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Vietnam War
This was against the communist government of North Vietnam against South Vietnam and the US. This was during Cold War. More than 3 million people including Americans were killed in the Vietnam War, and more than half of the dead were Vietnamese civilians. Opposition to the war in the United States bitterly divided Americans, even after President Richard Nixon ordered the withdrawal of U.S. forces in 1973. https://www.pritzkermilitary.org/explore/vietnam-war/map/ -
The Hippie Movement
It was a counterculture started during the mid-1960s in San Francisco. Hippies wanted to move away from the ordinary ways of life and the culture. Hippies rejected established institutions, criticized middle class values, nuclear weapons and the Vietnam War. They embraced Eastern philosophy, sexual liberation, often vegetarian and eco-friendly, and promoted the use of psychedelic drugs. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BqnaiWAQyQk -
Freedom Rides
White and African American civil rights activists who participated in bus trips through the American South in 1961 to protest segregated buses. They used “whites-only” spaces at bus stations in Southern states. The groups faced arresting police officers and white protesters along their routes. They also drew international attention to their cause. https://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/follow-path-freedom-riders-interactive-map-180962313/ -
The Integration of University of Alabama
A federal district court ordered the University of Alabama to admit two African American students during its summer session. This created conflict between federal authorities and Governor Wallace who made a campaign promise to prevent the school's integration even if he had to stand in the schoolhouse door. Wallace fulfilled his campaign pledge on June 11, when he temporarily blocked the students' entrance. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YgbNc-9Di7k -
The March On Washington
This was a huge march organized in Washington, D.C. to gain public support for the civil rights movement. More than 200,000 blacks and whites gathered at the Lincoln Memorial in Washington, D.C. for the march. It raised awareness on the political and social challenges that African Americans faced in the country. Many musicians and speakers participated in the march, including Martin Luther King, Jr. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_c2lLYuYU1I -
President John F. Kennedy Assassinated
President Kennedy was visiting Dallas with his wife, Jacqueline, on the morning of November 22, 1963. Crowds of excited people lined the streets and waved to the Kennedys. The car turned off Main Street at Dealey Plaza around 12:30 p.m. Gunfire suddenly reverberated in the plaza. Bullets struck the president's neck and head and the governor was shot in his back by Lee Harvey Oswald. President Kennedy was soon rushed to the hospital and pronounced dead at 1:00 pm. -
Gulf of Tonkin Resolution
The United States officially entered the Vietnam War after Congress passed the Gulf of Tonkin Resolution which gave the president the authority to engage war in Vietnam. President Johnson had to take these measures after the events in the Gulf of Tonkin became uncontrollable. We had now become involved in a war that we weren't even supposed to be a part of; it all began because of one policy: containment. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=crALHjTiXbk -
American Astronauts Walk on the Moon
Apollo 11 was the first space flight to land the first humans on the Moon in history on July 20, 1969. Neil Armstrong and Edwin "Buzz" E. Aldrin, Jr. became the first American astronauts to walk on the Moon, Armstrong being the first of the two. Although the Apollo 11 landed on the Moon on July 20, Armstrong and Aldrin didn't walk on the Moon until the next day, on July 21. This is where he said his famous quote, "One small step for man, one giant leap for mankind". -
Ping-Pong Diplomacy
The American Ping-Pong team was invited to China to play a friendly game of ping pong in Japan for the 31st World Table Tennis Championship. They were the first group of Americans allowed into China since communism took over in 1949. The team crossed over a bridge to China, starting a period of "Ping-Pong Diplomacy". It hinted better relations between the U.S. and China. It was more than just a game of ping pong. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G1p78BXVIfU -
Watergate Scandal
It began when several burglars were arrested in the office of the Democratic National Committee, located in the Watergate complex of buildings in Washington, D.C. This was no ordinary robbery: The prowlers were connected to President Richard Nixon’s reelection campaign, and they had been caught wiretapping phones and stealing documents. Nixon took aggressive steps to cover up the crime afterwards, and in August 1974, after his role in the conspiracy was revealed, Nixon resigned. -
Hurricane Carmen hits the United States
This was the most intense tropical cyclone of the Atlantic in 1974. It started in Africa, and moved westward toward the U.S. The heaviest rainfall occurred during the storm, over 13 inches in Alabama. Gusts were as high as 86 mph and tides were up to 6 feet taller than normal. Louisiana was hit the hardest by the storm since it lost its sugarcane crops, which was crucial to the country. Other crops were damaged in the state as well. A total of eight people died in the storm. -
HIV/AIDS epidemic
HIV and AIDS had begun to rise tremendously from June of 1981. The number of people with HIV and AIDS had increased rapidly after the Hippie Movement. They had been using drugs unsafely and sharing needles, which was a huge factor in the transmission of the virus. More than 700,000 people with AIDS have died since the beginning of the epidemic. https://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/follow-path-freedom-riders-interactive-map-180962313/
