1955-1975

By sandyvautherot
  • Oct 30, 1072

    Sixty Bills

    Nixon signs sixty bills, one of which provides more than $5 billion in benefits for the aged, blind, and disabled, while also increasing Social Security taxes.

  • Chinese Communists v Nationalists

    Chinese Communist Air Force raid the Chinese nationalist-controlled Tachen Islands and seize Ichiang Island.

  • First filming of press conference

    The first filming of a presidential press conference.

  • Atomic potential against China

    Eisenhower announces that the United States would use atomic weapons in the event of war with Communist China.

  • Geneva Conference

    The Geneva Conference opens, attended by the heads of state of Britain, France, the U.S.S.R, and the United States. This was the first meeting between the “Big Four” since the end of World War II. While few tangible accomplishments emerged from this summit, the meeting inaugurated a new, less hostile phase of the Cold War.

  • Eisenhower’s “open skies”

    Eisenhower makes his “open skies” proposal at Geneva, calling for the Unites States and the Soviet Union to share maps indicating locations of military installments. Though this particular proposal is not accepted, it lays the foundation for Reagan’s future “trust, but verify” policy.

  • U.S. announces artificial satellites

    Plans for the first artificial satellites, scheduled to be launched in 1957, are announced by the United States.

  • Emmett Till lynched in Mississippi

    14-year old black boy Emmett Till is kidnapped and brutally murdered in Money, Mississippi. After a local white woman, Carolyn Bryant, accused Till of having whistled at her in a grocery store, Till is kidnapped by Bryant’s husband Roy and Roy’s half-brother J.W. Milam. Till’s mutilated body was found in the Tallahatchie River three days later.

  • ICC bans segregated transportation

    The Interstate Commerce Commission bans racial segregation on interstate trains and buses.

  • Rosa Parks takes a seat to take a stand

    Civil Rights activist Rosa Parks, at 42, is arrested in Montgomery, Alabama, for refusing to give up her seat to a white passenger in compliance with segregation laws. Her actions and subsequent arrest sparked a bus boycott in Montgomery which lasts for more than a year.

  • AFL-CIO merger

    The merger of the American Federation of Labor (AFL) and the Congress of Industrial Organizations (CIO) is ratified.

  • Autherine Lucy officially integrates the University of Alabama

    The Supreme Court orders Autherine Lucy admitted to the University of Alabama on October 10, 1955. She is officially admitted in January 1956.

  • Peaceful atomic purposes

    Eisenhower releases $1 billion worth of Uranium-235 for peaceful atomic purposes.

  • “Southern Manifesto”

    Nineteen white senators and eighty-one white representatives sign the “Southern Manifesto,” promising to use “all lawful means” to resist racial integration and to reverse the Brown desegregation decisions.

  • U-2 approved

    Eisenhower approves U-2 spy flights over the Soviet Union.

  • Federal Highway Act

    Eisenhower signs the Federal Aid Highway Act, providing federal funding for the construction of a system of interstate highways for transportation and national defense.

  • Nasser nationalizes Suez Canal

    Egyptian president Gamal Abdel Nasser nationalizes the Suez Canal.

  • Polio vaccine reaches open market

    The recently discovered Salk Polio Vaccine is sold on the open market.

  • Social Security Act of 1956

    Eisenhower signs the Social Security Act 1956, permitting women to retire at age sixty-two and disabled workers at age fifty.

  • Hungarian Revolution begins

    The Hungarian Revolution, or Hungarian Uprising of 1956, begins as a nationwide revolt against the Soviet policies of the communist Hungarian People's Republic. It lasts until November 10 of the same year.

  • Israel, Britain, and France attack Egypt

    Israel, Britain, and France attack Egypt; Eisenhower condemns the attack.

  • Soviet Union crushes Hungarian Uprising

    The Soviet Union crushes the Hungarian Revolution via armed intervention.

  • Cease-fire in Egypt

    A cease-fire is established in Egypt.

