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United Nations Formed
After World War 2, the entirety of the world was plagued with the fear of another war starting. Because of this fear, leaders from nations across the globe came together at a meeting, deciding to start an organization, the United Nations, where the goal of the organization was peace and cooperation. A place where countries can come to peaceful agreements. -
The Truman Doctrine
After WW2, it was clear that the next superpowers in the world emerging were the US and the Soviet Union. However, these two countries had very different ideas about how governments should be. Because of this, there was fear that the Soviet's ways would spread, and this Doctrine was basically saying that the US would give money and support to countries fighting the Soviet Union. -
The Hollywood Ten
The Hollywood Ten were basically a group of movie writers and directors that were needed to go in front of the HUAC (House Un-American Activities Committee), who was investigating the communist influences in the movie industries. The Hollywood Ten then refused to answer any questions, which resulted in them becoming blacklisted by movie studios and the film industry. -
The Marshall Plan
The Marshall Plan essentially was the US trying to help Europe with all the devastation that WW2 caused to the European countries, by giving them money and supplies to rebuild the ruin caused in the war. -
NATO founded
NATO, the North Atlantic Treaty Organization, was formed pretty soon after WW2 ended. This group was created mainly to protect against the Soviet Union, as there was major animosity and tension between the US and their allies. It provided security and protection for all members for the threat of the Soviet Union beginning a war. -
The Korean War
This war included the communist North Korea and South Korea, who the US supported. The US was involved due to the fear of communism spreading. The UN provided troops to help South Korea. After lots and lots of fighting, a ceasefire was signed in 1953 to stop the fighting, but to this day, the Koreas are separate. -
Space Race Finale/Sputnik
After the ending of World War two, it seemed that there was tensions between the US and the Soviet Union, as previously stated. Due to this, they became competitors in everything basically. Specifically, this one was for the race for space exploration. The Soviet Union, to the shock of the US, launched the first human-made object into space. A satellite named Sputnik. After this, the space race kept getting more serious with both countries trying to one-up the other. -
Bay of Pigs
The Bay of Pigs Invasion was a failed attempt to invade Cuba. Basically, the US tried to train a bunch of Cuban exiles to invade and overthrow Fidel Castro, the leader, until they actually got to Cuba. As soon as they arrived at the bay, they were quickly defeated by Castro and his forces. -
Berlin Wall Goes Up
After WW2, Germany was split into two, communist East Germany, controlled by the Soviet Union, and democratic West Germany, backed by the US+allies. At this point, Berlin was also divided. The East German government decided that they were going to build a wall between East and West Berlin to stop the flee of people from East to West Berlin. It quickly became a symbol of the separation of Germany. -
US enters Vietnam War
The first military arrived in 1965, but the US was supporting South Vietnam far earlier. South Vietnam was fighting against the communist North Vietnam, and the US was backing South Vietnam due to the fear of Communism spreading further. There were US advisors deployed as early as 1955. -
Soviets Invade Afghanistan
When the Soviets first arrived in Afghanistan, it was under the pretense of helpfulness, but they soon showed their true intentions of wanting to control the country. This was met with much resistance from the Afghan people. The war went on for a decade, with the US supporting Afghanistan, eventually ending with the Soviets withdrawing after the realization that they couldn't win. However, this war left Afghanistan in a terrible state with a country destroyed. -
Berlin Wall Goes Down
For almost 30 years, this wall stood in the middle of Germany as a symbol of division, but 28 years later, a government official in East Germany accidentally said that people could travel to West Germany at this point. With the influx of people rushing to the wall, the guards were like, welp and then proceeded to open the gates. It became a celebration, reunion, and symbol of freedom. It also became known as the ending of the Cold War!