1. The Cold War
I can describe the important people, ideas, and events that contributed to the Cold War.

2. After World War II
Allies helped to form the United Nations to prevent future wars
Allies divided Berlin into 4 zones – eventually became West Berlin and East Berlin

3. Iron Curtain
Joseph Stalin installed or supported Communist governments in Albania, Bulgaria, Hungary, Czechoslovakia, Romania, Poland, and Yugoslavia
Stalin believed these countries would be a necessary buffer between Western Europe and the USSR
Stalin refused to allow free elections in these countries, and Truman saw this as a violation of human rights
Early 1946 – Stalin made a speech that communism and capitalism could not exist in the same world

4. Churchill’s “Iron Curtain Speech”
“From Stettin in the Baltic to Trieste in the Adriatic, an iron curtain has descended across the continent. Behind that line lie all the capitals of ancient states of Central and Eastern Europe All these famous cities and the populations around them lie in the Soviet sphere and all are subject in one form or another, no only to Soviet influence but to a very high and increasing measure of control from Moscow.”
-Winston Churchill March 5, 1946

5. Truman’s Response Containment – block the spread of Communism
Truman Doctrine – foreign policy aimed at blocking Soviet influence and preventing the expansion of communism
Marshall Plan – Provided food, machinery, and money to rebuild Western Europe and combat Soviet influence
Berlin Airlift – US and UK flew in supplies to West Berlin for 11 months leading the Soviet Union to admit defeat and free West Berlin in May 1949

6. Alliances
North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) – defensive alliance made up of 12 nations against the Soviet Union
Warsaw Pact – Alliance between Soviet Union, East Germany, Czechoslovakia, Poland, Hungary, Romania, Bulgaria, and Albania

7. Atomic Bomb US had used atomic bombs in Japan to end World War II
1949 – Soviet Union exploded its own atomic weapon
Brinkmanship – participating in an arms race and pushing one another to the brink, or edge, of war
MAD – mutually assured destruction – if the US is attacked the USSR will automatically be attacked also, and vice versa
H-Bomb – more powerful than the A-bomb because it uses fusion instead of fission to generate power
US tested H-bomb in 1952 and the USSR followed in 1953
Arms race between US and USSR also jumpstarted Space Race and developments in Science, Math, and Technology

8. Cuban Revolution
1959 – Cuban overthrew dictator Fulgencio Batista in a revolution led by Fidel Castro
US supported Batista because he was not communist
Castro was also a harsh dictator
Suspended elections, jailed and executed opponents, controlled the press
Nationalized the economy
Took over US owned sugar mills and refineries
President Eisenhower ordered an embargo on all trade with Cuba
Castro turned to the USSR for economic and military aid
1961 – anti-Castro Cuban exiles who were trained by the CIA invaded Cuban at the Bay of Pigs
US did not help with the mission, and Cuba easily won

9. Cuban Missile Crisis
July 1962 – Russia secretly built 42 missile sites in Cuba
US spy plane discovered the sites
President Kennedy declared that missiles so close to the US were a threat
Demanded their removal
Began a naval blockade of Cuba to prevent Russia from brining more missiles
Pushed US and USSR to the brink of nuclear war
Russia eventually agreed to remove the missiles in exchange for the US not invading Cuba (and secretly removing missiles from Turkey)

10. Communists in China
October 1949 – Mao Zedong and his Red Army gained control of Chin and renamed the country the People’s Republic of China
China and USSR signed a treaty of friendship in 1950
Defeated Nationalists fled to Taiwan and established a democratic government there
US and UK supported and formed alliances with Taiwan

11. Communist Changes
Mao expanded his troops into Tibet, India, and Mongolia
Mao killed over a million landlords and redistributed rural land to collective farms made up of peasant families
The government owned industries and businesses
Strictly controlled life of peasants

12. Cultural Revolution
1966 – millions of college and high school students left school to form units of the Red Guards
Goal: to establish a society of peasants and workers where everyone was equal
Physical labor was valued but intellectual and artistic pursuits were considered dangerous
Red Guards shut down schools, forced intellectuals to “purify” themselves by doing hard labor, and executed or imprisoned thousands

13. Korean War
After WWII, Korea was divided into 2 nations at the 38th parallel: north of the line was controlled by the USSR and south of the line was controlled by the US
Foreign troops withdrew from Korea by 1949 but the USSR supplied North Korea with weapons and money
June 25, 1950 – North Korea attacked South Korea

14. Fighting in Korea
South Korea asked the UN for help and 15 nations, including the US, sent troops
UN forces pushed North Korean forces almost to the Chinese border
October 1950 – China sent 300,000 troops to help North Korea – fighting continued for 2 years
July 1953 – UN and North Korea signed a cease-fire agreement
Border set at 38th parallel
4 million people were killed
US still has troops in South Korea