  • Eisenhower is re-elected

    Eisenhower defeats Stevenson by nine million votes to win a second term. Congress remains in the hands of the Democratic Party.

  • Montgomery bus boycott success

    The Montgomery Bus Boycott successfully comes to an end and racial segregation on the public transit system of Montgomery, Alabama is ordered by the Supreme Court to cease.

  • “Eisenhower Doctrine”

    Eisenhower proposes the “Eisenhower Doctrine” regarding the
    defense of the Middle East.

  • President Eisenhower is inaugurated

    Eisenhower is inaugurated for a second term as President.

  • Southern Christian Leadership Conference formed

    The civil rights organization known as the Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC) is organized in New Orleans. Martin Luther King, Jr., is elected president of the organization.

  • Congress approves “Eisenhower Doctrine”

    Congress sanctions the “Eisenhower Doctrine.”

  • JFK wins a Pulitzer

    John F. Kennedy wins a Pulitzer Prize for his book Profiles in Courage.

  • Surgeon General’s Surprise: Cigarettes Cause Cancer

    The Surgeon General reports that scientific research has established a link between cigarette smoking and lung cancer.

  • Civil Rights Act of 1957

    Eisenhower signs the Civil Rights Act of 1957, mainly a voting rights legislation, which was the first civil rights bill since Reconstruction.

  • Little Rock

    Eisenhower orders federal troops to Little Rock, Arkansas, to end white supremacist violence and protest against the desegregation of local schools.

  • Sputnik launched

    The Soviet Union launches Sputnik, heightening American anxieties and increasing American desires to get ahead in the “space race.”

  • Aid for education

    Eisenhower asks Congress for federal aid for education.

  • Housing stimulus to combat recession

    Eisenhower signs legislation he hopes will stimulate housing construction and help combat a developing economic recession.

  • Space Exploration

    Eisenhower recommends the formation of a civilian agency to direct space exploration.

  • Eisenhower meets with Civil Rights leaders

    Eisenhower meets with civil rights leaders Martin Luther King, Roy Wilkins, A. Philip Randolph, and Lester Granger, who have been critical of Eisenhower’s slow pace of progress and lack of strong support for Civil Rights legislation.

  • Alaska becomes a state

    Eisenhower signs a bill making Alaska the forty-ninth state.

  • U.S. enters Lebanon

    Eisenhower orders the U.S. Marines into Lebanon.

  • National Defense Education Act

    Eisenhower signs the National Defense Education Act, which increased funding to improve schools and to promote secondary education.

  • U.S. withdraws from Lebanon

    Eisenhower orders the withdrawal of the last U.S. Marines from Lebanon.

  • Hawaii becomes a state

    Eisenhower signs a bill admitting Hawaii as the fiftieth state.

  • Khrushchev and nuclear test ban

    Eisenhower asks Nikita Khrushchev for a partial nuclear test ban agreement.

  • Dedication of the St. Lawrence Seaway

    Eisenhower, with Queen Elizabeth, dedicates the St. Lawrence Seaway.

  • "Kitchen Debate"

    Nixon and Khrushchev have their “kitchen debate” in Moscow, where the two enter an impromptu debate on communism versus capitalism in the middle of a model kitchen set up for the American National Exhibition being held in Moscow.

  • Landrum-Griffin Act

    Eisenhower signs the Landrum-Griffin Act, legislation meant to combat growing corruption in labor organizations.

  • Khrushchev visits the U.S. at Camp David

    Khrushchev visits the United States and meets with Eisenhower at Camp David on September 25 and 26.

  • Steelworkers strike ends

    The Steelworkers strike ends with a settlement.

  • Greensboro sit-ins

    Civil rights sit-ins begin in Greensboro, North Carolina, at the local Woolworth department store lunch counter. Protestors, resisting taunts and violence from disgruntled patrons, quietly sat side by side, black and white, in a show of support for desegregation. These peaceful protests led the Woolworth department store chain to desegregate its stores.

