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Baby Boom
In the 1930s, the population of the United States grew from 9 million to 29 million. -
Period: to
Cold War Era
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Joseph McCarthy accuses government officials of being Communist Sympathisers.
Senator Joseph McCarthy claimed to have a list of 205 state department members who practiced Communism. This caused many to lose their jobs and and escalated fears about Communism. -
Court Case: "Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka"
Oliver Brown challenged Kansas School Board because they prohibited his daughter from recieving convienent education based on her race. Supreme Court decides in his favor and makes segregation illegal. -
Korean War Begins
North Korean troops invade over the 38th parallel and begin the conflict in Korea. -
Armistice halts conflict in Korea
North and South Korea agreed to end fighting by signing an armistice. This redrew the border near the 28th parallel and installed a Demilitarized Zone. -
Montgomery Bus Boycott
After Rosa parks refused to gve up her seat to a white man on a Montgomery Bus, many black Americans boycotted the bus system. -
Little Rock 9
Nine African American students attended an all-white central high school. When they met resistance, Eisenhower sent Federal Troops to protect them. -
Sputnik
The USSR launched the first artificial spacecraft: "Sputnik." This worried Americans becuase they thought the Soviets could put weapons in space. -
Fidel Castro comes to power
Dictator Fidel Castro came to power in Cuba and allied with USSR. This caused a wave of Cuban immigrants to come to America. -
JFK elected
John Fitzgerald Kennedy was elected by a small margin in a close race with Richard Nixon. -
Bay of Pigs Invasion
JFK approves plan to send 1,200 Cuban Exiles to the Bay of Pigs attack Castro. The invasion failed. -
Cuban Missile Crisis
American planes spot Soviet missiles in Cuba. Americans set up a blockade, and the USSR eventually backs down. -
JFK assasinated
While driving in Dallas, Harvey Oswald shot and killed John Kennedy. -
LBJ sworn in
In the aftermath of JFK's assassination, Lyndon B. Johnson is sworn in on Airforce 1. -
Civil Rights Act of 1964
Congress approved the Civil Rights Act, which gave more protection to all citizens' voting rights. It also ended segregation. -
Gulf of Tonkin Resolution
President Johnson anounced theat North Vietnemese torpedo boats had attacked American ships and helped pass the Gulf of Tonkin Resolution in Congress that gave him the ability to take all means necessary to preserve national security, effectively allowing the president to wage war without Congressional approval. -
Civil Rights Protest in D.C.
The biggest Civil Rights protest recorded happened at the National Mall. Martin Luther King Jr. gave his famous "I Have a Dream" speach. -
LBJ re-elected
LBJ is re-elected by a landslide and puts the "Headstart" program in to effect. -
Voting Rights Act of 1995
Congress Approved the Voting Rights Act. This allowed Federal Officials to register voters in states practicing descrimination. -
AAPA
The Asian American Political Alliance is formed. The grouup promoted the rights and culture of Asian Americans -
Anti-war movement peaks
"Doves" all over the country stage rallies and refuse to join the military by burning draft cards on College campuses. Johnson's popularity plummeted. -
Tet Offinsive
The Vietcong launched surpsise attacks all over South Vietnam. This proved that even with more than 500,000 American troops in Vietnam, we could not defeat the Vietcong. Approval for the war decreased drastically. -
Nixon elected
President Richard Nixon is elected after Johnson chooses not to run for re-election due to growing discontent. -
Moon landing
Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin execute the first moon landing, becoming instantly famous. Their spacecraft was Apollo 11. -
ERA
The Equal Rights Amendment banned discrimination based on gender. -
President Nixon visits the Soviet Union
President Nixon becomes the first American Presidnt to visit the Soviet Union. -
Watergate Scandal
President NIxon agreed to a robbery and then lied about it. Because of this he was later forced to resign. -
AIM occupies Wounded Knee
The American Indian Movement protested treatment of Native Americans by occupying Wounded Knee, South Dakota for several weeks. -
Withdrawl of US troops
The last United States troops left Vietnam. -
Ford sworn in to office
Gerald Ford is sworn in as president after Nixon resigns. He granted Nixon a full pardon, costing him much popularity. -
Carter elected
President Carter was elected by a narrow margin against Ford. -
Soviet troops attack Afganistan
Soviet troops invaded Afganistan to support the newly enstated Communist government there. -
Raegan elected
Ronald Raegan is elected. His polocies include the idea that the USSR was the focus of evil in the modern world. He is therefore tough on Communists. -
INF signed
President Raegan and Preimer Gorbachev sign the Intermidate Nuclear Force Treaty. This treaty demanded that both countries dispose of short and medium range nuclear missiles and that they can inspect each other's sites. -
Berlin Wall falls
The Berlin Wall is destroyed and Berlin is reunited. -
Soviet Union falls
Revolts all over the Soviet Union bring about the end of the Cold War.