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CORE formed
The Congress of Racial Equality was formed to end discriminatory policies and improving relations between races. This commitee believed in the teachings of people like Henry David Thoreau and Mohandas Gandhi which believed that protesting peacefully would be most effective.CORE organized sit-ins in cities like Detroit, Chicago, and Denver. The also wanted to face the issue of expanding the participation in the democratic process. -
Jackie Robinson joins the Dodgers
Jackie Robinson became the first African American baseball player to join the MLB. Breaking the wall of discrimination, Robinson joined the Brooklyn Dodgers. He faced death threats and unfair treatment but became one of the most influential people in sports. Robinson hit .234 in his career and had a .335 On Base Percentage, and he started at first base for the Dodgers. He paved the way for many African Americans to come through other sports. -
Truman Desegregates Military
The order abolished discrimination "on the basis of race, color, religion or national origin" in the United States Armed Forces. The executive order eventually led to the end of segregation in the services. -
Joseph Stalin Died
Joseph Stalin was the dictator of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR) from 1929 to 1953. Under Stalin, the Soviet Union was transformed from a peasant society into an industrial and military superpower. -
SEATO Formed
Southeast Asia Treaty Organization was a military alliance to contain any communist aggression in the free territories of Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia. It also included United States, France, Great Britain, New Zealand, Australia, the Philippines, Thailand and Pakistan. They all pledged themselves to “act to meet the common danger” in the event of aggression against any signatory states. For America, however, it was used as legal basis for U.S. involvement in South Vietnam. -
The French Surrender
In northwest Vietnam, Ho Chi Minh’s forces defeated the French at Dien Bien Phu, a French stronghold besieged by the Vietnamese. The Minh's victory at Dien Bien Phu signaled the end of French colonial influence in Indochina. -
Geneva Convention
The Geneva Conference on Indochina begins, attended by the U.S., Britain, China, the Soviet Union, France, Vietnam, Cambodia and Laos, all meeting to negotiate a solution for Southeast Asia. The Geneva Conventions are rules that apply only in times of armed conflict and seek to protect people who are not or are no longer taking part in hostilities -
Brown vs. Board of Education
Brown vs. Board of Education was a Supreme Court case in which the justices ruled unanimously that racial segregation of children in public schools was unconstitutional. Between Oliver Brown and The Board of Education in Topeka, KS, the case became the major factor in changing the laws in education. The law, before, was "separate but equal" in schools. It was implemented for black schools to be given the same opportunities and education as the students in the white schools. -
Rosa Parks and The Montgomery Bus Boycott
Rosa Parks was a woman who decided one day she was going to refuse to give up her spot to a white person on a Montgomery bus. Others around her gave up their spots and moved to the back of the bus, while Parks didn't. She was then dragged off the bus and arrested and fined $10. Her protest inspired many protests against segregation on buses across the nation. Blacks stopped riding the buses and walked instead. This caused many of the bus companies to shut down. -
Southern Manifests
The Southern Manifesto was a document written in opposition to racial integration of public places.The document was drafted to counter the landmark Supreme Court 1954 ruling Brown v. Board of Education -
Little Rock 9
The Little Rock Nine were a group of nine black students who enrolled at formerly all-white Central High School in Little Rock, Arkansas. The nine were tests to Brown v. Board of Education, a Supreme Court case ruling that declared segregation in public schools unconstitutional. Arkansas National Guard began to block the black students’ entry into the high school until President Eisenhower sent federal troops down to Little Rock to protect the nine. -
SCLC Formed
The SCLC was an offshoot of the Montgomery Improvement Association (MIA), which had started the Montgomery Bus Boycott. Martin Luther King, Jr. was just one of the famous people who founded the SCLC in order to have a regional organization that could better coordinate civil rights protest activities across the South. They believed included boycotts, marches, and other forms of nonviolent protests. -
NASA Created
National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) was created as a civilian agency responsible for coordinating America’s activities in space. NASA was created in response to the Soviet Union’s October 4, 1957 launch of its first satellite. The formation of NASA signaled the start of the U.S.-Soviet space race. NASA inspired President Kennedy to set a goal to have a man on the moon by the end of the decade. -
Fidel Castro Comes To Power