  • CIA trains to invade Cuba

    Eisenhower authorizes the CIA to begin training exiles to invade Cuba.

  • Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC)

    The Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC), an initially student-led civil rights group born out of the sit-in demonstrations, organizes in Raleigh, North Carolina.

  • Soviets shoot down U-2

    The Soviet Union announces that is has shot down an American U-2 spy plane. Pilot Francis Gary Powers ejected from the plane and survived. The Soviets quickly took Powers prisoner and recovered the remains of the U-2 plane. Hoping to embarrass the United States, the Soviets kept the capture of Powers secret only announcing that an American plane had been shot down.

  • Civil Rights Act of 1960

    Eisenhower signs the Civil Rights Act of 1960; like the Civil Rights Act of 1957, this act mainly concerns voting rights.

  • U.S. spies on Soviets

    Eisenhower acknowledges that the United States has been conducting U-2 spy flights over the Soviet Union. Khrushchev announces that Francis Gary Powers, a downed U-2 pilot, has admitted to spying on the Soviet Union.

  • Paris Summit ends

    The Paris Summit between the Soviet Union and the United States ends when Eisenhower refuses to apologize for the U-2 flights and Khrushchev refuses to meet with the President.

  • First televised debate

    John F. Kennedy and Richard Nixon held the first televised presidential debate.

  • John F. Kennedy is elected

    Kennedy defeats Nixon in the presidential election.

  • Eisenhower severs relations with Cuba

    Eisenhower severs diplomatic relations with Cuba.

  • Eisenhower's farewell address

    Eisenhower's farewell address warns the nation of the growing power of the American “military industrial complex.”

  • John F. Kennedy inaugurated

    John F. Kennedy is inaugurated as the thirty-fifth President of the United States.

  • Temporary Peace Corps created

    Kennedy, fulfilling a campaign pledge, issues an executive order creating a temporary Peace Corps and asks Congress to authorize the program permanently. He appoints Sargent Shriver to head the organization.

  • Yuri Gagarin becomes first in space

    Soviet cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin becomes the first man in space.

  • Bay of Pigs

    A U.S.-sponsored invasion of Cuba at the Bay of Pigs fails. With inadequate support and facing an overwhelming force, the CIA-trained brigade of anti-Castro exiles is defeated in a few days. Kennedy takes responsibility for the disaster.

  • First "Freedom Ride"

    Black and white youths supported by the Congress of Racial Equality (CORE) set out on the first of several “freedom rides” to challenge the lack of enforcement of ICC rules against racial discrimination in interstate travel. The "Freedom Riders" traveled together from Washington, D.C., passing through several southern states on the way to New Orleans, Louisiana. Their efforts exposed the unlawful nature of the enforcement of segregation in bus travel and inspired efforts to rectify injustice.

  • Alan Sheppard Jr.

    Alan Sheppard Jr. becomes the first American in space.

  • East Germany begins Berlin Wall

    East Germany, supported by the Soviet Union, begins construction of the Berlin Wall, halting the flow of refugees to the West.

  • Geneva conference adjourns

    The Geneva conference, with the United States, the Soviet Union, and the United Kingdom participating, adjourns without reaching an agreement on a nuclear test ban.

  • End trade with Cuba

    Kennedy halts virtually all trade with Cuba.

  • John Glenn Orbits Earth

    Astronaut John Glenn aboard the Mercury craft Friendship 7 became the first American to orbit the earth. In a five-hour flight, Glenn orbited the Earth three times and landed safely in the Atlantic Ocean. Both President John Kennedy and the American people celebrated Glenn's space flight. The United States had equaled the Soviet Union in scientific accomplishment.

  • Segregation in transportation facilities deemed unconstitutional

    The U.S. Supreme Court rules that segregation in transportation facilities is unconstitutional.

  • Kennedy reduces import duties

    Kennedy announces the reduction of U.S. import duties as part of an agreement to promote international trade.

