Cold War Essay

The Cold War was a tension between the United States and the Soviet Union that led to a conflict known as the Cold War. The US was afraid of the Soviet Union at the time and the Soviet Union was angry at the US. Both countries were doing things just in spite of the other and trying to out beat one another. The Cold War started on March 12, 1947 and ended on December 26, 1991.

One of the first major cold war events was the Korean War in 1950. This war was between South and North Korea. It started with North Korea invading South Korea. In the Korean War, the US helped South Korea while the Soviet Union helped North Korea. This war continued the rivalry between the Soviet Union and United States. The reason the United States had joined the Korean War was to contain communism and prevent the fall of Korea. President Truman was scared that if Korea fell, then Japan would soon later which was too important for American trade.

Next, Sputnik was another significant event during the Cold War. Sputnik was when the Soviet Union made the first official satellite and launched it. Sputnik was 184 pounds and achieved an Earth orbit of 940 km. The launch of Sputnik shocked many Americans and Sputnik then was the start of the

The Berlin Wall was a barbed wire and concrete barrier separating West Berlin from East Berlin. This wall was made to prevent access to East Berlin and adjacent areas of East Germany. Later, the wall was only made of concrete walls that were topped with barbed wire which were guarded with watchtowers, guns, and mines. About 5,000 East Germans managed to cross the Berlin wall and reached West Berlin safely. This wall was up for about 28 years until the Fall of the Berlin Wall. This wall was brought down by protests in East Germany. This day was known as the end to the cold war. The wall falling had a dramatic effect on American public opinion because it was seen as an end to