Fidel Castro’s reign was successful in reducing illiteracy, stamping out racism and improving public health care, but was widely criticized for stifling economic and political freedoms. -
SNCC Formed
Student Non-Violent Coordinating Committee (SNCC) was formed to give younger blacks more of a voice in the civil rights movement. SNCC was a civil-rights group formed to give younger blacks more of a voice in the civil rights movement. Ella Baker, then director of SCLC, helped set up the first meeting of what became the SNCC. -
Sitins Start
The Greensboro sit-in was a civil rights protest that started in 1960, when young African-American students staged a sit-in at a segregated Woolworth's lunch counter in Greensboro, North Carolina, and refused to leave after being denied service. -
SDS Created
Students for a Democratic Society (SDS), American student organization that flourished and was known for its activism against the Vietnam War. SDS had its origins in the student branch of the League for Industrial Democracy, a social democratic educational organization. -
The National Liberation Front Established
The National Liberation Front was designed to replicate the success of the Viet Minh, the umbrella nationalist organization that successfully liberated Vietnam from French colonial rule. -
Bay of Pigs Invasion
It all started in 1959 when Fidel Castro overthrew the former dictator. Before, the CIA had put troops in Guatemala and they were trained for assault landings and guerilla warfare. President Kennedy wanted to disguise U.S. involvement in the invasion of Cuba so he planned to land at the Bay of Pigs, a remote swampy area on the southern coast of Cuba. The risk was that the nearest place for refuge was in Cuba's Escambray Mountains, 80 miles from shore. Unfortunately, it back fired on the U.S. -
Peace Corps Formation
Kennedy signed congressional legislation creating a permanent Peace Corps that would “promote world peace and friendship” through three goals: To help the peoples of interested countries in meeting their need for trained men and women; to help promote a better understanding of Americans on the part of the peoples served; & to help promote a better understanding of other peoples on the part of Americans. Since 1961, more than 180,000 Americans have joined the Peace Corps, serving in 134 nations. -
First Freedom Ride
Freedom Rides were bus trips through the American South in 1961 to protest segregated bus terminals. Freedom Riders were the groups of white and African American civil rights activists who participated in these Rides. Their main objective was to use “whites-only” restrooms and lunch counters at bus stations in southern states. -
Berlin Wall
The Berlin Wall was a concrete wall that separated East Berlin and West Berlin. East Berlin was controlled by the Soviets while West Berlin was controlled by the Western Allies. -
James Meredith at Ole Miss
James Meredith was a black man who attempted to enroll at the all-white University of Mississippi in 1962. Chaos soon broke out on the Ole Miss campus, with riots ending in two dead, hundreds wounded and many others arrested. -
John Glenn 1st U.S. Man To Orbit Earth
The mission set up by the U.S. was to send a man to orbit Earth, observe his reactions and return him home safely. They choose John Glenn after three years of training. He was part of the "Mercury Seven" -
Cuban Missile Crisis
It all started when President Kennedy announced that U.S. spy planes had discovered Soviet missile bases in Cuba. The places housed medium-range missiles capable of striking a number of major cities in the United States, including Washington, D.C. -
"Letter From Birmingham"
Martin Luther King, Jr. sent a letter to a group of white clergymen who questioned and criticized his activities in Birmingham, Alabama, seeking, from the vantage point of his jail cell, to both correct the misconceptions held by those clergy, and to justify the tactics of nonviolent civil disobedience to which he subscribed. -
Nuclear Test Ban Treaty
After difficult negotiations over nuclear weapon testing, the United States, the United Kingdom, and the Soviet Union signed the Limited Nuclear Test Ban Treaty. Due to underground testing, radioactive waste was being found in wheat and milk in the northern US. Previously, President Kennedy supported a ban of nuclear testing during his campaign for presidency. He promised to pursue all diplomatic efforts for a test ban treaty before resuming underground testing, therefore pushing for the treaty. -
MLK's "I Have A Dream" Speech
Delivered by Martin Luther King, Jr., at the 1963 March on Washington, he was recognized as a highlight of the successful protest, and has endured as one of the signature moments of the civil rights movement. In his speech, he referenced the country’s Founding Fathers and the Bible and ended his speech with his idea of a life of equality and opportunity. His most famous line "I Have A Dream" will be remembered for many years to come. -
Birmingham Church Bombing
