1.

Winston Churchills Iron Curtain Speech: Winston Churchill gave a speech

in Missouri about how he believed that an Iron Curtain had descended
upon Russia dividing it into two distinct areas o! in!luence: one Soviet the
other Western. "he speech clearl# outlined the Wests concerns over this
separation o! ideologies and it represents the reasons the Cold War too$
place.
%. "ru&an 'octrine: (resident )arr# "ru&an o!!ered *reece and "ur$e#
!inancial and &ilitar# aid to $eep the& on the side o! the West.
+urther&ore this doctrine clearl# opposed co&&unis& and all related
Soviet ideals and it is one o! the &ain starting points o! the Cold War.
,. Marshall (lan: "his was an e-tensive aid progra& put together to help
.uropean countries recover !ro& the har&s econo&ic or otherwise o!
WWII /it was o!!iciall# the .uropean Recover# (rogra&0. "he 1S hoped
that these recovered countries would strengthen the 1S against Russia b#
o!!ering their support in the Cold War.
2. 3erlin 4irli!t: In response to the Soviet bloc$ade o! West 3erlin several
Western countries delivered &uch5needed supplies to West 3erlin b#
plane which was so&ething that the Soviets initiall# wanted to do. "he
Soviets thought that the 3erlin 3loc$ade would be a tru&p card o! sorts
but the West showed its do&inance $ept control over 3erlin and !urther
entrenched the con!lict between the West and the Soviets.
6. 3erlin 3loc$ade: 3erlin was divided into a Soviet and Western area o!
control and the Soviet 1nion bloc$ed o!! access to the Western portion o!
3erlin which incited a &a7or crisis between both sides. "he Soviets
eventuall# wanted to gain control all o! 3erlin an idea which the West
staunchl# opposed and which led to an even tougher split between the two
sides o! the Cold War.
8. Creation o! 94":: "he organi;ation was one that was based on the
collective securit# ideas o! the post WWI era wherein i! an# countr# !aced
peril the other countries in the organi;ation would co&e to its aid. In this
particular case the collective securit# was against the Soviet 1nion and
this &a7or step that !urther showed an alliance against the 1SSR
deepened the Cold War con!lict and brought the Western states closer
together.
<. Mao Zedongs takeover of China: When Mao overtoo$ China he &ade
the govern&ent co&&unist representing heav# in!luence !ro& Russia.
4lthough his interests were not entirel# aligned with those o! Stalin the
1.S and the West were worried that this represented additional .astern
opposition to the West and even worse opposition that was on the side o!
Russia.
=. 9SC58=: "his was a report issued b# the 9ational Securit# Council o! the
1nited States and it introduced a &a7or !oreign polic# goal o! the 1.S:
contain co&&unis&. It discussed containing and crushing co&&unis&
but it also discussed the spreading o! capitalis& and 4&erican
&echanis&s o! econo&ic and political li!e in the place o! co&&unis&.
"his was a clear outline o! what the 1S hoped to achieve through the Cold
War.
>. ?orean War: "he ?orean peninsula was divided into 9orth and South
regions with pri&aril# China supporting the Co&&unist 9orth and the
1.9 supporting the South which was &ore closel# aligned with Western
Ideas. 4s both o! these sides tried to gain control over the peninsula it
incited a pro-# war /using war against a particular countr# to channel
aggression against another countr#0 and con!lict between Co&&unist
countries and &ore liberal countries deepening the &ain tensions behind
the Cold War.
1@. 9i$ita ?hrushchev beco&es leader o! the 1SSR: ?hrushchev was
a!!iliated with the Co&&unist part# 7ust li$e Stalin was but ?hrushchev
&oved awa# signi!icantl# !ro& Stalins harsher &ore totalitarian policies in
a progra& $nown as 'e5Stalini;ation. )e undid so&e o! the da&age that
Stalin had done through various relativel# liberal re!or&s but &ost
i&portantl# he had the will to negotiate with the 4&ericans on the Cuban
Missile Crisis and &an# view hi& as a &a7or reason that the Cold War did
not erupt into !ull5on nuclear war.
