Cold War Timeline Project

Over the next two days we will be using the Internet to create an annotated timeline of the cold war with a partner. You and your partner will turn in 1 copy of your timeline, however you each should keep a copy for your notes.

1. You should have a minimum of 10 entries spanning from 1945 – 1990. Each entry is worth 10 points, so be sure it has enough detail. These are due on Monday May 8 - No late passes, so be sure you and your partner can work together to get this done. Give each other contact information in case of emergencies.

2. All events should be important. They must have a large impact on the countries involved and the world. Do not trivial dates. For example in a timeline of the American Civil war, Lincoln’s birth would be considered trivial, while his death would be important with a huge impact on the outcome of Reconstruction.

3. For each entry you need the name of the event and why it is significant. This entry should be several sentences explaining what the event was and why it was important. This is the most important section for your grade. Do not simply write a one sentence that says “it was important”

4. Each event can only have 1 entry. For example in a timeline of the Wars of Religion, I may want to put in an entry on the 30 years war. The 30 years war had 4 phases, but I would only use one entry not four, possibly either the start or end. Then I would describe all four phases and the peace in the annotation. This is just to assure that your timeline covers all the major events of the period rather than getting bogged down in one issue.

Use the World War I example below to show how you should set up your own timeline.

WWI Timeline

1871 January, 18^th. Bismarck completed efforts to unify Prussia and the German kingdoms into a single nation and has King Wilhelm I proclaimed Kaiser. Bismarck used many methods including diplomacy, war and deception to achieve this goal. Most German people were now united under one government and the former Prussian state was firmly in control in the new government. This unification paved the way for Germany to become a major European power in the early 20^th century.

1945 June 28^th. Archduke Franz Ferdinand, heir to the throne of the Austro-Hungarian Empire, and his wife are assassinated in Sarajevo by a member of the extremist group the Black Hand. While the Serbian Government did not instigate the assassination, Austria used this event as an excuse to declare war on Serbia. Austria sent a list of unreasonable ultimatums to Serbia. When Serbia agreed to most but not all of these, Austria attacked them.. Austria had also received unlimited backing from Germany (the famous “Blank Check”. This was the “Spark” that ignited the “Balkan Powederkeg” and led to the quick descent into World War I.

Links

This is a good place to start, but there will be many more areas you can check.

http://www.cnn.com/SPECIALS/cold.war/

http://us.history.wisc.edu/hist102/lectures/lecture23.html

http://www.ibiblio.org/expo/soviet.exhibit/coldwar.html

http://history.acusd.edu/gen/20th/coldwar0.html

http://www.wilsoncenter.org/index.cfm?topic_id=1409&fuseaction=topics.home

http://www.mtholyoke.edu/acad/intrel/coldwar.htm

http://www.bbc.co.uk/history/war/coldwar/

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