Essay
World War II
World War II was the central event of the twentieth century. It involved all six major continents, all three of the great...
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Showing results 1 – 10 of 21
Essay
The Fifties
The years from the end of World War II to the end of the 1950s were dominated by four powerful changes in American life. The first was the birth of the Cold War, and the great fears that it created. The second was the dramatic growth of affluence, which transformed the...
Essay
Iran and the United States in the Cold War
As the latest wave of revolutionary uncertainty sweeps across the Middle East, Iran remains one of the region’s biggest question marks. The Islamic regime that...
Essay
The Korean War
The Korean War was three different conflicts from the perspective of the disparate groups who fought in it. For North and South Korea, the...
Glossary Term – Event
Berlin airlift
The United States and Great Britain dropped food and supplies into West Berlin via air during the Soviet blockade.
Glossary Term – Event
Berlin blockade
Fearing the restoration of German power, the Soviets insisted on the repression of the German people, while the United States hoped to include West Germany in Western European recovery plans. As American and Soviet forces occupying Germany clashed over punishment and rehabilitation plans for the country, the Soviets cut off access to Berlin.
Glossary Term – Event
Fidel Castro took power in Cuba
Fidel Castro led a successful rebellion to overthrow the Cuban government. In 1960 Castro signed an economic pact with the Soviet Union, dashing US hopes for a pro-American government in Cuba.
Glossary Term – Event
Vienna Summit
President Kennedy met Soviet leader Nikita Khrushchev at a summit in Vienna. Khrushchev threatened to give East Germany control of access routes to Berlin, and Kennedy responded with a pledge to defend West Berlin.
Glossary Term – Event
SALT I Treaty
US President Richard Nixon and Soviet leader Leonid Brezhnev signed the Strategic Arms Limitation Agreement, a treaty limiting nuclear weapons and antiballistic missile systems.
Glossary Term – Event
Collapse of Soviet Union
The Soviet Union collapses with Gorbachev’s resignation in December 1991. The Commonwealth of Independent States, a weak confederation of former Soviet republics, takes its place. Led by Boris Yeltsin, the Commonwealth allows for independence and autonomy of its member countries.