1. The first use of the term Cold War describing the post–
World War II geopolitical tensions between the USSR and
its Western European Allies is attributed to Bernard
Baruch, a US financier and presidential advisor. In South
Carolina, on April 16, 1947, he delivered a speech saying,
“Let us not be deceived: we are today in the
midst of a cold war.”

2.  During the war, the U.S. and
U.S.S.R. had enjoyed
comparatively cordial relations.
 FDR had reasoned that, since
the Soviet Union was powerful
enough to take much of what it
wanted, it was wise to
recognize this ability, to arrive
at working agreements in
administering various areas, and
to maintain unity with this
other great power.
The "Big Three" at the Yalta
Conference, Winston Churchill,
Franklin D. Roosevelt and Joseph
Stalin (February 4–11, 1945)

3.  It was on this basis that
the administrative
division of Korea was
first effected and the
four-power arrangement
in Germany were
concluded.
 The death of FDR (April 12,
1945) would mark a point
of change in American
foreign policy.

4. Harry Truman Josef Stalin

5.  President Truman and his
aides adopted a less friendly
attitude toward the Soviet
Union.
 At the same time, the
Communist parties of the
world gave up the united-
front policy of the war
years in favor of a line
emphasizing the ultimate
goals of Communism

6.  These communist parties became
considerably less conciliatory than
before and the Soviets were
backing down from their Yalta
agreement to allow free and open
elections in Eastern Europe.
 A transitional state of affairs
prevailed in 1946:
- The UN was functioning with
some success (they were able to
force the withdrawal of Soviet
troops from Iran).
-The Soviet Union sets up
satellite nations on its western
boundary – the “Iron Curtain”
descended.

8.  1947 was the year of official
breakdown of Soviet-American
friendship and of U.S. statements to
that effect.
 U.S. diplomat George Kennan, posted
to the U.S. embassy in Moscow, would
advise Truman to adopt a policy of
containment of communism.
 This policy of containment would
influence American foreign policy until
the demise of the Soviet Union in the
early 1990s. (either overtly or
covertly)

9.  1947: The Truman Doctrine – provided
for military and economic assistance to
countries resisting communism; aimed
specifically at Greece and Turkey
 1948: The Marshall Plan – provided $13
billion in economic assistance for
European recovery and to make a triumph
of Communism less likely; the Soviets
would not permit its satellites to
participate
 1949: NATO – North Atlantic Treaty
Organization provided for a mutual-
defense agreement among the U.S.,
Canada, and 10 European nations
Signing of NATO

11.  1948: The Soviets tried to
pressure the other 3 Allied
powers (U.S. Great Britain,
France) to turn over control of
their sectors of Berlin.
 The Soviets blockaded all land
routes into the Soviet sector
of Germany and the three
Allied sectors of Berlin.
 The U.S. and Great Britain
began a ten month airlift of
supplies into Berlin.
 In May 1949, the Soviets
removed the blockade.
However, the Soviets are able
to successfully test their first
atomic bomb that same year.
By the time the Berlin Airlift ended a total of
278,228 U.S., British and French flights
carried 2,326,406 short tons of material into
the city. There were 39 British and 31
American airlift-related deaths during the
difficult flights.

13.  The U.S. had been backing the
corrupt Nationalist government
of China who were involved with
the Communist Chinese in a
lengthy civil war.
 In 1949 the Communists would
drive the Nationalists from the
mainland (they would find refuge
on the island of Formosa).
 The U.S. saw this as a failure of
the policy of containment and led
some Americans to question how
this could happen.Top right-Mao Zedong, Top left-
Communist Propaganda poster, and
bottom-communists enter Beijing.

14.  In June 1950, North Korean
forces would invade South
Korea. President Truman
immediately ordered
military intervention (later
ratified by the UN). North
Korean troops would be
pushed back.
 This limited war would
continue until a ceasefire
was negotiated in 1953 by
new U.S. President
Eisenhower.

15. Formation of SEATO (Southeast Asia
Treaty Organization) in 1954
 Established under Western auspices after
the French withdrawal from Indochina,
SEATO was created to oppose further
Communist gains in Southeast Asia.
Geneva Summit meeting with Khrushchev
in 1955
 The stated mission of the 1955 summit
was to reduce international tensions. The
Geneva Summit was seen as an
extremely important building block to
better friendships and more open
communication between the leaders of
'The Big Four'.

16. Soviets crush Hungarian revolt in 1956
 The Hungarian Revolution of 1956 was a
spontaneous nationwide revolt against the Stalinist
government - People's Republic of Hungary.
Eisenhower Doctrine (aid to Middle Eastern
countries to resist communism) announced
in 1957
 The Eisenhower Doctrine was announced by
President Dwight D. Eisenhower in a message to
the United States Congress on January 5, 1957.
Under the Eisenhower Doctrine, a country could
request American economic assistance and/or aid
from U.S. military forces if it was being threatened by
armed aggressor

17. Sputnik is launched in 1957
 The aluminum sphere was the first man-
made object to orbit the Earth, and its
celestial presence electrified the world and
kicked the Space Age into high gear, leading
in short order to the formation of NASA.
Missile-gap debate begins
 The missile gap was the term used in the
United States for the perceived disparity
between the number and power of the
weapons in the U.S.S.R. and U.S. ballistic
missile arsenals during the Cold War.
U-2 incident in 1960
 The 1960 U-2 incident occurred during the
Cold War on May 1, 1960 when an American
U-2 spy plane was shot down over the Soviet
Union.