Cold War Flashcards
What was the start/Origin of the Cold War?
After WWII, Communism vs Democracy - battle of ideologies
February 1946– World War II ends, Germany is divided in two: Democracy in West Germany Communism in East
Communism - one class, dictatorship
Democracy - people’s will
Warsaw Pact, NATO, CIA, Soviets block entry to W Berlin
Warsaw Pact
March 1946 – Soviet Union has influenced nearly all of eastern
European countries to turn communist, creating a “Bloc” of smaller Soviet countries
NATO
North Atlantic Treaty Organization
April 1946 – NATO: North Atlantic Treaty Organization is created to
defend democratic countries
CIA
1946 – Central Intelligence Agency is created
Berlin Airlift
June 1948 – Soviets blockade entry into W. Berlin: Stalin
Berlin Airlift drops food and supplies for 327 straight days into West
Berlin (11 months)
Red Scare
1950s
Fear of spies sharing a-bomb secrets
McCarthy calling everyone a communist with no proof, accuses army of being soft on communism, see as a lunatic.
Hollywood 10
IMPACT - people can’t get a job
McCarthy accuses the US Army of being “Soft on
Communism” – He is finally seen as a lunatic
E. McCarthy dies weeks after the hearings. Legacy
of hysteria
Wisconsin Senator Joseph McCarthy
Calls everyone communist with no proof
Creates Hollywood 10
Accuses the US Army of being “Soft on Communism” – He is finally seen as a lunatic
McCarthy dies weeks after the hearings. Legacy
of hysteria
Arms Race
A. July 1945 – 1st Atomic Bomb is created and tested (2 mi. radius)
B. July 1946 – U.S. tests first Nuclear Bomb (6 mi. radius) on south
pacific island: Bikini Islands
C. August 29, 1949 – Soviet Union detonates first atomic bomb: Arms
Race begins
D. January 1950 – 1st Hydrogen Bomb(10 mi. radius)
Space Race
October 1957 – Soviets launch Sputnik, the first man made object to orbit earth
B. US responds with creation of NASA
C. Mercury, Gemini, Apollo missions aim to get man on the moon
D. April 1961 – Yuri Gagarin becomes first man in space, new fears arise, space race begins, Kennedy promises to land a man on the moon by the end of the decade
E. July 20, 1969 – Astronauts Neil Armstrong, Buzz Aldrin and Michael Collins reach the moon. “One small step for man, one giant
leap for mankind
What does “One small step for man, one giant
leap for mankind” refer to?
Man on the moon - Neil Armstrong, Buzz Aldrin, Michael Collins
Brinksmanship
Secretary of State John Foster Dulles says
that we will use nuclear weapons to defend
our allies
Fidel Castro
1959 – Fidel Castro takes over Cuba and
declares it a communist country
Bay of Pigs
1961: US tries to send 1500 Cuban exiles to invade cuba: Fails. Bay of Pigs Disaster
Cuban Missel Crisis
October, 1962 – Soviets put missiles on Cuba: massive fear.
Cuban Missile Crisis. Kennedy threatens to launch nuclear
attack on Soviets if they don’t remove missiles. Eventually
after 13 days, the crisis calms down
SALT treaties
SALT treaties – Reduce the number of arms
Strategic Arms Limitation Talks
Strategic Defense Initiative
By the mid 1980’s, The US had created SDI –
Strategic Defense Initiative (aka: Star Wars)
Glasnost
The Soviet Union cannot
economically spend enough to keep up with US
missiles or defense programs
End of the Cold War
1991 – Soviet Union dissolves, Berlin wall
comes down. Germany is united as a
democracy
Blacklist/Hollywood 10
Communist list
U2 Incident
1 May 1960, a United States U-2 spy plane was shot down by the Soviet Air Defence Forces while conducting photographic aerial reconnaissance inside Soviet territory.
Rosenburg Trials
Ethel and Julius Rosenberg - communist supporters
The Rosenbergs were found guilty of espionage and sentenced to death
Effects of McCarthyism
People afraid to speak out
Loyalty oaths and investigations
What did the GI Bill guarantee?
education and housing
Korean War
North Korea invaded South Korea - June 25 1950