It all started when a bomb exploded before Sunday morning services at the 16th Street Baptist Church. The church itself was a church with a predominantly black congregation that also served as a meeting place for civil rights leaders. Casualties included four young girls were killed and many other people injured. The bombing helped draw national attention to the hard-fought, often-dangerous struggle for civil rights for African Americans. -
JFK Assassination
Serving as the 35th President of The United States, John F. Kennedy was assassinated during a motorcade in Dallas. He was on his way to give a speech at the nearby Dallas Trade Mark. Before his assassination, JFK played a key role as a leader for farms and factory workers. Two of his most famous bills passed during his first year wear income tax cuts and the civil rights act. He also oversaw the launch of the Peace Corps. -
Lyndon B. Johnson Takes Over As President
Following the assassination of John F. Kennedy on November 22, 1963, Vice President Lyndon B. Johnson is sworn in as president of the United States aboard Air Force One before the plane leaves Dallas for Washington, D.C. -
John F. Kennedy Becomes President
John F. Kennedy was an American politician and journalist who served as the 35th president of the United States from January 1961 until his assassination in November 1963. He also became the youngest man ever to be elected president of the United States, at the time. -
Economic Opportunity Act of 1964
The Economic Opportunity Act authorized the formation of local Community Action Agencies as part of the War on Poverty. These agencies are directly regulated by the federal government. It is the purpose of The Economic Opportunity Act to strengthen, supplement, and coordinate efforts in furtherance of that policy. -
24th Amendment
The 24th Amendment was ratified focusing on equal voting rights for everyone. Previously southern states would not let African America citizens vote so they could have an all-white congress. The amendment abolished any kind of discrimination is the voting booth. The law stated that to vote in any primary or other election shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or any state by reason of failure to pay any poll tax or other tax. -
Civil Rights Act of 1964
The Civil Rights Act of 1964 ended segregation in public places and banned employment discrimination on the basis of race, color, religion, sex or national origin. Presented by JFK, the act survived strong opposition from southern members of Congress, but Kennedy did not get a chance to sign the act due to his assassination. His successor, Lyndon B. Johnson signed the act for him. -
Gulf of Tonkin
President Lyndon Johnson introduced the Gulf of Tonkin Resolution to “take all necessary measures to repel any armed attack against the forces of the United States and to prevent further aggression”. The US really wanted to stop the spread of communism in the region. The Resolution effectively launched America’s full-scale involvement in the Vietnam War. The resolution was prompted by two separate attacks on two U.S. Navy destroyers, U.S.S. Maddox and U.S.S. Turner Joy -
The National Endowment for the Arts (NEA)
NEA is an independent agency of the United States federal government that offers support and funding for projects exhibiting artistic excellence. It was created by an act of the U.S. Congress in 1965 as an independent agency of the federal government. -
Immigration and Nationality Act of 1965
The Immigration and Naturalization Act of 1965, abolished an earlier quota system based on national origin and established a new immigration policy based on reuniting immigrant families and attracting skilled labor to the United States. -
Water Quality Act
President Lyndon B. Johnson called for an expanded conservation program as part of his vision of the Great Society. This is what sparked the country's want to conserve. The main goal of the Water Quality Act was to protect and ensure the quality of surface and ground waters. -
Malcolm X Assassination
Malcolm X was an African American nationalist and religious leader, who was assassinated by rival Black Muslims while addressing his Organization of Afro-American Unity. -
Bloody Sunday - Selma March
Bloody Sunday began with around 600 people gathering and beginning their peaceful protest of marching from Selma, Alabama to Montgomery, Alabama. They crossed the Edmund Pettus bridge and were stopped by Alabama state troopers and policemen who violently started attacking the protesters. This march was inspired by a previously shooting of Jimmie Lee Jackson by a state trooper trying to protect his mom during a civil rights protest. -
1st U.S. Troops In Vietmam
The first U.S. combat troops arrive in Vietnam as 3500 Marines land at China Beach to defend the American air base at Da Nang. They join 23,000 American military advisors already in Vietnam. -
Elementary and Secondary Education Act
The Elementary and Secondary Education Act provided federal funding to primary and secondary education, with funds authorized for professional development, instructional materials, resources to support educational programs, and parental involvement promotion. -
Medicare & Medicaid Implemented
