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JFK became president in 1961 and was one of the greatest presidents. He created the Peace Corps, and helped solve the Cuban Missile Crisis and many other conflicts going on at that time.
Francis Gary Powers flew over Russia and was taken down by Russian planes. Khrushchev then showed the US that powers was alive and that the "jig was up" (He knew all about the spying).
This made the US very scared because the Soviets were now the first in space. This was shocking because the US was first in making both the A and H bomb. One website describes the americans reactions to sputnik. It says that "America ran scared. Across the country, millions of its citizens held group gazing sessions at night."
http://www.spiked-online.com/index.php/site/article/3926/
The Warsaw pact was the Soviet's response to NATO. The Warsaw pact did essentially the same thing as NATO, and also united Eastern European countries.
Jacob Arbenz was the socialist leader in Guatemala until the CIA over threw Arbenz. As his replacement, the CIA sent general Armas who was now the new dictator.
Shortly after the US made their first H-Bomb, the Soviets made one too. This made the US fearful because the Soviets were so close behind them in developing weapons and technology.
Eisenhower became president in 1953 and before he became president, he planned the successful invasion of France and Germany. He also helped play catch up during the space race.
The US was the first to get the Hydrogen Bomb. The 15 megaton bomb was said to be 1000 times more powerful than the Atomic Bomb.
One american chemist (Harold C. Urey) states his regret of building such a destructive weapon: "Above all, I regret that scientific experiments—some of them mine—should have produced such a terrible weapon as the hydrogen bomb. Regret, with all my soul, but not guilt."
http://www.todayinsci.com/QuotationsCategories/H_Cat/HydrogenBomb-Quotations.htm
When Mohammad Mossadegh took control of british oil industries, the CIA went in and staged riots to get Mossadegh to leave. He did and the Shah came back to power.
The Korean War was the fight between the US and South Korea versus North Korea and later China. The outcome was that korea remained divided across the 38th parallel. Lt. Col. Bussey recalls the american retreat as: "Disgusting. I never felt so inadequate in my life as to be part of an army that was running helter-skelter, pell-mell." quoted form the primary source document hand out of the korean war.
Soon after the US made the first Atomic Bomb, the Soviet Union made an Atomic bomb too and it worked.
The nationalist leader in southern China, Chiang Kai-Shek, was unable to defeat Mao Zedong, who was the northern leader in China. This was because of the nationalists poor military, despite aid from the US. The result was that the communists took over China. A quote from Mao shows how he felt about military being strong and that in order to rule you must have a strong military: "An army without culture is a dull-witted army, and a dull-witted army cannot defeat the enemy."
http://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/authors/m/mao_zedong.html
The North American Treaty Organization was the first military alliance made during a peace treaty. It was made to keep Western nations united during this time.
The Berlin Blockade was made to keep the West out of Berlin. The US's response to this was the Berlin Airlift. US planes flew over Berlin and dropped many resources such as money, food, and clothes.
The Marshall Plan proposed that the US aid all European nations that needed it. The US mainly aided countries in Western Europe, not Eastern Europe. This quote from the Marshall Plan shows that it is essential to aid other countries in order to maintain peace: "It is logical that the United States should do whatever it is able to do to assist in the return of normal economic health in the world, without which there can be no political stability and no assured peace."
http://www.famousquotes.me.uk/speeches/George_C_Marshall/
The Truman Doctrine was declared to support nations that resisted take overs by outside forces.
In the Truman Doctrine it says: “No other nation is willing and able to provide the necessary support for a democratic Greek government.” This shows that the US needed to help nations that could only be helped by the US.
http://www.milestonedocuments.com/documents/quotes/truman-doctrine/
The Iron Curtain was USSR's action to seperate Western Europe and Eastern Europe. USSR did this because they wanted to keep communism in wanted to keep the US out.
In Winston Churchhill's famous speech about the seperation of Europe he describes it as: "From Stettin in the Baltic to Trieste in the Adriatic, an iron curtain has descended across the Continent."
http://www.age-of-the-sage.org/quotations/churchill_iron_curtain.html
This was the first city to ever be hit by an atomic bomb. Even though the bomb caused a huge amount of destruction, the japanese did not surender.
Admiral William D. Leahy, Chief of Staff to Roosevelt, states his opinion of the bomb dropping: "It is my opinion that the use of this barbarous weapon at Hiroshima and Nagasaki was of no material assistance in our war against Japan."
http://www.doug-long.com/quotes.htm
April 12, after Roosevelt died, Truman became president. Truman assumed full duty of presidency and was thrown into making the decision of whether or not to drop the bomb.
Truman tells the press about how he feels: "Boys, if you ever pray, pray for me now. I don't know if you fellows ever had a load of hay fall on you, but when they told me yesterday what had happened, I felt like the moon, the stars and all the planets had fallen on me."
http://www.eyewitnesstohistory.com/tru.htm
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