Craziness in Cuba

In 1961, Fidel Castro, leader of Cuba, declared himself a Communist and the Soviet Union was helping him, so, Eisenhower, in his last days in office, cut off relations with Cuba. Before this, the U.S. was with Cuba but we lost thier support because us and many Cubans felt that Castro was a traitor. In 1960, Eisenhower got the CIA to train hundreds of Cuban exiles for an invasions of Cuba in hopes of overthrowing Castro. Then, Kennedy came into office and decided to approve the plan despite some doubts. April 17, 1961, about 1,400 Cuban exiles landed on the Bay of Pigs and sadly nothing went as planned. The Cuban air force could not be knocked out, and when they landed on the shore 20,000 Cubans and Soviets were there to greet them with tanks and jet aircrafts. After this event, Kennedy talked with Castro and paid a $53 million ransom in food and medical aid. In 1962, the American U-2 took pictures proving that Cuba had nuclear missiles that could reach America. Khrushchev and Kennedy made an agreement where the missiles would be removed from Cuba if America did not invade Cuba. The missiles were a constant worry in American's minds and the tensions between us and the Soviet Union was a constant worry in the new president, Kennedy's mind.

Communism extension causes Cold War tension

-Mao Zedong

Another event that caused tension between the U.S. and the U.S.S.R. was the Chinese civil war. The Communists were led by Mao Zedong in the North and the South was led by Chiang Kai-shek who believed in the nationalists. Obviously, the United States wanted to help the Nationalists by sending them $3 billion dollars in aid. Even though we supported Chiang, he was not a good leader because he pocketed some money that America sent to him. Sadly, Zedong got more support, specially of peasants. The U.S. tried to keep peace between 1944-1947 even though it was not working well. The U.S. did not send troops but sent military supplies for support. in May 1949, Chiang and his remaining government fled to Taiwan. Because of this Communism overflowed in China. Americans were blaming Truman for not containing Communism in Asia. Then, the red scare was spreading and we felt powerless.

Anyone mention tension?

The Korean War created a lot of extra tension between the United States and the Soviet Union. The U.S was supporting the south with the anti-communist leader, Syngman Rnee, while the Soviet Union fought for North Korea and communist leader Kim Il Sung. The United State's goal was to contain communist and that involved Korea. The Soviet Union was boycotting the United Nations starting in meetings in January of 1950. In June of 1950, North Korea attacked South Korea by crossing the 38th parallel. Truman ordered naval and air support and 90% of the South Korean troops were American. The troops were led by war hero General Douglas MacArthur. South Korea was holding them off at Pusan. MacArthur took a risk and eventually got back the control of Seoul, the capital of South Korea. Continuing with his excited comeback, MacArthur crossed the 38th parallel pushing North Korea to the Yalu river. After that incredible war tactic, MacArthur suggested attacking China to Truman. Truman had his reasons why not to but MacArthur continued to push and eventually lost his job. In 1953, a peace treaty was signed at Panmunjom ending the Korean War.

Cold War- Sorrowful Summary

Throughout World War Two, the Soviet Union and the U.S.A were together on the allies side. Now, differences in government has torn the two countries into enemies. America's prideful nature made them want more countries to have democracy, but more than that they did not want communism to spread. They wanted to contain it in the stubborn communist countries. Between 1945 (when World War Two ended) and 1947, there had been constant tension between the U.S and the U.S.S.R over the issue of how Germany should be governed. In 1947, America created a policy whose goal was to prevent the Soviet Union from spreading its communist influence. The leaders of the superpower nations are Harry S. Truman (U.S.A president) and Josef Stalin (Soviet Union). Europe had many disagreeing governments which made Winston Churchill claim that there is an "iron curtain" over the continent. This created a barrier for information and communication. The United States created policies and helped stop Communism spread in both Europe and Asia. There was also a civil war in China. The North was led by Mao Zedong, who believed in Communism, and Chiang Kai-shek for the South and Nationalists. The US was, of course, supporting the Nationalists so we sent them military supplies. We helped South China despite the fact that we were not ready to fight. Following the civil war in China, the Korean War broke out. Kim Il Sung was communist and leading north Korea. Syngman Rnee led south Korea with his democratic/anti-communist ideals. Again, it was obvious the US favored the South because they were not Communist. This all came about because Japan took over Korea 1910-1945 and the Japanese south of the 38th parallel surrendered to America while the North surrendered to the Soviets. North and South Korea were fighting long and hard between 1950-1953. Throughout this war Truman and General Douglas MacArthur (a war hero) were butting heads. Eventually, Truman fired him because he was causing too much stress throughout the White House. After the Korean War, Dwight D. Eisenhower became president and Stalin was killed and Nikita Khrushchev took over. Khrushchev gave an ultimatum about Berlin in 1958. The ultimatum was rejected. Then the Cuban Missile Crisis occurred in 1962 with President Kennedy, almost making it a nuclear war. Then in the late 1970's came the "second Cold War." This was a whole new round of tensions between the countries including the Soviet Union fighting against Afghanistan. During this time the Soviet Union's economy was not running smoothly and the Berlin Wall came crashing down. Through the years America and the Soviet Union have signed treaties in order to remain peaceful. The official ending of the Cold War was in 1991.