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Warsaw Pact
A treaty establishing a mutual-defense organization composed originally of the Soviet Union and Albania, Bulgaria, Czechoslovakia, East Germany, Hungary, Poland, and Romania. -
Geneva Summit
The first summit conference between Soviet and American leaders, nothing really became of this meeting -
Rosa Parks
A black woman named Rosa Parks refuses to give up her seat on a bus to a white man and is arrested. The ensuing boycott orgainzed by Martin Luther King, Jr, marks an important turning point in the civil rights movement. -
Interstates
Presidnet Eisenhower signs the Federal-Aid Highway Act of 1956, this will pave the way for interstate highways to conjoin all states. -
Election of 1956
President Dwight D. Eisenhower successfully ran for reelection against Adlai Stevenson. -
Sputnik
Sputnik, the first manmade satellite., was launched by the Soveits. Thiis shocks Americans, who begin to fear that the Russians are pulling ahead in technology. -
U.S. Satellite Launched
The United States launches its first satellite, Explorer I, marking the begninng of the space race. -
Kitchen Debate
Vice President Richard Nixon and Soviet Premier Nikita Khrushchev debate the merits of capitalism versus communism during Nixon's visit to the Soviet Union -
U2 Spy Plane Shot Down
An American U-2 spy plane is shot down over the Soviet Union. The Pilot, Gary Powers, survives the crash and admits to spying. This would extinguish any hopes of lowering tensions between the nations. -
Election of 1960
Democraft John F. Kennedy defeated Vice President Richard Nixon to become the 35th president. -
Bay of Pigs
Cuban exiles who were trained and financed by the United States land at the Bay of Pigs in Cuba in an attempt to overthrow the Castro regime. The operation was initiated and planned during the Eisenhower administration but launched under Kennedy, is a failure that badly damaged US prestige. -
Kennedy Assassinated
During a motorcade through Dallas, President Kennedy is shot and killed. Vice President Lyndon B. Johnson assumes the presidency. -
Draft Begins
A draft for military service to send troops to vietnam begins. -
North Vietnam Bombing
With tensions rising in Vietnam, The USS Maddox reports a second assault by North Vietnamese gunboat. President Lyndon B. Johnson orders retaliatory strikes and the US, bombs North Vietnam for the first time. -
Election of 1864
Incumbent President Lyndon B. Johnson defeated Barry Goldwater, in a major landslide. -
First US Forces Arrive in Vietnam
The first US combat units arrive in Vietnam. -
March on the Pentagon
Thousands of protesters march to the Pentagon to speak out agaisnt the war. -
More Troops
With the war in Vietnam raging, General Westmoreland requests 206,000 more troops to be sent over. -
MLK Assassinated
Martin Luther King, Jr. is assassinated at the Lorraine Motel in Memphis, Tennessee. -
Election of 1968
Richard Nixon defeated democrat Hubert Humphrey to become the 37th president. -
Moon Landing
The United States' Apollo 11 was the first crewed mission to land on the Moon and Neil Armstrong became the first man on the Moon. -
26th Amendment
The right of citizens of the United States, who are eighteen years of age or older, to vote shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or by any State on account of age. -
Watergate
Five men are caught burglarizing the headquarters for the Democratic National Committee, located at the Watergate hotel in Washinton DC, This will set into motion the events that will eventually result in President Nixon's resignation. -
Election of 1972
Nixon defeats Democratic candidate Senator George McGovern in the presidential election. -
Vietnam Ceasefire
Representatives from South Vietnam, North Vietnam, and the United States sign a peace agreement in which a ceasefire is declared, -
Nixon Resigns
President Nixon resigns in the heat of the Watergate scandal, his vice president Gerald Ford takes office. -
Saigon Falls
The North Vietnamese take Saigon, marking a end and failure to the Vietnam War.
