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End of World War II
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Berlin Blockade and Airlift
The Soviets planned to blockade all of Berlin to gain control over the city and to stop western influence from unifying the city. Without wanting to cause a war by breaking through with force, the United States used planes to drop off supply packages to the citizens. This saved the city from being starved out, and eventually, the Soviets backed off and left the western side alone. -
Marshall Plan
After World War II, Europe suffered heavily from the destruction. The US saw this as a weakness that allowed communism to take over. George C. Marshall came up with a plan to rebuild Europe, and this plan was passed by Congress due to the fear of communist takeover of Europe.
The Soviet Union saw the Marshall Plan as an act to gain dominance over Western Europe to strengthen the Western Influence closer to the Soviet Union's borders. -
NATO Formation
The formation of NATO came from the fear of Soviet invasion. Commits the US to assist against a Soviet invasion of Western Europe. The Soviets created the Warsaw Pact soon after. -
Korean War
Korea was divided into North and South. The North was influenced by communism, and the South was influenced by capitalism. The North has soviet support and they almost take over the Korean Peninsula. However, the US and the UN drove them back, and a ceasefire it reached in 1953. The Soviets wanted to expand their influence and saw North Korea as a good oppurtunity, and the United States' policy was to contain the spread of communism. -
French Defeat in Indochina
France had control over Vietnam for nearly a century. As colonies, they provided valuable resources and served as a barrier to keep communism at bay. The Battle of Dien Bien Phu happened because France wanted to gain more control over their colonies. However, France underestimated their adversaries and lost the battle, giving over control to Ho Chi Minh, a communist. The communists saw this victory as an expulsion of foreign control, showcasing their strength against a modern enemy. -
Warsaw Pact Formation
The Soviet version of NATO, an alliance made between the Soviet Union and other eastern europeon countires in order to combat the threat of the western alliance. The goal of the Warsaw pact was to strengthen the Soviet's negotiating power as well as bringing order to civil unrest in the eastern European countries. https://history.state.gov/milestones/1953-1960/warsaw-treaty -
Vietnam War
After the French defeat, the US saw south Vietnam in a vulnerable position. In order to keep communisn contained, they sent soldiers to fight in the vietnam war which lasted 20 years. At first, the war was seen as a good thing, the US fighting against the evil in the world. However, as the war went on, the people started to doubt the prescence of US soldiers on foreign soil. From the Prespective of North Vietnam, they just saw this war as a continuation of their battle for unification. -
Hungarian Uprising
The Hungarians, after being controlled by the communists for too long, wanted freedom and demoncracy. The west saw this as a victory, that democracy is better than communism. The east saw this uprising as a threat to soviet ideals and they immediately tried to put a stop to it. Once the USSR took notice they instantly crushed the uprising. Rolling in tanks, the USSR ended up killing thousands of people, putting an end to the uprising.
https://www.britannica.com/event/Hungarian-Revolution-1956 -
Sputnik Launch
The very first man made satellite to orbit the Earth was Sputnik. This achievment was monumental for the Soviets, it served as a demonstration of the advanced technologies that the Soviets had over the west. The Soviets also used this achievment as propaganda for its citizens, saying how communism is superior to capitalism. In the US, the USSR's achievment in launching sputnik caused panic. The formation of NASA happened shortly after in order to further the US's space race progress. -
Bay of Pigs Invasion
The Bay of Pigs invasion was aimed to overthrow the communist government in Cuba led by Fidel Castro. Fearing Soviet influence so close to their borders, they wanted to get rid of it. Gathering up a force of Cuban exiles, they planned to invade Cuba. The operation failed due to poor planning and to an underestimation of Cuba's forces. The soviets say this as a heroic victory, proving that they are able to win against the US. The victory also established a relationship between the USSR and Cuba. -
Berlin Wall Construction
The Berlin wall was build by East Germany to keep their citizens in Berlin from leaving. For the West, it demonstrated that the capitalist idealogy were favoured by more people. The media portrayed the wall as a symbol of seperation and connected it to the tyranny of communism. From the Eastern prespective, the wall was build to keep away enemies of the state such as fascists, spies, and others. However, the real reason was to stop the massive amount of germans fleeing to the west. -
Cuban Missile Crisis
US spy planes captured images of missle sites being built in Cuba. Kennedy saw this as a direct threat to the United States and ordered a naval blockade on Cuba. He then demanded that the USSR remove their missles and destroy the sites. They agreed only if the US also removed their misslies from turkey. The Soviets put missles as a counter to the missles in turkey as well as a defensive measure to protect their ally in cuba. The Cuban Missile Crisis was the closest the world was to nuclear war. -
Martin Luther King Jr. Assassination
Martin Luther King fought for racial equality and civil rights. His assassination left many people outraged. The assassination revealed how the US had struggled with equality but it also led to the formation of new laws. The Soviets saw the assassination as a critical flaw in democracy. They thought that the US, who's ideals are to protect the freedoms and rights of its citizens, failed to do so because of race. The Soviets drove home the narrative that Democracy was inherently racist. -
Prague Spring
Prague Spring was a period of time in Czechoslovakia where the communist leader Alexander Dubček strived to create a more democratic communism. However, the Soviets crushed his attempts in an invasion. For the west, the rise of more democratic views served as an indicator that democracy was truly a better way to rule. However, for the Soviets, Prague Spring was seen as a threat to the stability of communism. Fearing that other revolts may happen elsewhere, he invaded to put down democratic ideas -
U.S. Moon Landing
The moon landing was the greatest achievment in the space race. This achievment reinforced the idea that American values such as democracy and freedom, is able to achieve greatness. The moon landing also proved that US techonlogies have improved past the Soviets, which has fallen behind. The Soviets tried to downplay the US's success, playing it off as propaganda made to hide the issues in its government. Although the moon landing was an American Achievement, it was also a symbol to the world. -
Collapse of Soviet Union
The collapse of the Soviet Union served as the final straw for the strength of communism. With the fall, the west no longer feared the spread of communism since they have seen the weaknesses.