This act was signed into law by President Johnson establishing Medicare, providing hospital and medical insurance for Americans age 65 or older, Medicaid, is a state and federally funded program that offers health coverage to certain low-income people. Medicare is funded entirely by the federal government and paid for in part through payroll taxes. -
Voting Rights Act
The Voting Rights Act of 1965, signed by President Lyndon B. Johnson, aimed to overcome legal barriers at the state and local levels that prevented African Americans from exercising their right to vote as guaranteed under the 15th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution. They pushed for the Voting Rights Act because voting rights activists in the South were subjected to various forms of mistreatment and violence. -
National Traffic and Motor Vehicle Act of 1966
The National Traffic and Motor Vehicle Safety Act was enacted in the U.S. in 1966 to empower the federal government to set and administer new safety standards for motor vehicles and road traffic safety. -
Black Panthers Formed
Also known as the Black Panther Party, was a political organization founded in 1966 by Huey Newton and Bobby Seale to challenge police brutality against the African American community. They founded the Black Panthers in the wake of the assassination of black nationalist Malcolm X. -
Race Riots Begin in Detriot
The 1967 Detroit Riots were among the most violent and destructive riots in U.S. history. By the time the bloodshed, burning and looting ended after five days, 43 people were dead, 342 injured, and nearly 1,400 buildings had been burned. -
Air Quality Act of 1967
The Air Quality Act of 1967 authorized expanded studies of air pollutant emission inventories, ambient monitoring techniques, and control techniques. -
Thurgood Marshall Joins Supreme Court
Thurgood Marshall became the first African American to be confirmed as a Supreme Court justice. He would remain on the Supreme Court for 24 years before retiring for health reasons, leaving a legacy of upholding the rights of the individual as guaranteed by the U.S. Constitution. -
Martin Luther King Jr. Assassination
MLK Jr. was assassinated in Memphis, Tennessee. He was a world-known civil rights activist who put himself in danger to stand up for the rights of African Americans. He helped form the Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC), and was a man of inspiring speeches and nonviolent protests. His assassination inspired many Americans to nonviolently protest even more for their right to vote. -
Robert Kennedy Assassination
Robert Francis "Bobby" Kennedy was an American politician and lawyer who served as the 64th United States Attorney General and as a U.S. Senator from New York. Immediately after he announced to his cheering supporters that the country was ready to end its fractious divisions. He was beloved by the minority community for his integrity and devotion to the civil rights cause. -
Tet Offensive
The Tet Offensive was a coordinated series of North Vietnamese attacks on more than 100 cities in South Vietnam. The offensive was an attempt to foment rebellion among the South Vietnamese population and encourage the United States to scale back its involvement in the Vietnam War. -
Operation Rolling Thunder
Operation Rolling Thunder was the codename for an American bombing campaign during the Vietnam War. U.S. military aircraft attacked targets throughout North Vietnam -
Richard Nixon Becomes President
Eight years after losing to John F. Kennedy in the 1960 election, Richard Nixon, republican, had defeated democrat Hubert H. Humphrey for the presidency. -
Tinker vs. Des Moines Court Case
Tinker v. Des Moines is a historic Supreme Court ruling from 1969 that cemented students' rights to free speech in public schools. Mary Beth Tinker was a 13-year-old junior high school student in December 1965 when she and a group of students decided to wear black armbands to school to protest the war in Vietnam. -
1st Man On The Moon
It all started with President Kennedy launching Apollo 11's mission to land two men on the moon, and to come back to Earth safely. The astronauts that were on the Apollo 11 were Neil Armstrong, Edwin "Buzz" Aldrin and Michael Collins. Armstrong and Aldrin were to drop down onto the moon while Collins stayed in the moon's orbit. The astronauts successfully landed on the moon and walked around for three hours conducting experiments and tests and taking rock samples. -
Nixon With Affirmative Action
The Affirmative Action were a set of laws, policies, guidelines and administrative practices intended to end and correct the effects of a specific form of discrimination that include government-mandated, government-sanctioned and voluntary private programs. -
Kent State Massacre
The Kent State shootings, were the shootings of unarmed college students by members of the Ohio National Guard at Kent State University in Kent, Ohio, during a mass protest against the bombing of Cambodia by United States military forces. -
EPA Created
The Environmental Protection Agency was created in the wake of elevated concern about environmental pollution. They consolidated in one agency a variety of federal research, monitoring, standard-setting and enforcement activities to ensure environmental protection.
