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Nixon-Kennedy Debates (1st on Television)
The debate was watched live by 70 million Americans and it made politics an electronic spectator sport. It also gave many potential voters their first chance to see actual presidential candidates in a live environment, as potential leaders. -
The Assassination of John F. Kennedy
As it was passing the Texas School Book Depository, gunfire suddenly reverberated in the plaza. Bullets struck the president's neck and head and he slumped over toward Mrs. Kennedy. The governor was shot in his back. The car sped off to Parkland Memorial Hospital just a few minutes away. -
The Beatles Appear for the first time on the Ed Sullivan Show
Four lads from Liverpool took to the stage for their first televised performance in America, forever altering the course of music history. The Beatles' appearance on The Ed Sullivan Show was a cultural earthquake that rippled throughout America. -
The Gulf of Tonkin Resolution
This joint resolution of Congress (H.J. RES 1145), dated August 7, 1964, gave President Lyndon Johnson authority to increase U.S. involvement in the war between North and South Vietnam. -
Operation Rolling Thunder
Operation Rolling Thunder was a frequently interrupted bombing campaign that began on 24 February 1965 and lasted until the end of October 1968. During this period U.S. Air Force and Navy aircraft engaged in a bombing campaign designed to force Ho Chi Minh to abandon his ambition to take over South Vietnam. -
March on the Pentagon
On October 21, 1967 at least 35,000 anti-war protesters organized by the National Mobilization Committee to End the War in Vietnam gathered for a demonstration at the Defense Department (the “March on the Pentagon”), where they were confronted by some 2,500 armed soldiers. -
Mai Lai Massacre
My Lai Massacre, mass killing of as many as 500 unarmed villagers by U.S. soldiers in the hamlet of My Lai on March 16, 1968, during the Vietnam War. -
Riots at the Chicago Democratic Convention
On August 28, 1968, around 10,000 protesters gathered in Grant Park for the demonstration, intending to march to the International Amphitheatre where the convention was being held. At approximately 3:30 pm, a young man lowered the American flag that was in the park. -
Newport Jazz Festival
The Newport Jazz Festival experimented with rock music for the first time on July 3, 1969. The festival's 1969 program was an experiment in fusing jazz, soul and rock music and audiences. -
Woodstock
The Woodstock Music Festival, which began on august 15th 1969 went down in pop culture history as the symbol of the counterculture movement of the sixties. Woodstock took place during the controversial Vietnam War, when many young people wanted to spread the message of peace. -
Chicago 8 Trial
On September 24, 1969, thirteen months after the riots that shocked America, the trial of the so-called "Chicago Eight" began in the oak-paneled, twenty-third-floor courtroom of Judge Julius Hoffman. -
Kent State Protest
Across the Commons at the burned-out ROTC building stood about 100 Ohio National Guardsmen carrying lethal M-1 military rifles. Substantial consensus exists that the active participants in the rally were primarily protesting the presence of the Guard on campus, although a strong anti-war sentiment was also present. -
Roe vs. Wade
On January 22, 1973, the Supreme Court struck down Texas's criminal ban on abortion and held that the right to abortion is a “fundamental right.”1 In the 7–2 opinion, the Court held that, along with decisions relating to marriage, contraception, education, and family relationships, etc -
The Beatles Break Up
On 10 April 1970, McCartney said in a press release that he was no longer working with the group, which sparked a widespread media reaction and worsened the tensions between him and his bandmates. Legal disputes continued long after his announcement, and the dissolution was not formalised until 29 December 1974.