  • “Port Huron Statement”

    Tom Hayden presents the “Port Huron Statement” to the annual convention of Students for a Democratic Society (SDS) at Port Huron, Michigan.

  • James Meredith desegregates University of Mississippi

    The U.S. Supreme Court orders the University of Mississippi to admit James H. Meredith, its first African-American student. After Governor Ross Barnett attempts to block the admission, U.S. Marshals escort Meredith to campus while Federalized national guardsmen maintain order.

  • Kennedy Announces Cuban Missile Crisis

    Kennedy addresses the American people in a nationally televised address about the situation in Cuba and orders a naval quarantine of Cuba to prevent further shipments of weapons.

  • Cuban Missile Crisis resolved

    After thirteen days, the Cuban Missile Crisis is resolved. The United States will pledge not to invade Cub (and secretly agrees to remove missiles from Turkey), in exchange for the removal of the Soviet weapons.

  • Cuban blockade lifted

    Kennedy lifts the naval blockade of Cuba.

  • Birmingham campaign

    The Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC) begins a movement in (with notable participant Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.) to highlight the efforts being made by black Americans in Birmingham, Alabama, to integrate public spaces in the city. Importantly, activists worked to expose the violent nature of Birmingham's law enforcement, led by the notorious Eugene "Bull" Connor, who met activists' nonviolent, peaceful protest with high-pressure firehoses and police dogs.

  • American University Address

    President John Kennedy gives a commencement address at American University. In it, he addressed relations between the United States and the Soviet Union and a nuclear test ban treaty.

  • Kennedy declares "Ich bin ein Berliner"

    Speaking in West Berlin, Kennedy demonstrates his solidarity with the city, declaring “Ich bin ein Berliner.”

  • March on Washington

    The "March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom," or simply "March on Washington," attracted 250,000 demonstrators to the nation's capital in support of civil and economic rights for black Americans. The march was organized by principle Civil Rights activists A. Philip Randolph and Bayard Rustin but is most often remembered for being the event where Martin Luther King Jr. delivers his “I Have a Dream” speech at the Lincoln Memorial.

  • Birmingham church bombing

    Four African-American girls are killed at the 16th Street Baptist Church in Birmingham, Alabama, when at least 15 sticks of dynamite planted by four members of the KKK blow a 7-foot hole in the basement of the church. More than twenty others were injured; the blast also destroyed the basement lounge, several nearby parked cars, windows two blocks away and all but one of the church's stained glass windows. The FBI closed their investigation without convicting any of the four suspects.

  • Kennedy signs nuclear test-ban

    Kennedy signs a limited nuclear test-ban treaty with the Soviet Union and the United Kingdom.

  • Kennedy Assassinated

    Kennedy is assassinated while riding in a motorcade in Dallas, Texas. Lee Harvey Oswald is arrested and accused of the crime. Vice President Lyndon Baines Johnson is sworn in as the thirty-sixth President of the United States following the assassination.

  • Lyndon B. Johnson is inaugurated

    Lyndon Baines Johnson is sworn in as the thirty-sixth President of the United States following the assassination of John F. Kennedy.

  • Twenty-Fourth Amendment ratified

    The Twenty-Fourth Amendment to the Constitution is ratified, abolishing poll taxes.

  • The Beatles arrive in NYC

    The Beatles arrive in New York for their first U.S. tour.

  • Johnson’s Great Society

    In a speech at the University of Michigan, Johnson announces his intention to create a Great Society by extending American prosperity to all its citizens.

  • Civil Rights Act of 1964

    Johnson signs The Civil Rights Act of 1964, outlawing discrimination based on race or color, sex, religion or national origin. This act also prohibits discrimination in voter registration as well as segregation in schools, employment and public accommodations.

  • Gulf of Tonkin Resolution

    Congress passes the Gulf of Tonkin Resolution giving the President power to pursue military action in Vietnam.

  • Economic Opportunity Act

    Johnson signs the Economic Opportunity Act, creating the Office of Economic Opportunity and beginning the War on Poverty.

