1955-1975

By OakleyS

  • The Vietnam War Begins

    After agreeing to train South Vietnamese troops, the U.S. got pulled into a war against the North Vietnamese which would last 20 years

  • Rosa Parks

    Rosa Parks, an African American seamstress, refuses to give up her seat on the bus to a white man which led to the declaration that bus segregation laws were unconstitutional.

  • The First Highway

    The interstate highway system begins with the signing of the Federal-Aid Highway Act.

  • The Invention of the laser

    Gordon Gould, an American physicist, invents the laser. Gould was elected to the National Inventors Hall of Fame in 1991.

  • Civil Rights

    U.S. Congress approves the first civil rights bill since reconstruction with the additional protection of voting rights.

  • The First US Satellite

    The Explorer I, the first U.S. satellite, is launched at Cape Canaveral.

  • The First Astronauts

    NASA selects the first seven men to become the first astronauts of the United States. The Mercury Seven included John Glenn, Scott Carpenter, Gordon Cooper, Gus Griscom, Wally Scare, Alan Shepard, and Deke Slayton.

  • The Bay of Pige

    The Bay of Pigs invasion of Cuba is repulsed by Cuban forces in an attempt by Cuban exiles to overthrow Fidel Castro.

  • The Berlin Wall is Constructed

    The construction of the Berlin Wall begins by the Soviet bloc, segregating the German city. The wall would last for twenty-eight years.

  • "I Have A Dream"

    The Civil Rights march on Washington, D.C. for Jobs and Freedom culminates with Dr. Martin Luther King's famous "I Have a Dream" speech. Over 200,000 people participated.

  • The Outerspace Treaty

    The Outer Space Treaty is signed into by the United States, Great Britain, and the Soviet Union.

  • Martin Luther King is Assassinated

    Civil Rights leader Martin Luther King is assassinated in Memphis, Tennessee by James Earl Ray.

  • Disney World Opens

    Disney World opens in Orlando, Florida, expanding the Disney empire to the east coast.

  • Roe V. Wade

    The United States Supreme Court rules in Roe vs. Wade that a woman cannot be prevented by a state in having an abortion (In the first six months of pregnancy).

  • The Vietnam Peace Pacts and the end of the Draft

    The four-part Vietnam peace pacts were signed in Paris. The announcement of the military draft ending also occurred on that date.