1960s

  • Newport Jazz Festival

    Newport Jazz Festival
    The Newport Jazz Festival experimented with rock music for the first time.Saturday evening’s disturbances were particularly significant, prompting producer George Wein, who feared a riot, to announce that the Sunday evening Led Zeppelin appearance was cancelled. That show was allowed to go forward as initially scheduled after much of the overflow crowd had left the city following the cancellation announcement.
  • Nixon-Kennedy Debates (1st on Television)

    Nixon-Kennedy Debates (1st on Television)
    For the first time in U.S. history, a debate between major party presidential candidates is shown on television. The presidential hopefuls, John F. Kennedy, a Democratic senator of Massachusetts, and Richard M. Nixon, the vice president of the United States, met in a Chicago studio to discuss U.S. domestic matters.
  • The Assassination of John F. Kennedy

    The Assassination of John F. Kennedy
    First lady Jacqueline Kennedy rarely accompanied her husband on political outings, but she was beside him, along with Texas Governor John Connally and his wife, for a 10-mile motorcade through the streets of downtown Dallas. Lee Harvey Oswald allegedly fired three shots from the sixth floor, fatally wounding President Kennedy and seriously injuring Governor Connally.
  • The Beatles Appear for the first time on the Ed Sullivan Show

    The Beatles Appear for the first time on the Ed Sullivan Show
    The Beatles' record-breaking first live appearance on The Ed Sullivan Show, at Studio 50 in New York City. Seventy-three million people were reported to have watched the first show.
  • The Gulf of Tonkin Resolution

    The Gulf of Tonkin Resolution
    Congress passed the Gulf of Tonkin Resolution, authorizing President Johnson to take any measures he believed were necessary to retaliate and to promote the maintenance of international peace and security in southeast Asia. This resolution became the legal basis for the Johnson and Nixon Administrations prosecution of the Vietnam War.
  • Operation Rolling Thunder

    Operation Rolling Thunder
    The operation began primarily as a diplomatic signal to impress Hanoi with America's determination, essentially a warning that the violence would escalate until Ho Chi Minh "blinked," and secondly it was intended to bolster the sagging morale of the South Vietnamese.
  • March on the Pentagon

    March on the Pentagon
    Pentagon riot, the first national protest against the war, exemplified the agonizingly divisive debate over Vietnam. Ironically, the demonstrators helped the federal government confirm its own commitment to civilian control.
  • Mai Lai Massacre

    Mai Lai Massacre
    The My Lai massacre was one of the most horrific incidents of violence committed against unarmed civilians during the Vietnam War. A company of American soldiers brutally killed most of the people like women, children and old men in the village of My Lai.
  • Riots at the Chicago Democratic Convention

    Riots at the Chicago Democratic Convention
    rally against the Vietnam War and the political status quo. By the time Vice President Herbert Humphrey received the presidential nomination, the strife within the Democratic Party was laid bare and the streets of Chicago had seen riots and bloodshed involving protesters, police and bystanders alike.
  • Woodstock

    Woodstock
    Its full name was The Woodstock Music and Art Fair. It took place on a farm property in Bethel, New York, August 15–18, 1969. Woodstock was organized by four inexperienced promoters who managed to sign rock acts that included Jimi Hendrix, Sly and the Family Stone, the Who, and the Grateful Dead.
  • Chicago 8 Trial

    Chicago 8 Trial
    The trial for eight antiwar activists charged with inciting violent demonstrations. Initially there were eight defendants, but one, Bobby Seale of the Black Panthers, denounced Hoffman as a racist and demanded a separate trial.The eight defendants was David Dellinger, Rennie Davis, Tom Hayden, Abbie Hoffman, Jerry Rubin, Lee Weiner, John Froines, and Bobby Seale.
  • The Beatles Break Up

    The Beatles Break Up
    The foursome came together as teenagers and became superstars by their early 20s, sharing a unique set of experiences and, naturally, forming a unique set of rivalries and grievances. But why did the most influential band of the 20th century break up within seven years of releasing their first album well; the answer is as complex as the relationships between the men themselves.
  • Kent State Protest

    Kent State Protest
    Four Kent State University students were killed and nine were injured.National Guard opened fire on a crowd gathered to protest the Vietnam War.
  • Roe vs. Wade

    Roe vs. Wade
    lawsuit that famously led to the Supreme Court making a ruling on abortion rights. Jane Roe, an unmarried pregnant woman, filed suit on behalf of herself and others to challenge Texas abortion laws. A Texas doctor joined Roe's lawsuit, arguing that the state's abortion laws were too vague for doctors to follow. He had previously been arrested for violating the statute.