  • Martin Luther King Jr. receives Nobel Peace Prize

    Martin Luther King Jr. is awarded the Nobel Peace Prize.

  • Khrushchev resigns

    Nikita Khrushchev is forced to resign as leader of the Soviet Union and is replaced by Leonid Brezhnev.

  • Lyndon B. Johnson elected

    Lyndon B. Johnson is elected President of the United States.

  • Lyndon B. Johnson is inaugurated

    Johnson is inaugurated President of the United States.

  • Bombing begins in Vietnam

    Nine American soldiers are killed in an attack on U.S. barracks in Pleiku, Vietnam. Johnson begins the bombing of North Vietnam.

  • Malcolm X assassinated

    Black power activist Malcolm X is assassinated in New York City by members of the Nation of Islam, an organization to which Malcolm X had belonged. Tensions between X and NOI leadership led to his suspension from the group and subsequent assassination.

  • Johnson Introduces Voting Rights Act

    Johnson calls for voting rights legislation, leading to the Voting Rights Act. In a moving oration, Johnson called on white Americans to make the cause of African Americans their cause too. Together, he explained, echoing the anthem of the civil rights movement, “we shall overcome.”

  • Selma to Montgomery march

    Led by Rev. Martin Luther King, Jr., thousands of peaceful protesters marched over several days from Selma to Montgomery, Alabama, in reaction to the police murder of activist Jimmie Lee Jackson and to highlight civil rights efforts in the state. This was the third attempt to complete the March. The first ended in the notorious “Bloody Sunday” attack of protesters by Alabama state troopers, and the second, “Turnaround Tuesday,” ended when MLK led the crowd back in compliance with a court order.

  • Elementary and Secondary Education Act

    Johnson signs the Elementary and Secondary Education Act.

  • Johnson sends troops to Dominican Republic

    Johnson sends U.S. Marines to the Dominican Republic to protect U.S. citizens after a military coup and resulting Dominican Civil War.

  • Movement moves North

    Martin Luther King Jr. leads a demonstration in Chicago in an effort to extend the Civil Rights Movement to the North.

  • Medicare, Medicaid created

    Johnson signs legislation creating Medicare and Medicaid.

  • Voting Rights Act becomes law

    Johnson signs the Voting Rights Act into law.

  • Watts Riots

    The Watts Riots break out in the Watt neighborhood of Los Angeles. Incited by an altercation between law enforcement and a drunk driver, the situation escalated until nearly 4,000 California Army National Guard members, 16,000 law enforcement officials, and 30,000 residents became involved over six days, resulting in 34 deaths, 3,438 arrests and $40 million in property damage.

  • France withdraws from NATO

    Fearing that American involvement in Vietnam will draw France into a world war, French president Charles de Gaulle announces that France will withdraw from NATO.

  • Supreme Court upholds Voting Rights Act

    The U.S. Supreme Court unanimously upholds the Voting Rights Act of 1965.

  • Astronauts killed in fire

    A launch pad fire during tests for the Apollo program kills three astronauts.

  • Twenty-Fifth Amendment ratified

    The Twenty-Fifth Amendment to the Constitution is ratified, providing rules of succession upon the death or incapacitation of the President, and enabling the President to appoint a new vice-president in the case of a vacancy.

  • Six Day War

    The Six Day War breaks out between Israel and several Arab nations.

  • Riots break out Newark, New Jersey

    Riots break out in Newark, New Jersey, after racial tensions in the city were escalated by the police beating of a cab driver. The riots lasted 5 days leaving 26 dead and hundreds injured.

  • 12th Street riot, Detroit

    Racial tensions in the city of Detroit came to a head after a police raid of an unlicensed bar led to confrontations between police and patrons and escalated to 5 days of riots; the Michigan Army National Guard and two airborne divisions were sent in, 7,200 arrests were made, 43 people died and 1,189 were injured.

