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Period: to
1960/1970 Events
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John F. Kennedy elected President
He becomes the youngest man ever to be elected president of the United States, narrowly beating Republican Vice President Richard Nixon. -
Bay of Pigs
Invasion begins when a CIA-financed and trained group of Cuban refugees lands in Cuba and attempts to topple the communist government of Fidel Castro. The attack was an utter failure. -
Cuban Missile Crisis
An American U-2 spy plane secretly photographed nuclear missile sites being built by the Soviet Union on the island of Cuba. President Kennedy did not want the Soviet Union and Cuba to know that he had discovered the missiles. He met in secret with his advisors for several days to discuss the problem. -
John F. Kennedy Assassinated
The 35th president of the United States, is assassinated while traveling through Dallas, Texas, in an open-top convertible. -
The Beatles perform in U.S. for the first time
Was a significant development in the history of the band's commercial success. In addition to establishing the Beatles international stature, it changed attitudes to popular music in the United States. -
Gulf of Tonkin Resolution Passed
The United States Congress overwhelming approves the Gulf of Tonkin Resolution, giving President Lyndon B. Johnson nearly unlimited powers to oppose "communist aggrssion" in Southeast Asia. -
U.S. involvement in Vietnam War Begins
During the lunar new year (or "Tet") holiday, North Vietnamese and communist Viet Cong forces launched a coordinated attack against a number of targets in South Vietnam. The U.S. and South Vietnamese militaries sustained heavy losses before finally repelling the communist assault. -
Tet offensive
Some 70,000 North Vietnamese and Viet Cong forces launched the Tet Offensive (named for the lunar new year holiday called Tet), a coordinated series of fierce attacks on more than 100 cities and towns in South Vietnam. -
Election of 1968
The Republican nominee, former Vice President Richard Nixon won the election over the Democratic nominee, Vice President Hubert Humphrey. -
President Nixon Goes to China
Nixon takes a dramatic first step toward normalizing relations with the communist People's Republic of China (PRC) by traveling to Beijing for a week of talks. -
Watergate Affair
Was a major political scandal that occured in the United States in the 1970s as a result of the break-in at the Democratic National Committee (DNC) headquarters at the Watergate office complex in Washington, D.C., and the Nixon administration's attempted cover-up of its involvement. -
U.S. involvement in Vietnam War Ends
The United States ended its military involvement in Vietnam. Although the war would continue another two years, the South Vietnamese would no longer receive American assistance. -
Richard Nixon Resigns Presidency
Announces his intention to become the first president in American History to resign. With impeachment proceedings underway against him for his involvment in the Watergate affair, Nixon was finally bowing to pressure from the public and Congress to leave the White House. -
Jimmy Carter elected president
Took his first step on the road to the White House in 1972 by becoming chair of the Democratic Governor's Campaign Committee, and then his scond step in 1974 by getting himself named as the campaign chairman of the Democratic National Committee. -
Camp David Accords (between Egypt and Israel)
Agreements between Israel and Egypt that led in the following year to a peace treaty between those two countires, the first such treaty between Isreal and any of its Arab neighbours. -
Iranian Hostage Crisis
An angry mob of young Islamic revolutionaries overran the U.S. Embassy in Tehran, taking more than 60 Americans hostage. "From the moment the hostages were seized until they were released minutes after Ronald Reagan took the oath of office as president 444 days later, "wrote historian. -
Ronald Reagan
Former Western movie actor and host of television's popluar "Death Valley Days" is sworn in as the 40th president of the United States.
