The Cold War
Events
for kids:
The Cold War Presidents
There were nine Cold War Presidents between
1945 - 1991. The names of the Cold War Presidents were Harry Truman,
Dwight D Eisenhower, John F Kennedy, Lyndon B Johnson, Richard
Nixon, Gerald Ford, Jimmy Carter, Ronald Reagan and George H Bush.
Many of the Cold War presidents used the
Policy of Containment to
resolve serious, diplomatic incidents involving the Communist
countries.
The Cold
War Events
for kids: Definition of the Prague Spring,
Czechoslovakia (1968)
Summary and Definition: The Prague Spring. In 1968
Czechoslovakia broke free from Soviet rule in a short, four month
period in history is now referred to as the Prague Spring. The
policy of
Glasnost encouraged the peaceful uprising but there were no
riots or demonstrations. Antonin Novotny, the Czechoslovak president
was ousted by Alexander Dubcek who allowed freedom of speech and
removed state controls over industry. The Prague Spring ended with a
Soviet invasion and the removal of Alexander Dubcek as party leader
and an end to reform within Czechoslovakia but heralded a decline in
the Cold War.
The Cold
War Events
for kids:
The End of the Vietnam War:
1973 Paris Peace Accords
The 1973 Paris Peace Accords,
including a ceasefire
agreement, is signed in Paris on January 27, 1973
heralding the
End of the Vietnam War.
The Cold
War Events
for kids: Definition of SALT Agreements
- Strategic Arms Limitation Talks (1972 - 1979)
Summary and Definition: The Strategic Arms Limitation
Talks (SALT) were negotiations between the United States and the
Soviet Union as part of the policy of
Detente, that were aimed at curtailing the manufacture of
strategic missiles that were capable of carrying nuclear weapons
that resulted in the
SALT Treaty.
SALT I was the first of the Strategic Arms Limitation talks between
the USSR and the U.S. Leonid Brezhnev met with U.S. President
Richard Nixon in May 1972 in which they agreed to produce a
treaty that would contain the arms race. Two treaties were
eventually produced and signed on May 26, 1972. The treaties were the Anti-Ballistic Missile treaty (ABM), and the Interim
Agreement on the Limitation of Strategic Offensive Arms.
Negotiations began for SALT II in 1972 and continued for seven years
until on June 18, 1979 Brezhnev and President Jimmy Carter signed
the SALT II treaty. The SALT II treaty placed limits the various
types of missiles and the number of strategic launchers. Subsequent
negotiations were named the Strategic Arms Reduction Talks (START).
The Cold
War Events
for kids: Definition of the Soviet Invasion of
Afghanistan (1979 - 1989)
Summary and Definition: The Soviet Invasion of
Afghanistan (December 25, 1979 – February 15, 1989), which led to
the Soviet–Afghan War, lasted for nearly 10 years. The Soviet
Invasion of Afghanistan began when the Soviets invaded Afghanistan
in an attempt to prop up the communist government which was being
attacked by Muslim Mujaheddin fighters. This caused another rift
with America during the Cold War. The United States boycotted the
1980 Moscow Olympics in protest at Soviet Invasion of Afghanistan.
The Soviet–Afghan War ended when Mikhail Gorbachev took Russia out
of the Afghanistan in 1989.
The Cold
War Events
for kids: Definition of the Strategic Defense
Initiative (SDI) - Star Wars
(1983)
Summary and Definition: The
Strategic Defense
Initiative (SDI), also known as Star Wars, was introduced on
March 23, 1983 as the US response to
possible nuclear attacks to enable the us to prevent
missile attacks from the USSR and other countries during the
Cold War.
The Cold
War Events
for kids: The Fall of the Berlin Wall
(1989)
Summary and Definition: November 9, 1989 is recognized
as the date of the
Fall of the Berlin Wall, although the official
demolition of wall began on June 13, 1990. Much of the wall was torn
down by people as they celebrated the end to a divided Germany.
Between November 9, 1989 - June 13, 1989 border controls still
existed, although were less strict that previously. All border
controls ended on July 1st 1990 and Germany was was officially
reunified into a single country from October 3rd 1990.
The Cold
War Events
for kids: Collapse of the Soviet
Union
and the End of the Cold War
Summary and Definition: The decline of the Soviet
Union began in the 1980's and ended with the
Collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991.
Mikhail Gorbachev became leader of the USSR in 1985 knowing that the
USSR was in serious trouble economically and politically.
Revolutions had been mounted by eastern European countries against
the USSR and its strict regime. He began to reform the Soviet system
by the democratization of the Communist Party and allowing
Glasnost (freedom of speech) and perestroika (competition in
business).
Mikhail Gorbachev realized that the USSR could not afford the arms
race, and opened the START (Strategic Arms Reduction Talks) with
America and signed the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty in
1987. In 1989 he withdrew Russian troops from Afghanistan, knowing
the USSR would never be able to win the Soviet–Afghan War. In 1991,
Mikhail Gorbachev fell from power and the Soviet Union was dissolved
leading to the Collapse of the Soviet Union and the end of the Cold War.
Cold War Events
For visitors interested in the history of
the Cold War refer to the following articles:
Cold War Events (1968 - 1991)
●
Interesting Facts about Cold War Events for kids and schools
●
Summary and Definition of Cold War Events (1968 - 1991)
●
Cold War Events with important dates and facts
●
Cold War Events (1968 - 1991) with important dates and key
events
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Fast, fun, interesting
facts about Cold War Events (1968 - 1991)
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Foreign & Domestic
policies of the United States
● Cold War events for schools,
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