- Time Period
- 1947  - 1991
- Description
- After World War II, the United States and Soviet Union became tense enemies. The two superpowers engaged in a Cold War struggle marked by communism versus democracy, "godless" versus "God-fearing" societies, and the nuclear arms race.Beginning in the late 1940s, America was gripped by a 'Red Scare' over communist spies and infiltrators. The House Un-American Activities Committee targeted suspected 'subversives' and Sen. Joseph McCarthy, R-WI, notoriously investigated alleged government infiltrators.The arms race led to competing hydrogen bomb tests in the 1950s. In October 1963, U.S. President John Kennedy threatened military action after Soviets stationed nuclear missiles in Cuba, only 90 miles from Florida. The 13-day Cuban Missile Crisis ended with the Soviets agreeing to remove their missiles and the U.S. secretly agreeing to remove theirs in Turkey.The Cold War thawed after the Berlin Wall fell in 1989 and the Soviet Union dissolved in 1991.
- Interactive Timeline(s)
- Prominent Religious Events and People in American History Social Movements and Religion Religious Minorities (Non-Christian) Race/Ethnicity and Religion Women and Religion Baptist Religious Events and People in American History Catholic Religious Events and People in American History Methodist Religious Events and People in American History Presbyterian Religious Events and People in American History
- Photographs
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The launch of Apollo 11- University of Iowa Libraries- NASA photo
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Berliners watching a C-54 land during the Berlin airlift- US Air Force photo
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Mao Zedong proclaiming the founding of the People's Republic of China- Wikimedia Commons
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Gun crew near the Kum River during the Korean War- US Army photo
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US Navy plane flying over a Soviet freighter during the Cuban Missile Crisis- US Navy photo
- Web Source(s)
- http://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/united-states-tests-first-hydrogen-bomb The History Channel, "1952 -- United States tests first hydrogen bomb"
- http://americanhistory.si.edu/subs/history/timeline "Cold War Timeline"
- http://www.ushistory.org/us/59e.asp "The End of the Cold War"
- Web Page Contributor
- Sandi Dolbee Affliated with: Former Religion and Ethics Editor, The San Diego Union-Tribune