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Minimum Wage Changes
Minimum wage is increased from 75 cents to $1 per hour. -
Polio Vaccine
Jonas Salk developed a polio vaccine and the annual number of polio cases fell from 35,000 in 1953 to 5,600 by 1957. By 1961 only 161 cases were recorded in the United States -
Stock Market Crash
As a result of the President's heart attack, the stock market suffers. The market that had seen stocks triple on Wall Street in the previous seven years went into a tailspin, the Dow Jones plummeting over 6 percent and losing $14 billion in value -
Rosa Parks Bus Boycott
It was the first example of the economic clout that the community had because eventually, the bus company had to desegregate their buses or face serious financial difficulties as very many black Americans used the buses. Without their economic input via fares, the bus company of Montgomery faced probable bankruptcy. -
Interstate Highway Act
From this people were allowed to transport goods quicker across the country and that reduced cost of the overall price. If they got it there faster, it was less cost to the consumer. -
"In God we trust"
‘In God We Trust’ becomes nation’s motto, July 30, 1956 -
Eisenhower Doctrine
Under the Eisenhower Doctrine, a country could request American economic assistance/aid from U.S. military forces if it was being threatened by armed aggression from another state. -
Civil Rights Act of 1957
Ensured that all Americans could exercise their right to vote. The U.S. Congress approves the first civil rights bill since reconstruction with additional protection of voting rights. -
Space Race Begins
Sputnik was the first artificial Earth satellite. This affected the U.S. economy because there was a new emphasis on science and technology in American schools. -
First U.S Satellite Launch
The first attempt by the United States to launch a satellite into space fails when it explodes on the launchpad. -
First Successful U.S Satellite
Explorer I, the first U.S. space satellite, is launched by the Army at Cape Canaveral. It would discover the Van Allen radiation belt. We were one step closer in the space race. -
NASA Begins
NASA also selects the first seven military pilots to become the Mercury Seven, the first astronauts of the United States. -
National Defense Education Act
This act funded education institutions at all levels. America was competing with the Soviet Union in areas of science & technology. This affected the economy because they were making breakthroughs. It was important because it encouraged students to continue their education after high school. -
Cuban Revolution
During the Cuban Revolution it transformed the relationship between Cuba and the United States. Castro took over Cuba and from that the U.S. lost trade with them. -
Alaska and Hawaii Become States
Alaska and Hawaii become the 49th and 50th states of America -
Greensboro Sit ins
The Greensboro sit-in was a civil rights protest that started in 1960, when young African American students staged a sit-in at a segregated Woolworth’s lunch counter in Greensboro, North Carolina, and refused to leave after being denied service. -
John F Kennedy Becomes President
Was an American politician who served as the 35th president of the United States from January 1961 until his assassination in November 1963. -
Bay of Pigs
The Bay of Pigs invasion was a failed landing operation on the southwestern coast of Cuba in 1961 by Cuban exiles who opposed Fidel Castro's Cuban Revolution. -
"The Other America"
Michael Harrington published "The Other America" which exposed the poverty of the United States. This then exposed the issues that the American economy was facing and showed the people what was actually happening. -
Trade Expansion Act
Authorizes the President of the United States, through tariffs or other means, to adjust the imports of goods or materials from other countries if it deems the quantity or circumstances surrounding those imports to threaten national security. -
Lyndon B Johnson Becomes President
Who served as the 36th president of the United States from 1963 to 1969. Formerly the 37th vice president from 1961 to 1963, he assumed the presidency following the assassination of President John F. Kennedy. -
President Kennedy's Assassination
President John F. Kennedy was assassinated as he rode in a motorcade through Dealey Plaza in downtown Dallas, Texas. -
Vietnam War
In 1965, the United States rapidly increased its military forces in South Vietnam, prompted by the realization that the South Vietnamese government was losing the Vietnam War as the communist-dominated Viet Cong gained influence over much of the population in rural areas of the country. -
Medicare and Medicaid
President Lyndon B. Johnson signed into law legislation that established the Medicare and Medicaid programs. For 50 years, these programs have been protecting the health and well-being of millions of American families, saving lives, and improving the economic security of our nation. -
Watts Riots
was a large series of riots that broke out August 11, 1965, in the predominantly black neighborhood of Watts in Los Angeles. -
Martin Luther King Jr. Assasinated
An American clergyman and civil rights leader, was fatally shot at the Lorraine Motel in Memphis, Tennessee -
Civil RIghts Act of 1968
This provided for equal housing opportunities regardless of race, religion, or national origin and made it a federal crime to force or by threat of force, injure, intimidate, or interfere with anyone, by reason of their race, color, religion, or national origin. -
Richard Nixon Becomes President
Was the 37th president of the United States, serving from 1969 until 1974. -
1st Man on the Moon
Mission commander Neil Armstrong and pilot Buzz Aldrin land on the moon. -
26th Amendment
The 26th Amendment is ratified, allowing 18-year-olds to vote. -
Gerald Ford Becomes President
Who served as the 38th president of the United States from August 1974 to January 1977. Before his accession to the presidency, Ford served as the 40th vice president of the United States from December 1973 to August 1974. -
Nixon Resigns
The Watergate scandal escalated, costing Nixon much of his political support. On August 9, 1974, he resigned in the face of almost certain impeachment and removal from office—the only time an American president has done so. -
Microsoft Founded
Bill Gates founded Microsoft, which in time dominated the home computer operating system market.