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Battle of Dien Bien Phu
Battle ended if French defeat and eventual French withdrawl from the region, giving the Vietnamese full independance. -
Period: to
Civil Rights Era
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The Geneva Conference
The Geneva Conference on Indochina begins, attended by the U.S., Britain, China, the Soviet Union, France, Vietnam (Viet Minh and representatives of Bao Dai), Cambodia and Laos, all meeting to negotiate a solution for Southeast Asia. -
Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka, Kansas
Supreme Court ruled that it was unconstitutional and violated the equal protection clause of the Fourteenth Amendment to segregate public schools. -
U.S. first involvement
The first direct shipment of U.S. military aid to Saigon arrives. The U.S. also offers to train the fledgling South Vietnam Army. -
South Vietnam's first president
The Republic of South Vietnam is proclaimed with Diem as its first president. In America, President Eisenhower pledges his support for the new government and offers military aid. -
Rosa Parks
Rosa Parks refused to give up her seat on the bus to a white man. -
French forces leave
The last French soldier leaves South Vietnam. The French High Command for Indochina is then dissolved. -
King creates SCLC
Martin Luther King, Jr., and other Southern ministers create Southern Christian Leadership Conference. -
First American deaths in Vietnam War
Two U.S. military advisors, Maj. Dale Buis and Sgt. Chester Ovnand, are killed by Viet Minh guerrillas at Bien Hoa, South Vietnam. They are the first American deaths in the Second Indochina War which Americans will come to know simply as The Vietnam War. -
Freedom Riders
James Farmer organizes the first Freedom Riders to desegregate interstate bus travel. -
James Meredith
James Meredith becomes the first black student at the University of Mississippi. -
King's Letter from jail
King released his "Letter from Birmingham Jail", written on the margins of a newspaper, scraps of paper given to him by a janitor, and later a legal pad given by his SCLC attorneys. -
King jailed
King was released from jail. -
"I Have a Dream"
Martin Luther King delivers his "I Have a Dream" speech during the March on Washington in support of new civil rights act -
The Civil Rights Act of 1964
It focused on segegation and job discrimination, and it did little to addres voting issues. -
March in Selma, Alabama
King leads a march in Selma, Alabama, to build support for a new voting rights law; police brutally attack marchers. -
Troop deployment
The first U.S. combat troops arrive in Vietnam. -
Mai Lai massacre
U.S. soldiers kill hundreds of Vietnamese civilians in the town of Mai Lai. -
Martin Luther King Jr. dies
Then, at 6:01 p.m., April 4, 1968, a shot rang out as King stood on the motel's second floor balcony. The bullet entered through his right cheek, smashing his jaw, then traveled down his spinal cord before lodging in his shoulder. -
Ho Chi Minh dies
Communist revolutionary leader Ho Chi Minh dies at age 79. -
Learning of the Mai Lai massacre
The American public learns of the Mai Lai massacre. -
Saigon American Embassy falls
The event marked the end of the Vietnam War and the start of a transition period leading to the formal reunification of Vietnam under communist rule. -
Surrender
South Vietnam surrenders to the communists.