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The French were defeated. This lead to Vietnamese independence.
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The Supreme Court ruled in the Brown v. Board of Education. This meant that segregation in public scools was not constitutional and against the Fourteenth Amendment.
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Rosa Parks refuses to give up her bus seat to a white man. She is arrested, which is what started the Montgomery Bus Boycott.
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Rosa Parks refused to give up her bus seat to a white man. Many other people showed their support for her by starting a mass chain reaction which changed American society.
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The Supreme Court makes a historical decision. They declared that separate-but-equal doctrine is no longer constitutional.
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Martin Luther King and other leaders care the Southern Christian Leadership Conference. Its goal was to eliminate segregation.
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Eisenhower sends troops to Little Rock. This was all to ensure integration of a high school (Central High).
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Students in Greensboro, North Carolina, stage a sit-in at a lunch counter. From this point on, these sit-ins spread to many parts of the country.
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James Farmer creates the first Freedom Riders. The goal was to desegregate interstate bus travel.
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James Meredith tied to register at the University of Mississippi. Because of riots, Kennedy had to send troops to that location.
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The last United States troops are withdrawn from Vietnam. This ended the longest war in American history (up to that point).
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Martin Luther King Jr. delivers his famous "I Have a Dream" speech. This was to support the new civil rights act.
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President Johnson signed the Civil Rights Act of 1964. It was the most comprehensive civil rights law Congress had ever enacted.
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The United States starts to bomb Northern Vietnam. This is called "Operation Rolling Thunder."
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King leads a march in Selma, Alabama in support for new voting rights. The police attacked the marchers.
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The first combat troops land in Vietnam. This is only six days after the United States started to bomb Northern Vietnam.
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North Vietnamese joins forces with Viet Cong to launch the Tet Offensive. This attack was on about 100 cities and towns in Southern Vietnam.
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United States soldiers killed hundreds of innocent civilians in the town of Mai Lai. The citizens of the United States did not hear about this until November of 1969.
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Ho Chi Minh dies at the age of 79. He was the Communist revolutionary leader.
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President Nixon orders troops to attack locations in Cambodia. This sparked nationwide protests.
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The North Vietnamese cross the demilitarized zone at the 17th parallel to attack South Vietnam. This became known as the Easter Offensive.
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Melvin Laird, Secretary of Defense, ends the Vietnam draft. This was done in favor of voluntary enlistment.
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United States forces leave Vietnam. This ended the longest war in American history up to that point in history.
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Congress passed the War Powers Act to reestablish some limits on executive power. This required the president to inform Congress of any commitment of troops within 48 hours.
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North Vietnam assaults Southern Vietnam. As a result of this, Saigon falls.