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Period: to
The Stormy 60'a and The Stalemated 70's
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First Sit-ins
The first sit-in took place in North Carlonia where four black students sat down to order their lunch and were refused service. Sit-ins were widely popular during the Civil Rights Movement, growing to over 140 cities. Participants of the sit-ins faced harassment, violence, and arrest in their attempts to integrate restaurants. -
John F. Kennedy Elected President
Kennedy, a democrat, won the election against Richard Nixon by fewer than 117,000 popular votes. Kennedy also won the electoral vote by 84. -
The Bay of Pigs Invasion
The United States government supported Cuban exiles' attempt to overthrow Fidel Castro and to put an end to the communist rule in Cuba. The Cuban exiles were trained by the CIA, but the attack failed and led to an increase of the Cold War. -
Start of Freedom Rides
A group of both black and white activists left Washington D.C for New Orleans on the first Freedom Ride. The group of Freedom Riders set out to test the limits of the enforcement of the ban of segregation on interstate bus travel. The Freedom Riders, who were not protected by the police, would face violent attacks and arrest. -
Freedom Ride Bus Burned by White Mob
A Greyhound bus carrying Freedom Riders was burned by rampaging whites near Anniston, Alabama. Later that day there was a group of Freedom RIders that were beaten up at a bus station in Birmingham. -
Berlin Wall Built
In order to prevent travel to West Germany the Soviets and Eastern Germand built the Berlin Wall to close off all access to West Germany. Many East Germans went to West Germany for more freedom and oppertunity. -
Trade Expansion Act Enacted
The Trade Expansion Act of 1962 reduced American tariffs to stimulate foreign trade. This act gave the President the authority to reduce tariffs on imports up to 50% to incourage international trade. -
Cuban Missile Crisis
President Kennedy orders a naval "quarantine" of Cuba and demanded that they removed threatening waponsry immediately. The Soviet Union sailed to the patrol ine off the island of Cuba to discuss the situation. The Soviet Union agrees to pull all missiles out of Cuba and the United States agreed to end the quarantine and to not invade the island. -
Equal Pay Act Passed
The Equal Pay Act of 1963 made it illegal for males and females to be paid different wages for equal work. -
March On Washington
Martin Luther King Jr. along with 200,000 other civil rights activists led a March onto Washington. This is where Martin Luther King Jr gave his world famous "I Have a Dream" speech. -
JKF Assassinated
President John F Kennedy was assassinated in Dallas, Texas while riding in a motorcade. President Kennedy was shot and killed by assassin Lee Harvey Oswald. Upon President Kennedy’s death Vice President Lyndon Johnson was sworn in as president. -
Ratification of the Twenty-fourth Amendment
The Twenty-fourth Amendment abolished poll tax in federal elections. Poll taxes were normally enforced to prevent African Americans from voting. -
Civil Rights Act of 1964 Passed
The Civil RIghts Act of 1964 was signed by President Lyndon Johnson. Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 benned discrimination based on gender, race, religion, or national origin. -
The Presidential Election of 1964
Johnson won his re-election with more than 60% of the popular vote. President Lyndon Johnson easily won the election against Republican Barry Goldwater by more than fifteen million popular votes. -
Johnson's "Great Society"
In his first state of the Union address President Johnson announces his “Great Society” plan. This program called for a “war on poverty” with social welfare legislation and increased federal support for education health care and voting rights. -
Malcom X Assassinated
Malcolm X, a radical black leader and former Nation of Islam minister was killed during a lecture in Harlem. -
Voting Rights Act
The Voting Rights Act of 1965 prohibited voting test requirements for African Americans and also allowed for federal election supervision in places where African Americans had been prevented from voting. -
Immigration Act of 1965
The Immigration Act of 1965 abolished the national origins of immigration quota system. President Johnson signed this act at a cermony at the Statue of Liberty. -
Miranda v. Arizona
The rights suspects are read before they are arrested, known as the "Miranda Rights", were established. Susoects must be informed of their rights. -
Ratification of the Twenty-fifth Amendment
The Twenty-fifth Amendment establishes the procedures when filling the office of the President, and Vice President, and also when responding to Presidential disablilities. -
My Lai Massacre
More than five hundred men women and children were murdered by American infantryman in the South Vietnam town of My Lai. -