  • Anti-war march to Pentagon

    Anti-war demonstrators march to the Pentagon in an attempt to shut it down.

  • North Korean capture U.S.S. Pueblo

    North Korean forces capture the U.S.S. Pueblo.

  • Tet Offense Begins

    North Vietnamese troops surprise South Vietnamese and American troops by attacking during the Tet holiday. While the Tet Offensive is not a military loss for the United States, it leads to a loss of confidence in the Johnson administration's prosecution of the war.

  • My Lai massacre

    U.S. forces in Vietnam commit a massacre in the hamlet of My Lai; hundreds of unarmed men, women, and children are killed. News of the event would not reach the public until November 1969.

  • Martin Luther King Jr. assassinated

    Martin Luther King Jr. is assassinated in Memphis, Tennessee.

  • Poor People’s Campaign

    Ralph Abernathy of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC) begins the Poor People's Campaign in Washington, D.C. to demand economic and human rights for poor Americans.

  • Robert Kennedy assassinated

    Senator Robert Kennedy is assassinated after winning the Democratic primary in California.

  • Soviets invade Czechoslovakia

    The Soviet Union invades Czechoslovakia to end the movement toward greater freedom and independence.

  • Brezhnev Doctrine

    Leonid Brezhnev announces that the Soviet Union has the right to intervene anywhere in its sphere of influence. This “Brezhnev Doctrine” becomes central to Soviet foreign policy.

  • Richard Nixon is inaugurated

    Nixon is sworn into office as the thirty-seventh President of the United States.

  • Resuming North Korean reconnaissance

    Following an attack on a U.S. plane on April 15, Nixon orders that reconnaissance flights off of North Korea be resumed.

  • Consolidating federal aid

    Nixon asks that Congress be granted authority to consolidate federal assistance programs to states and cities, giving locals greater control over the use of federal funds.

  • Withdrawal from South Vietnam

    Nixon proposes a plan whereby the United States and North Vietnam would agree to withdraw forces from South Vietnam.

  • Post Office goes public

    Nixon asks that Congress make the Post Office Department a public corporation.

  • Leaving Vietnam

    Nixon announces a plan to withdraw 25,000 U.S. troops from South Vietnam by August 31.

  • Government personnel cut

    Nixon orders cuts in overseas government personnel by 10 percent.

  • "Nixon Doctrine"

    Nixon affirms his desire to withdraw U.S. troops from southeast Asia and declares that individual nations will bear a larger responsibility for their own security. Initially referred to as the “Guam Doctrine,” this statement later becomes known as the “Nixon Doctrine.”

  • Nixon proposes welfare reform

    Nixon discloses his program for welfare reform, which includes the Family Assistance Plan.

  • Self sufficiency in Latin America

    Nixon declares that Latin America must be responsible for its own social and economic progress.

  • North Vietnam rejects peace

    Nixon reveals that North Vietnam has rejected the administration's secret peace offers. He proposes a plan for the gradual and secretive withdrawal of troops.

  • Selective Service Reform

    Nixon signs the Selective Service Reform bill aimed at calming conscription anxieties; this bill ensured that draftees are selected by a lottery system, that the prime eligibility of draftees be reduced from seven years to one, and that draftees aged 19 would be selected at highest priority.

  • Request for wage and price restraint

    Nixon addresses the nation through television, asking for wage and price restraint.

  • Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)

    Nixon puts forth a plan to reorganize federal environmental agencies, leading to the establishment of the Environmental Protection Agency.

  • Interagency Committee on Intelligence

    Nixon approves a plan to form an Interagency Committee on Intelligence to coordinate operations against domestic targets, namely anti-war leftists and suspected communists.

  • Postal Service established

    Nixon approves and signs the Postal Reorganization Act, which establishes an independent United States Postal Service.

  • Five-point peace in Vietnam

    In a televised address, Nixon proposes a five-point peace plan for Indochina. The plan includes a “cease-fire in place” and the negotiated withdrawal of U.S. troops from Vietnam.

