Week 1

Creation of the Eastern Bloc: The Eastern Bloc was essentially a group in East Europe which was created by the Soviet Union. The countries which were a part of this group were affiliated with Communism. These countries opposed Democracy or were forced into running a country with communism. The only countries that were a part of this "bloc" were the USSR, Czechoslovakia, Bulgaria, East Germany, Hungary, Poland, and Romania. This bloc was created so that the United States couldn't proceed to spread their democracy all around Europe, even though they spread it to most of Europe already. This was significant to the USSR so that Communism would be allowed to be spread. 

The "Iron Curtain Speech":
Winston Churchill gave a speech regarding Communist USSR, and in his speech he states how There has been an Iron Curtain which has been set amongst Europe. The curtain is said to divide East Europe being communist and controlled by Moscow, and the West being democratic. This happened because the Soviet Union decided that they wanted to 1-up the United States, the Soviet Union felt as if Communism was the answer to everything. This is significant because it ultimitely led to the Cold War. 


The Long Telegram/Containment: 
The United States felt like going out of their way to help the post war countries in need. They did this in order to assure those countries that Democracy was the way, not Communism. The United States aided these countries. This happened because the US didn't want Communism to spread, they feared that if it did, it would wipe out Democracy. This is significant because it started to spark up tension between the two super powers.

The Truman Doctrine: 
In the Truman Doctrine, Harry.S Truman suggests that there are two ways to living, in freedom and without oppression, or the other way of living which contains oppression, and fixed elections. Truman states that the other way of living is wrong, and that the United States way was correct. This happened regarding the USSR's communism. Truman wanted a stop to communism, and he stated this in his speech. Countries who opposed Communism were a part of the Truman Doctrine.

The Marshall Plan:
In the Marshall plan, George Marshall proposed that the US supply the countries in need with machinery, food, etc. This attempted a pretty good halt on Communism. The United States wanted to supply all of these things so that Europe would be on their side. The United States even gave the proposal to Eastern Europe and the Soviet Union. Of course, the Soviets were outraged and did not allow any countries who were a part of the Eastern Bloc to accept. 

Berlin Blockade/ Airlift:
The soviet Union decided to block Berlin in Germany, causing the Berlin blockade which made it so that supplies could not reach West Germnay. The Soviet Union did this so that Germany could not receive supplies. The United States, Great Britain, France, Canada, and New Zealand went out of their way and assisted them.

Soviets get the A-bomb:
In 1949. the Soviet Union exploded their first successful Atomic Bomb. The power of the blast was roughly the same as the impact of the the US' first A-bomb, Trinity. The Soviet Union set up buildings around the vicinity and even human like animals inside of cages. The A bomb's radiation was strong enough to kill the animals. The reason for the detonation of the A-bomb was so that the Soviets could get back on track to prove that they had the power to demonstrate dominance over all the other countries in the world. It was significant since the Soviet Union got to create tension between the US which ultimately scared the US. 

Creation of NATO:
NAT or the North Atlantic Treaty, created NATO(North Atlantic Trade Organization)
This organization included countries such as Great Britain, France, Canada, Belgium, and Italy. This organization was created to AID countries who were a part of NATO, countries who were not a part of it, and who declared war on countries inside of NATO would be seen as enemies by the whole Organization.

China becomes Communist:
China has a civil war, and the Liberation Army beats the United States backed up army. This causes an alliance with the New peoples republic of China which is now communist. This happened so that Communism would be spread. Propaganda and the Soviet Union might have been a huge contributor in the converting of China. This is in relation with the USSR since China would then join the Warsaw Pact which was in opposition against NATO.