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Period: to
Sen. Joseph R. McCarthy accuses army officials, members of the media, and other public figures of being Communists during highly publicized hearings
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Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka, Kans.: Landmark Supreme Court decision
Declares that racial segregation in schools is unconstitutional -
Laika dies in space
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Eisenhower's second inauguration
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President sends federal troops to Central High School in Little Rock, Ark
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Sputnik launched into orbit
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Sputnik II launched
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NASA began Mercury project using Atlas rocket
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Explorer I launched
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Cuba taken over by Fidel Castro
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Khrushchev visits United States
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Alaska becomes the 49th state
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Hawaii becomes the 50th state.
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Soviet Union reveals that U.S. spy plane was shot down over Soviet territory
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U.S. severs diplomatic relations with Cuba
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John F. Kennedy is inaugurated as the 35th president
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Period: to
Bay of Pigs invasion of Cuba fails
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Lt. Col. John Glenn becomes first U.S. astronaut to orbit Earth
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Period: to
Cuban Missile Crisis
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Rev. Martin Luther King, Jr., delivers his “I Have a Dream” speech
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President Kennedy is assassinated in Dallas, Texas
He is succeeded in office by his vice president, Lyndon B. Johnson -
President Johnson signs the Civil Rights Act
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North Vietnamese torpedo boats allegedly attack U.S. destroyer in Gulf of Tonkin off the coast of North Vietnam
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U.S. planes begin bombing raids of North Vietnam
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L. Johnson's second inauguration
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State troopers attack peaceful demonstrators led by Rev. Martin Luther King, Jr., as they try to cross bridge in Selma, Ala.
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First U.S. combat troops arrive in South Vietnam
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President Johnson signs the Voting Rights Act
Prohibits discriminatory voting practices -
Miranda v. Arizona: Landmark Supreme Court decision
Further defines due process clause of the Fourteenth Amendment and establishes Miranda rights -
Twenty-Fifth Amendment to the Constitution is ratified
Outlines the procedures for filling vacancies in the presidency and vice presidency -
Period: to
North Vietnamese army and Viet Cong launch Tet Offensive, attacking Saigon and other key cities in South Vietnam
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American soldiers kill 300 Vietnamese villagers in My Lai massacre
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Rev. Martin Luther King, Jr., is assassinated in Memphis, Tenn.
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Sen. Robert F. Kennedy is assassinated in Los Angeles, Calif
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Richard Nixon is inaugurated as the 37th president
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Astronauts Neil Armstrong and Edwin Aldrin, Jr., become the first men to land on the Moon
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U.S. troops invade Cambodia
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Four students are shot to death by National Guardsmen during an antiwar protest at Kent State University
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The Twenty-Sixth Amendment to the Constitution is ratified
Lowered the voting age from 21 to 18 -
Period: to
Nixon makes historic visit to Communist China
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U.S. and Soviet Union sign strategic arms control agreement known as SALT I
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Five men, all employees of Nixon's reelection campaign, are caught breaking into rival Democratic headquarters at the Watergate complex in Washington, DC
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Nixon's second inauguration
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Roe v. Wade: Landmark Supreme Court decision
Legalized abortion in first trimester of pregnancy -
Representatives of North and South Vietnam, the Viet Cong, and the U.S. sign a cease-fire agreement in Paris
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Last U.S. troops leave Vietnam
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Vice President Spiro T. Agnew resigns over charges of corruption and income tax evasion
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Gerald R. Ford is confirmed by Congress and sworn in as VP
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Period: to
House Judiciary Committee recommends to full House that Nixon be impeached on grounds of obstruction of justice, abuse of power, and contempt of Congress
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Ford is the first vice president to succeed to the office under the terms laid out by the Twenty-Fifth Amendment
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Nixon is granted an unconditional pardon by President Ford
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Nelson Rockefeller is confirmed and sworn in as vice president
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South Vietnamese government surrenders to North Vietnam
U.S. embassy Marine guards and last U.S. civilians are evacuated