U-2 Bombing

On May 1, the U.S. sent a U-2 plane over the U.S.S.R. to take pictures of nuclear weaponry in the Soviet Union. Khruschev, the soviet leader at that time, gave a long speech on May 5. In the speech he referenced to an overhead plane flight by the U.S. on April 9. As he decided what had happened, Khruschev looked at the fly over as an "aggressive act," and then said that a U.S. U-2 plane had been shot down in Soviet territory on May 1. With news back from the crash, the Soviet Union had lied to the U.S. about the surviving soldier in the plane. After this incident the United States president offered the open skys policy, that would allow for foriegn planes to fly over. The Soviet Government rejected the President's "open skies" proposal, building tentions for both counties.

Civil War in China

The Chinese Civil War was know for being one of the many factors that started the Cold War. Chiang, the leader in China, did not see democracy as the correct form of government. He viewed that society was best led by one powerful leader supported by the counties military. His national power lead to the destruction of Chinese society. As the war plagued on, communists powers were well established in the north and northeast regions of china. Ready to defend Nationalists countries had an advantage in weapons and number of men, and they had much more controll on larger territories and population than their enemies.


Chiang Kai-shek fled with a few hundred thousand Nationalist troops to the mainland island of Taiwan. Throughout the following months in December 1949, Chiang proclaimed Taipei, Taiwan, the temporary capital of China leading to the end of the countries civil war.

The Race to Space

As both of the worlds superpowers fought to be better than one another, the United States struggled to keep up on being the first into space. On October 4, 1957, the Soviet Union had successfully launched Spunik, the first satellite into space. Spunik was about the size of a beach ball and weighed approximately 183 pounds. While the Sputnik launch was just one event, it was the start of the space age and the United States and Soviet Union "race to space." Spunik had changed everything for space technology and exploration. The Soviet launch had caught the American public completely off guard and in amazement. Even thought Spunik was a huge accomplish for the world of space exploration, it cause great tension between both the Soviet Union and the United States. One year later on January 31, 1958 the United States successfully launched Explorer I. This was not a great success for the United States but it caught them back up with soviet space exploration.

Korean War

The Korean War took place between two opposing areas of Korea, the North and the South. The war began on June 25, 1950 with the tensions between the North and the South. Within a few days North Korea invaded South Korea and immediately the United States military and Navy were brought into South Korea to drive the Koreans back to the North. North Korea making the threat of Communist expansion to the United States, worried the U.S. As the U.S. help the south, the U.S.S.R. joined the north because they agreed with communistic governments. Finally on July 27, 1953 the fighting was over and the war had ended. The Korean War caused more friction between the United States and the Soviet Union, building up even more tensions between both superpowers. Even though the Korean War was over, the Cold War would continue for many decades to come.

Cold War Today

The Cold War ended in 1991 but signs of the war are still seen today. By the end of the war the United States and the Soviet Union's relationship was slowly being rebuilt but the two nations were and will never be peaceful, allied counties again. Both countries will not let go of the past and look toward the future. Recently President Obama has signed a treaty with Russia.

One of the issues it deals with is, the reduction of the amount of nuclear weaponry in each country. This is one the first steps to prevent nuclear war and to reduce tensions between the two superpowers. As the tension slowly go away so does the fear of the world. Although the war affected people at that time; today it affects not only the United States and Soviet Union but all other counties.

The Soviet Union (U.S.S.R.)

Throughout the 1900's the Soviet Union was a major superpower. During the cold war, the nation lead with a totalitarianism and communistic government. One of the most prominent U.S.S.R. leaders was Joseph Stalin. Stalin was a very harsh leader with strong communistic views. Under his control the Soviet Union went from an agricultural nation to a global superpower with in decades. As his power grew as a leader, his nation's power also expanded in a parallel to his own. Nikita Kruschev was the leader that followed Stalin's rule. As the leader of the Soviet Union, Kruschev initiated the Soviet space program to be the first superpower into space, beating the United States out. With many Soviet successes the county became very powerful and a great threat to the United States.

Cold War Tensions

Cold War tension grew as time progressed. By the end of World War II the U.S. had dropped an Atom bomb on Japan, within four years,the Soviet Union had also developed their own Bomb. At that time not only the developement of nuclear weaponry was a treat to the U.S. but also the expanding soviet military in Eastern Europe. In return to the threat, containment was the United State foreign policy for the expansion of the Soviet Union. The international tensions that grew between both superpowers became known as the Cold War. Tensions rose not only with the treat of nuclear war but many other facters. Both superpowers worked in supeior manners to be better than one another. The United States soon became frustrated, when in 1957 the Soviet Union deployed the first satellite into space, Spunik. Within its own country the U.S. became fearful. McCarthy, a U.S. senator, was known for adding to the tension by harshly accusing citizen for being communist with no true evidence to prove it. America rage went on as his influences spread across the nation.