  • Occupational Health and Safety Act of 1970

    Nixon signs the Occupational Health and Safety Act of 1970, which gives the secretary of labor the responsibility of setting workplace safety standards for jobs in the United States.

  • Reducing pollution

    Nixon signs a clean air bill which mandates that car manufacturers reduce certain pollutants by 90 percent.

  • Keynesian economics

    Nixon tells an ABC news commentator that he is now a “Keynesian,” or one who subscribes to the ideal (of Keynesian economics) that government spending could break a recession. This was unusual for a Republican president.

  • Bugging the White House

    Taping systems are activated in the White House. The Oval Office is outfitted with a voice-activated system and the Cabinet Room with a manual system.

  • Wage-Price Controls Bill

    Nixon signs a Wage-Price Controls Bill, extending his authority to impose restraints on wages, prices, salaries, and rents for another year.

  • The "Pentagon Papers"

    The New York Times begins to publish secret internal documents referred to as the “Pentagon Papers,” a development which leads the White House to become increasingly fearful of further disclosures. Within a week, a special unit named the “Plumbers” is created to stop the leaks.

  • Emergency Employment Act

    Nixon signs an Emergency Employment Act, earmarking $2.25 billion for the creation of public service jobs at state and local levels.

  • Phase One price freeze

    Nixon declares a 90-day freeze on wages and prices, known as Phase One of his economic program.

  • Phase Two price freeze

    Nixon announces Phase Two of his economic plan, placing a ceiling on food prices.

  • Economic Stabilization Act extended

    Nixon signs an extension of the Economic Stabilization Act, allowing himself another year in which to right the economy.

  • Nixon arrives in China

    President and Mrs. Nixon arrive in China. A joint communique, later known as the Shanghai Communique, is released by the United States and China. It calls for both countries agree to increase their contacts, and for the United States to withdraw gradually from Taiwan.

  • Devaluing the dollar

    Nixon enacts legislation devaluing the dollar in order to stabilize the economy.

  • Tapping of the table telephone

    The taping system attached to the telephone on the Camp David study table becomes operational.

  • Nixon endorses revenue bill

    Nixon endorses a bill which calls for revenue sharing with the states and grants over $30 billion to state and local governments over the course of five years.

  • Pesticide regulation

    Nixon enhances the power of the Environmental Protection Agency to regulate the sale and use of pesticides.

  • Nixon wins reelection

    Nixon wins the presidential election in a landslide, but Congress remains in Democratic hands.

  • Nixon clears entire administration

    Nixon asks for the resignation of all agency directors, federal department heads, and presidential appointees.

  • Phase Three of price controls

    Phase Three of the economic plan is announced, in which wages and price controls will be ended in all but a few industries.

  • Nixon is inaugurated

    President Nixon is inaugurated for his second term.

  • Paris Peace Accords signed

    Paris Peace Accords are signed by all parties at war in Vietnam, officially ending the conflict.

  • Ceasing Camp David taping

    The voice-activated taping system at Camp David ceases operation, as does the system attached to the desk telephone in the Camp David study.

  • Sixty-day price freeze

    Nixon declares a freeze on all prices for sixty days, with the exception of raw agricultural products and rents.

  • Phase Four of price controls

    Phase Four of the economic program is revealed, in which the freeze is lifted on all foods except beef and health-care products.

  • Taping terminated

    The manual taping system in the Cabinet Room ceases operation, as do those attached to telephones in the Oval Office, the EOB, and the Lincoln Sitting Room.

  • Vice President Agnew resigns

    Vice President Spiro T. Agnew resigns, pleading no contest to a charge of income tax evasion.

  • Gerald Ford accepts Vice Presidency

    President Richard Nixon offers Gerald Ford the nomination for vice president. Ford accepts.

  • Energy Crisis

    Nixon addresses the nation regarding the energy crisis.

  • Ford is sworn in

    Ford is sworn in as vice president in the House chamber. Ford remarks that he is a “Ford, not a Lincoln.”