11. Creation o! Warsaw (act: .ight co&&unist countries led b# the Soviet
1nion which is so&eti&es seen as the co&&unist response to the 9orth
4tlantic "reat#. "his treat# also e&phasi;ed the idea o! collective securit#
and a responsibilit# to &aintain political ideas throughout the signatories o!
the pact.
1%. Aietna& War: "his is a pro&inent e-a&ple o! a pro-# war in which 9orth
Aietna& was aided b# Soviets who wanted the& to re&ain Co&&unist
and South Aietna& which was not Co&&unist. "his represents one o!
Co&&unis&s &ain victories because despite the aggressive push b# the
1nited States with !ull Western bac$ing Co&&unist !orces actuall# ended
up being stronger winning the war and &aintaining the 9orths
Co&&unist status.
1,. Sputni$ launched: "his was one o! the Soviet 1nions &a7or victories in
the 1S51SSR space race. "he launching o! the Sputni$ satellite a tool
which was bene!icial to &an# scientists e-ploring ideas o! space but was
also a &a7or source o! even !urther tensions between the two countries
and onl# added to the ani&osit# and co&petition that had built up over the
course o! the Cold War.
12. +idel Castro beco&es leader o! Cuba: +idel Castro was a Co&&unist
revolutionar# leader o! Cuba who was able to convert his countr# to
Co&&unis& through the Cuban Revolution. )e held &issiles !or the
Soviet 1nion and was closel# allied with the& which led to the Cuban
Missile Crisis. "hese strained relations led to the 3a# o! (igs
assassination atte&pt on Castro and was another piece o! the Cold War
pu;;le.
16. 15% Sp# Incident: "he 1nited States sent a 15% sp# plane over the Soviet
1nion and it was shot down in Soviet airspace. 3oth the Soviets and the
4&ericans were at !ault in this situation because the 4&ericans were
castigated !or secretl# sp#ing but the Soviets see&ed to have shot down
the plane despite the lac$ o! a speci!ic threat to the countr#. It led to a
signi!icant decrease in econo&ic relations between 4&erica and the
Soviet 1nion.
18. B+? beco&es president o! the 1.S: Bohn +. ?enned# had !a&ousl# seen
the "ru&an ad&inistration as being wea$ against the threat posed b# the
Soviet 1nion. "o this end he increased invest&ent into the building o!
nuclear weapons to tr# to &atch Russias nuclear arsenal contributing
heavil# to the catastrophic nuclear ar&s race. )e did want to &aintain the
peace and tried to ease relations with Cuba !ollowing the Cuban Missile
Crisis but he also caused tensions to escalate.
1<. Construction o! the 3erlin Wall: "he Soviets clai&ed that West 3erlin was
ulti&atel# under +ascist in!luence so the# constructed a huge wall in a
ver# short a&ount o! ti&e that bloc$ed o!! transportation between .ast
and West 3erlin. "his served as an o!!icial boundar# between the two
sides o! the Cold War and it split several !a&ilies and caused har& to
&an# individuals &a$ing it e-tre&el# unpopular !or the Soviet 1nion until
its collapse in 1>=>.
1=. Cuban Missile Crisis: 9i$ita ?hrushchev had seen reason in the idea o!
M4' /&utuall# assured destruction0 theor# and he thought that $eeping a
stoc$pile o! nuclear weapons in Cuba would help to &aintain the peace.
"his was perhaps the closest the Cold War got to actuall# being a ph#sical
nuclear war and the 1.S ad&inistration reached a Cuic$ solution with
?hrushchev to avoid a total nuclear war.
1>. (rague Spring: "his was a period o! peace!ul #et intense liberali;ation
within C;echoslova$ia. 4lthough it ended up being unsuccess!ul /it was
crushed b# the Soviet 1nion0 it showed that not all o! the states
surrounding the 1SSR that were once thought to be close allies with the
1SSR and strong supporters o! their ideals were actuall# so. Rather it
see&ed that &ilitar# !orce was holding together the precarious co&&unist
alliance a !act that the West too$ advantage o! in propaganda.
