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NASA Created
"In response, the U.S. government rushed to perfect its own ICBM technology and launch its own satellites and astronauts into space. In 1958, the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) was created as a successor to the National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics (NACA). Initial American attempts to launch a satellite into orbit using the Vanguard rocket suffered spectacular failures, heightening fears of Soviet domination in space" (The Cold War, 2019). -
Martin Luther King Jr. "I Have a Dream" Speech
"...August 1963...march called for...civil rights legislation, school integration, an end to discrimination...job training for the unemployed, and a raise in the minimum wage. On the steps of the Lincoln Memorial, King delivered his famous 'I Have a Dream' speech, an internationally renowned call for civil rights that raised the movement’s profile to new heights and put unprecedented pressure on politicians to pass meaningful civil rights legislation"(The Sixties, 2019). -
President Kennedy Assassinated
"Kennedy offered support for a civil rights bill, but southern resistance was intense and Kennedy was unwilling to expend much political capital on it. And so the bill stalled in Congress. Then, on November 22, 1963, President Kennedy was assassinated in Dallas. The nation’s youthful, popular president was gone. Vice President Lyndon Johnson lacked Kennedy’s youth, his charisma, his popularity, and his aristocratic upbringing..." (The Sixties, 2019). -
U.S. Marines Land in Vietnam
"Congress passed the Gulf of Tonkin Resolution, granting President Johnson the authority to deploy the American military to defend South Vietnam. U.S. Marines landed in Vietnam in March 1965, and the American ground war began. American forces ... were tasked with defending South Vietnam against the insurgent VC and the regular North Vietnamese Army (NVA). But no matter how many troops the Americans sent or how many bombs they dropped, they could not win" (The Sixties, 2019). -
Voting Rights Act of 1965
"'Bloody Sunday' featured peaceful protesters attacked by white law enforcement with batons and tear gas ...Coverage of the first march prompted President Johnson to present the bill that became the Voting Rights Act of 1965, an act that abolished voting discrimination in federal, state, and local elections. In two consecutive years, landmark pieces of legislation had assaulted de jure (by law) segregation and disenfranchisement" (The Sixties, 2019). -
Moon Landing
"In 1969, Americans hailed the moon landing as a profound victory in the space race against the Soviet Union. This landmark achievement fulfilled the promise of the late John F. Kennedy, who had declared in 1961 that the United States would put a man on the moon by the end of the decade. But while Neil Armstrong said his steps marked 'one giant leap for mankind,' and Americans marveled at the achievement, the brief moment of wonder only punctuated years of turmoil" (The Sixties, 2019). -
Watergate
"On June 17, 1972, five men were arrested inside the offices of the Democratic National Committee (DNC) in the Watergate Complex in downtown Washington, D.C. ...attempting to install sophisticated bugging equipment" (The Unraveling, 2019). "Whether or not the president ordered the Watergate break-in, the White House launched a massive cover-up" (The Unraveling, 2019). This scandal unraveled 'public trust' (The Unraveling, 2019). Photo Credit: Records of the U.S. Information Agency, 1974 -
Paris Peace Accords
"Another three years passed—and another twenty thousand American troops died—before an agreement was reached.15 After Nixon threatened to withdraw all aid and guaranteed to enforce a treaty militarily, the North and South Vietnamese governments signed the Paris Peace Accords in January 1973, marking the official end of U.S. force commitment to the Vietnam War. Peace was tenuous, and when war resumed North Vietnamese troops quickly overwhelmed southern forces" (The Unraveling, 2019). -
Nixon Resigns
"Citing executive privilege, Nixon refused to comply with orders to produce tapes from the White House’s secret recording system. In July 1974, the House Judiciary Committee approved a bill to impeach the president. Nixon resigned before the full House could vote on impeachment. He became the first and only American president to resign from office. Vice President Gerald Ford was sworn in as his successor and a month later granted Nixon a full presidential pardon" (The Unraveling, 2019).