Week 2

Korean War - 1950-53 (Ch. 17.3)

Hydrogen Bomb is created/Arms Race - 1952 (Ch. 17.1)

The Hydrogen Bomb was a bomb a thousand times stronger than the Atom Bomb. Its power came from the fusion of atoms not from splitting them. The Arms race basically happened due to each superpower wanting to have the most powerful weapon of all. So if one side has a more advanced weapon the other needs to step up their game and make an even better one. This was significant because it really had an impact on technology advancements. With one side better than the other, the other side needed to make a better weapon so there is the sense of competition.

Warsaw Pact - 1955 (Ch. 17.1)

The Soviet Union makes their own alliance with Eastern Germany, Czechoslovakia, Poland, Hungary, Romania, Bulgaria and Albania. They made their own alliance because the USSR felt they were at a disadvantage when the Allies made NATO. So he needed an alliance with some therefore he created his own alliance. This was significant because it showed in order to fight a war you need some partners in crime to help along the way. So the Allies had NATO, and the USSR had the Warsaw Pact

De-Stalinization - 1956 (Ch. 17.5)

After Stalin died Nikita Khrushchev became the dominant Soviet Leader. He thought that Stalin's way of doing things was wrong cruel and just plain wrong. So therefore he started to purge the country of Stalins memory. He made workers destroy monuments of the former dictator. This is significant because it showed that even people in the USSR thought that his ways were wrong. Which really showed how good of a dictator he was.

Sputnik - 1957 (Ch. 17.1)

Sputnik was a satellite that was successfully launched into space. Sputnik was part of the space race. The Soviets sent it out to gain intelligence of the space life. This was a significant event because it showed the U.S that the Soviets were winning the space race and that at that point in time they were more beating them at something.

U-2 Incident - 1960 (Ch. 17.1)

The U-2 incident was basically the U.S's way of trying to spy on the Soviet Union. The Soviet Union then found a U-2 plane up in the air and shot it down. The U.S tried to spy on the Soviet Union to make sure that there was no threat of nuclear war. This was a significant event because it showed how the Soviets wanted to keep their business private.

Berlin Wall - 1961 (Ch. 17.5)