%@. S4D" I: "he Strategic 4r&s Di&itation "reat# was one o! the !irst signs o!
real cooperation between the 1S and the 1SSR. "he deal involved ending
the nuclear ar&s race between the countries in which each side would
$eep building &ore nuclear weapons under the illusion o! &aintaining the
peace. It was an honest e!!ort to ease relations but it proved ine!!ective.
%1. Soviet Invasion o! 4!ghanistan: "he Soviets invaded the area because
the# were under the i&pression that co&&unis& was being wea$ened in
the area and that the# would be able to stop it easil# but the &u7ahedeen
were able to de!eat the Soviets with so&e ease. 9ow &an# Soviet
ob7ectives to appease the local Musli& population and &aintain stabilit# in
4!ghanistan were ruined and since the 1S aided the &u7ahedeen
signi!icantl# the tensions between the 1S and the 1SSR worsened still.
%%. Ronald Reagan beco&es president o! the 1S: Reagan was perhaps the
harshest president on the 1SSR whose co&&unis& according to hi&
&ade it an evil e&pire. 'espite this however he was ver# intent on
easing relations with the Soviets and achieving dEtente or the easing o!
relations with the&. )e reached out to *orbachev to tear down the wall
between the two sides o! the world /literall# and !igurativel#0 and he
perhaps saved the world !ro& &an# &ore #ears o! Cold War tension.
%,. +all o! the 3erlin Wall: "he collapse o! this ph#sical and ideological divider
in 1>=> creating one *er&an# and one 3erlin s#&boli;ed a !eeling
however precarious o! eased relations between the two countries. It also
ended proble&s with people tr#ing to cross the border a situation which
so&eti&es resulted in violent con!rontations and led to the splitting o!
!a&ilies. In !act those sa&e people are pri&aril# responsible !or the
tearing down o! the wall.
%2. Mi$hail *orbachev beco&es leader o! the 1SSR: *orbachev was the one
o! the &ain leaders responsible !or the end o! the tensions surrounding the
Cold War as he tried to shi!t responsibilit# to the Soviet 1nion !or its
wrong. )is perestroika and glasnost policies tried to recti!# the Soviet
1nion through criticis& and econo&ic develop&ent but the# 7ust incited
harsh criticis& o! the 1SSR and led to various revolts !ro& the people
the&selves.
%6. Collapse o! the Soviet 1nion: .
Cold War Timeline
Plot the following events on a timeline. Be sure to specify a year or range of
years for each event. Provide a 2-3 sentence HAND!"##$N description for
each event as well as a %rief e&planation of its significance in the 'old ar.
Please ( your events in chronological order )there are twenty-five*. +elect five
events to illustrate in color. ,ou may use the timeline template provided to plot
the events. ars can %e plotted on the timeline with the year they %egan. Note-
the events %elow are not in chronological order.
.ao /edong0s ta1eover of
'hina )234242565*
7-2 +py "ncident )84242593*
.arshall Plan )April 256:*
'onstruction of the Berlin all
):42342592*
'reation of arsaw Pact
)842642588*
.i1hail ;or%achev %ecomes
leader of the 7++!)3422425:8*
+A<# " )2242=42595*
'ollapse of the +oviet 7nion
)2242942552*
Berlin Airlift )942646:-8422465*
#ruman Doctrine )342246=*
'reation of NA#> )648465*
N+'-9: )2432483*
Ni1ita ?hrushchev %ecomes
leader of the 7++! )5422483*
+oviet invasion of Afghanistan
)224264=5-24284:5*
!onald !eagan %ecomes
president of the 7.+. )24234:2*
@idel 'astro %ecomes leader of
'u%a )2429485*
Aietnam ar )2242589-64334=8*
'u%an .issile 'risis )23426-
2:492*
?orean ar)942842583-
=42=483*
Berlin Bloc1ade )942646:-
8422465*
inston 'hurchill0s B"ron
'urtainC speech )348469*
Prague +pring )259:*
+putni1 launched )64258:*
@all of the Berlin all )22454:5*
D@? %ecomes president of the
7.+. )2423492*