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The Election of 1960
The Democratic nominee for president was Massachusetts senator John Kennedy. His Republican opponent was Vice President Richard M. Nixon. Nixon hoped to win by riding on the coattails of Eisenhower's popularity. However, two factors helped put Kennedy over the top: television and the civil rights issue. John F. Kennedy became the 35th president of the US in January 1961. Kennedy won by fewer than 119,000 votes. -
First Televised Debate
Kennedy and Nixon took part in the first televised debate between presidential condidates. On September 26, 1960, 70 million viewers watched the two articulate and knowledgeable condidates debating issues. Nixon, an expert on foreign policy, had agreed to the forum in hopes of exposing Kennedy's inexperience. However, Kennedy had been coached by television producers, and spoke better than Nixon. Kennedy's success launched a new era in American politics known as the television age. -
Space Race
In April 12, 1961, Soviet cosmonaut Yuri A. Gagarin became the first human in space. Kennedy decided he wanted the US to surpass the Soviets by sending a man to the moon. Seven years later, on July 20, 1969, the US achieved its goal. Astronaut Neil Armstrong was the first man to take steps on the moon. As a result, universities expanded their science programs, and the huge federal funding for research and development gave rise to new industries and new technologies. -
Berlin Wall
In 1961, Nikita Krushchev ordered the Berlin Wall built to stop the flow of refugees from East to West Berlin. Most were seeking freedom from Communist rule. The wall isolated West Berlin from a hostile German Democratic Republic. Passing was almost impossible without the Communist government's permission. During the 28 years the wall was standing, approximately 5000 people succeeded in fleeing, and almost 200 died in attempt. Today, the rubbled concrete is a reminder of the Cold War tensions. -
Cuban Missile Crisis
The flow to Cuba of soviet weapons--including nuclear missiles--increased greatly. Kennedy responded saying America would not tolerate offensive nuclear weapons in Cuba. On October 14, photographs taken by American planes revealed Soviet missile bases in Cuba-and some contained missiles ready to launch. Kennedy made it clear that a missile attack rom Cuba would trigger an all-out attack on the Soviet Union. The crisis broke and Khrushchev offered to remove missiles if US doesn't invade Cuba. -
Assassination of Kennedy
President and Mrs. Kennedy went to Texas to mend political fenceswith members of the state's Democratic Party. Jacqueline and her husband were in the back seat of an open-air limousine. In front of them sat Texas Governor John Connally and his wife, Nellie. A rifle shot rang out, and Kennedy was shot in the head. They raced to the hospital and tried to revive the president, but it was too late. President Kennedy was dead. Dallas police charged Lee Harvey Oswald with the murder. -
The Election of 1964
The Republicans nominated conservative senator Barry Goldwater of Arizona to oppose Lyndon Baines Johnson. LBJ won the election by a landslide, winning 61 percent of thep opular vote and 486 electoral votes, while Goldwater only won 52. Democrats also increased their majority in Congress. For the first time since 1938, a Democratic president did not need the votes of conservative Southern Democrats to get laws passed. -
The Great Society
Johnson had a vision for America, known as the Great Society. He said this program would create a higher standard of living and equal opportunity, and it would also promote a richer quality of life for all. By the time Johnson left office in 1969, Congress had passed 206 of his measures. He established Medicare and Medicaid for healthcare. Also passed measures in education, housing, immigration, the environment, and consumer protection. -
The Civil Rights Act of 1964
On July 2, 1964, Johnson signed the Civil Rights Act of 1964, which prohibited discrimination because of race, religion, national origin, and gender. It gave all citizens the right to enter libraries, parks, washrooms, restaurants, theaters, and other public accomodations. -
Voting Rights Act of 1965
In the Summer of 1965, Congress passed Johnson's Voting Rights Act of 1965. The act eliminated the so-called literacy tests that had disqualified many voters. It also stated that federal examiners could enroll voters who had been denied suffrage by local officials. This Act marked a major civil rights victory in the US. -
US Sends Troops to Vietnam
Johnson was determined to contain communism in Vietnam. In the years following 1965, he began sending large numbers of American troops to fight alongsidet the South Vietnamese. The president's advisers believed the defeat of communism in Vietnam to be of vital importance to the future of America and the World. By the end of 1965, the US government had sent more than 180,000 Americans to Vietnam. -
The Tet Offensive
January 30 was the Vietnamese New Year's Eve, known as Tet. Villagers celebrated their new year, but there were also many funerals being held for war victims. The coffins, however, contained weapons, and many of the villagers were Vietcong agents. They launched an attack 100 towns in South Vietnam, as well as 12 US air bases. It continued for a month before US and South Vietnamese forces gained control of the cities. Gen. Westmoreland declared the attacks an overwhelming defeat for the Vietcong. -
My Lai Massacre
On March 16, 1968, a US platoon under the command of Lieutenant William Calley Jr., had massacred innocent civilians in the small village of My Lai in northern South Vietnam. Calley was searching for Vietcong rebels. Finding no sign of the enemy, the troops rounded up the villagers and shot more than 200 innocent Vietnamese--mostly women, children, and elderly men. 25 army officers were charged with some degree of responsibility, but only Calley was convicted and imprisoned. -
Martin Luthers King, Jr.'s Death
Dr. King seemed to sense that death was near. On April 3, 1968, he addressed a crowd in Memphis, where he had gone to support the city's striking garbage workers. The next day as King stood on his hotel balcony, James Earl Ray thrust a high-powered rifle out of a window and squeezed the trigger. King crumpled to the floor. -
Woodstock
The Woodstock Festival was a three day concert held in New York that involved a lot of drugs and nudity. It has become an icon of the hippies 1960s counterculture. Woodstock was known as one of the most popular music events in history. It is estimated that 500,000 people attended the free concert. The organizers of Woodstock had an incredible debt of over 1 million dollars and 70 lawsuits were filed against them. However, the film about Woodstock paid for most of their debt.
