1955-1975

  • Geneva Summit

    The first conference between the Soviet and American leaders along those of France and Great Britain.
  • Rosa Parks Arrested

    Rosa parks refused to give up her seat on a city bus to a white an and is arrested. Would go on to be the turning point for the African American freedom struggle.
  • Interstate Highway system

    Eisenhower signs the federal- aid highway act of 1956 which will create the interstate.
  • Eisenhower Re-elected

    Eisenhower is elected to a second term
  • Soviets test ICBM

    Soviet Union announced that they have launched the first intercontinental ballistic missile.
  • Little rock Desegregation

    Eisenhower sends federal troops to Little Rock Arkansas to enforce the court ordered desegregation of the city's public schools.
  • Sputnik

    The soviets launch Sputnik, the first manmade satellite.
  • U.S. Launches Satellite

    The U.S. launches its first satellite, explorer I. Marking the U.S. entry to space.
  • Transatlantic air travel begins

    The British overseas airways corporation begins the first regular jet airline service across the Atlantic ocean.
  • Counter Sit-ins

    Sit-in demonstrations begin in Charlotte North Carolina as black students protested segregation at woolworths lunch counter.
  • JFK defeats Nixon and becomes president

    JFK becomes the youngest elected president.
  • Bay of pigs

    A force of 1,500 Cubans exile trained and financed by the U.S. lands at the bay of pigs in Cuba in an attempt to overthrow the Castro regime.
  • JFK assassinated

    President JFK is shot and killed riding in his car through town.
  • Johnson landslide

    Lyndon B Johnson wins the presidential election with tremendous numbers.
  • March on the Pentagon

    Thousands march to the Pentagon to demonstrate against the war in Vietnam
  • Johnson seeks the end

    President Johnson meets with his military advisors who urge him to find a way to end the war in Vietnam
  • MLK Assassinated

    MLK is assassinated at the Lorraine motel in Memphis.
  • Nixon Elected President

    Republican Richard Nixon is elected President of the U.S.
  • Nixon promises withdrawal of troops

    President Nixon promises to withdraw 35,000 additional troops from Vietnam.
  • Congress votes to withdraw troops

    The house and the Senate vote to withdraw all U.S. troops in Vietnam.
  • 26th Amendment ratified

    The 26th Amendment is ratified, lowering the national voting age from 21 to 18
  • Watergate

    Five men are caught burglarizing the headquarters for the Democratic National Committee.
  • Nixon reelected

    Nixon defeats Democratic candidate Senator George McGovern in the presidential election.
  • Vietnam Ceasefire Signed

    South Vietnam, North Vietnam, and the United States sign a peace agreement in which a ceasefire is declared.
  • End of Vietnam

    The Vietnam war is officially over for the U.S.
  • Nixon Resigns

    President Nixon resigns amidst the watergate scandal, Vice president Gerald Ford would fill in for Nixon
  • Saigon falls

    The North Vietnamese take Saigon, and the war in Vietnam ends.