Student Question
What were the major issues and events of the Cold War from 1945–1960?
Quick answer:
The first 15 years of the Cold War signified growing tensions between the United States and the Soviet Union and their various allies. These years were defined by the formation of several alliances, the development of atomic weapons, the beginning of the space race, and rising threats of all-out war.
In some ways, the Cold War began on July 3, 1945, when the victorious Allies occupied Berlin. The city was divided up into different zones of occupation. The city, as well as the rest of Germany, was soon partitioned between the British, Americans, French, and Soviets in accordance with the agreement made at the Potsdam Conference later that month. Very quickly, it became apparent that the Soviets and the other Allies had very different agendas with the lands they came to occupy. The Western allies wanted to promote democracy to prevent the resurgence of fascism, while the Soviets wanted to create socialist puppet states to create a buffer between themselves and potentially hostile nations.
On March 5, 1946, Winston Churchill made his famous "Iron Curtain" speech. In accordance with the Yalta Conference, Stalin had promised to allow land taken from the Nazis the right to national self-determination. It was becoming...
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increasingly clear that the Soviet Union was not fulfilling its end of the bargain. Churchill issued this speech to warn against the growing threat of Communism in Eastern Europe. To Stalin, this signaled an irreparable rift between him and the West.
The Truman Doctrine was issued on March 12, 1947. This became the United States's policy of containing the spread of Communism around the world and was the bedrock of America's Cold War foreign policy.
Truman began his loyalty program of March 2, 1948. This was done in an attempt to identify possible Communist spies and sympathizers within the United States government.
On April 3, 1948, the Marshall Plan went into effect. This ambitious plan was aimed at rebuilding post-war western Europe. By rebuilding the economy and infrastructure in this area, it was hoped that the spread of Communism would be mitigated.
In June of 1948, the eleven-month Berlin blockade began. This marked the first direct Cold War confrontation between the US and USSR.
NATO was ratified in April 1949. This coalition of countries was made largely to counter a possible military threat of the USSR in Europe.
The Soviets tested their first atomic weapon on August 29, 1949. This development forever changed the nature of the Cold War. It led to a policy of brinkmanship and the threat of mutually assured destruction if the US and USSR were to get into direct military conflict.
In February 1950, Senator Joseph McCarthy began his witch hunt for communists in the federal government.
The Korean War, the first major proxy-war of the Cold War, began on June 24, 1950.
In March of 1954, the CIA helped overthrow unfriendly and possibly socialist-leaning regimes in both Iran and Guatemala.
In response to the threat posed by NATO, the Warsaw Pact was formed in May of 1955.
The space race began with the launching of Sputnik on October 4, 1957.
In January of 1959, the Cuban Revolution brought a Communist nation and Soviet ally to the western hemisphere.
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