; one crew member killed and 88 crew members held captive for 11 months; is tourist attraction today to promote anti-Americanism
Tet Offensive: (1968) massive North Vietnamese military campaign that ended in defeat, but shocked western forces and instigated intense debate in US over role in Vietnam
My Lai Massacre: (1968) mass murder of 347 unarmed citizens (mostly women and children) of South Vietnam by US forces; some victims raped, beaten, tortured before being killed; prompted outrage in US and worldwide
Vietnamization (1969) Nixon’s policy for making South Vietnam more responsible in order to gradually withdraw US troops; slow process and and South Vietnam not up to the task
Apollo 11: (1969) first manned landing on moon; result of space race since Sputnik
Nixon: vice-president from 1953-1961 and president from 1969-1974
Cambodia (1970) Nixon extends Vietnam War into Cambodia which destabilized the country and allowed brutal regimes to take over
SALT / SALT II: (1972, 1979) Strategic Arms Limitations Talks intended to limit nuclear proliferation
Solidarity: (1980) broad anti-communist movement in Poland led by Lech Walesa; eventually led to limited elections
Reagan: US president from 1981-1989
Star Wars: (1983) space based Strategic Defense Initiative proposed by Reagan
Gorbachev: (1985) ascends to power in the Soviet Union; ends economic aid to Soviet satellites in 1986 and works with Reagan to remove all intermediate nuclear missiles from Europe
Glastnost: introduced by Gorbachev, word means “openness” and has been used to describe the period up to 2000 as one relatively free of government suppression and censorship
Perestroika: also introduced by Gorbachev as a policy of restructuring society and economy
Iran-Contra Affair: (1986-1987) political scandal that exposed Reagan administration’s sale of arms to Iran and illegal use of those profits to fund Sandinista rebels (Contras) in Nicaragua
INF: (1987) Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces agreement to eliminate a range of cruise missiles; signed by Reagan and Gorbachev
Fall of Berlin Wall: (1989) paved way for German reunification; over the years, many killed trying to cross or climb over
German Unification: (1990) unification of East and West Germany formally concluded in this year
Soviet Union Collapse: (1991) disintegrated into 15 different countries; end of Cold War