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Rosa Parks Gets Arrested
Rosa Parks got arrested in Montgomery, Alabama, due to not giving up her bus seat to another white passenger. Alabama law at the time required African-Americans to give their seats to white people if the bus was full. Her arrest led to an organized year-long bus boycott and she was recognized as the "Mother of the CIvil Rights Movement". -
Sputnik I
The Soviet Union launched the world's first artificial satellite into space. The satellite was about the size of a beach ball. This launch marked the start of the new space age where new technological, military, and scientific advancements. -
Explorer I
The United States launched its first satellite into space. This launch followed Sputnik 1 and 2, launched by the Soviet Union. The main instrument on the satellite was the cosmic ray detector that measured the radiation in Earth's atmosphere. -
John F. Kennedy
John F. Kennedy defeats Richard Nixon in the presidential election and becomes the youngest man to enter the president's office. He was also America's first Catholic president. Many of their televised debates revolved around the subject of how to handle the Cold War. -
Bays on Pigs
1,400 Cuban missiles were exiles were launched by the United States of America. John F. Kennedy knew of the plan by the C.I.A. that was developed during the Eisenhower Administration. The main goal was to other Fidel Castro and the communist government of Cuba. -
March on the Pentagon
This was the first national protest against the Vietnam War. It was the defining moment of the antiwar movement. Around 100,000 people gathered around Lincoln Memorial in protest. At the end of the protest, hundreds were jailed and some hospitalized. -
Martin Luther King Jr. Assassination
On April 4, 1968, in Memphis Tennessee, Martin Luther King Jr. was shot dead on a balcony at 6:05 p.m. This led to more racial violence around the country. He was assassinated by James Earl Ray, an escaped fugitive. He was sentenced to 99 years in prison. -
The Watergate Scandal
There was a break-in into the Democratic National Committee Headquarters that lead to an investigation of Richard Nixon's abuse of power. The perpetrators were linked to Nixon's campaign and were stealing documents and wire-tapping phones.