  • Nixon increases Social Security

    Nixon increases Social Security benefits.

  • Nixon increases minimum wage

    Nixon increases the minimum wage to $2 with the likelihood of future increases and broader coverage.

  • U.S. v Nixon

    The Supreme Court ruled in an 8-0 decision that President Richard Nixon had to turn over sixty-four tapes, which disclosed his knowledge and participation in the cover-up of the Watergate burglary. The conversations on the tapes implicated Nixon and led to his resignation, the first time in United States history a President had resigned.

  • President Nixon Resigns

    President Richard M. Nixon announced to a national television audience that he was resigning from the office of the presidency effective noon the following day. Nixon's resignation came less than a month after the House Judiciary Committee voted for three articles of impeachment relating to Nixon's illegal involvement in the Watergate scandal and his use of government agencies to cover up that involvement.

  • Gerald Ford becomes 38th President

    Nixon asked all Americans to back the new President, Gerald R. Ford, himself in office due to the resignation of former Vice President Spiro Agnew.

  • Gerald R. Ford is inaugurated

    Gerald R. Ford is sworn in as the thirty-eighth President of the United States.

  • Ford pardons Nixon

    Ford grants Richard Nixon a full pardon; his approval rating slips to 49 percent.

  • Economic Policy Board formed

    Ford forms the Economic Policy Board, which will oversee all aspects of economic policy.

  • Tax hike and spending cuts

    Ford speaks to a joint session of Congress. He calls for a temporary 5 percent tax hike, cuts in federal spending, and the creation of a voluntary inflation-fighting organization, named “Whip Inflation Now” (WIN).

  • Federal Elections Campaign Act

    Ford signs the Federal Elections Campaign Act of 1974, the most significant attempt at campaign finance reform since the 1920s.

  • “WIN” campaign announced

    The President announces his “WIN” campaign (Whip Inflation Now).

  • Freedom of Information Act

    The Freedom of Information Act is passed over Ford's veto. It provides expanded access to government files and allows secrecy classifications to be challenged in court and justified by the appropriate federal authorities.

  • Privacy Act of 1974

    Ford signs the Privacy Act of 1974, ensuring the right of Americans to individual privacy.

  • “Rockefeller Commission”

    Ford announces the creation of a presidential commission, known as the “Rockefeller Commission,” to review abuses by the Central Intelligence Agency, including mail opening and domestic surveillance.

  • Tax Reduction Act of 1975

    Ford tells the nation he will reluctantly sign the Tax Reduction Act of 1975, which calls for a $22.8 billion tax cut.

  • Cambodia falls to Khmer Rouge

    Cambodia falls to communist Khmer Rouge.

  • Unemployment high point

    Unemployment reaches its highest point at 9.2 percent.

  • Betty Ford on 60 Minutes

    First Lady Betty Ford shocks the nation when on the “60 Minutes” television show, she speaks candidly on topics such as extra-marital affairs and marijuana and admits to strongly favoring the Supreme Court's ruling making abortion legal.

  • Egypt and Israel sign agreement

    Egypt and Israel sign the second-stage Sinai withdrawal agreement.

  • Ford refuses aid to NYC

    Ford refuses to give federal economic aid to New York City. Instead, he advises the city to use financial restraint. The next day, the headline of the New York Daily News reads: "Ford to City—Drop Dead."

  • “Sunday Morning Massacre”

    In what is dubbed by the press as the “Sunday Morning Massacre,” Henry Kissinger gives up his position as National Security adviser but retains the post of Secretary of State; William Colby is fired as director of Central Intelligence, and James Schlesinger is fired as Secretary of Defense.

  • Ford loans to NYC

    Following a tax increase by the New York state legislature and an agreement by banks and teachers unions preventing New York City from falling into default, Ford requests $2.3 billion in U.S. loans for the city.

  • Energy Policy Conservation Act

    Ford signs the Energy Policy Conservation Act.