Martin Luther King Jr Assassinated
In his motel in Memphis, Tennessee Martin Luther King Jr. was shot and killed by James Earl Ray. Many riots broke out because of his tragic murder. -
Richard Nixon Elected President
Nixon, who faced off against Democrat Hubert Humphrey and American Independent Party candidate George Wallace, won in the national election. -
First Man on the Moon
The US Apollo 11 was the first manned space craft to land on the moon. Millions watched Neil Armstongs first steps on the moon on a live broadcast. -
Nixon Doctrine
The Nixon doctrine is a foreign policy that empasized the United States' commitment to its treaty obligations, and promises to protect other countries from nuclear attack. -
Invasison of Cambodia
Protests and riots broke out when President Nixon announced the United States invasion of Cambodia. -
Kent State Shooting
Four people were killed and nine wounded when the Ohio National Guard fired into a crowd of anti-war protestors at Kent State University. -
Pentagon Papers Published
The New York Times published the first of a series of articles on the Pentagon Papers, a Department of Defense report on US involvement in Vietnam. The documents revealed government deception about its actions during the previous three decades. -
Ratification of the Twenty-sixth Amendment
The Twenty-sixth Amendment grants the right to vote to any citizen at least eighteen years of age. -
Title IX
Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972 was passed, prohibiting discrimination based on gender in federally assisted educational programs. -
SALT I Treaty
US President Richard Nixon and Soviet leader Leonid Brezhnev signed the Strategic Arms Limitation Agreement, a treaty limiting nuclear weapons and antiballistic missile systems. -
Watergate Break-In
Determined to win the 1972 presidential election, the Nixon administration sent special agents—called the “Plumbers”—to the headquarters of the Democratic National Committee at the Watergate Hotel. They hoped to copy documents and wiretap telephones. The Plumbers were caught by a hotel security guard. The Nixon administration managed to cover up the incident temporarily, but the scandal was revealed by reporters and Senate hearings. Nixon was eventually forced to resign. -
Nixon is Re-elected
Richard Nixon was re-elected by a margin of nearly eighteen million popular votes over Democratic anti-war candidate George McGovern. -
Roe vs. Wade Legalizes Abortion in the United States
The Supreme Court ruled that abortion fell under the Constitutional right to privacy. The Court mandated federal protection for pregnancy termination during the first trimester and allowed state laws limiting it during the second and third trimesters. -
US pulls troops out of Vietnam
This agreement temporarily stopped the fighting between the North and the South. Though the agreement allowed the United States to withdraw, fighting between the Vietnamese continued until North Vietnam captured Saigon in 1975. -
Watergate Hearings
The Senate Watergate Committee began investigating the break-in at the Democratic National Committee’s headquarters. Based on the investigation, the House Judiciary Committee passed three articles of impeachment against Nixon in July 1974. -
Vice President Agnew resigns
Vice President Agnew retires and soon after this President Nixon will retire. -
President Nixon resigns
Rather than face impeachment for his role in the Watergate scandal, Richard Nixon resigned as president of the United States. His resignation made Gerald Ford, whom Nixon had appointed vice president upon Spiro Agnew’s resignation, president. -
Indian Self-Determination and Education Assistance Act
Congress enacted the Indian Self-Determination and Education Assistance Act, which allowed tribes to directly make federal contracts and receive grants and gave tribal governments control over their own law enforcement, education, health programs, and social services. -
Jimmy Carter Becomes President
In a close contest, Democratic nominee Jimmy Carter, a former peanut farmer and one-term Georgia governor, won the presidential election of 1976 over Republican incumbent Gerald Ford. -
Department of Energy Created
President Jimmy Carter, a proponent of conservation, signed an act that created the Department of Energy, a Cabinet-level agency responsible for national energy policy. -
Three Mile Island Disaster
An accident at a nuclear power plant on Three Mile Island, near Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, caused the release of radioactive gases. The plant narrowly avoided a meltdown when the reactor was shut down. It was the most serious nuclear power accident in American history and prompted many companies to drop nuclear energy projects. -
SALT II Treaty
President Jimmy Carter and Soviet leader Leonid Brezhnev signed the second Strategic Arms Limitation Treaty, which would have limited the number of strategic nuclear missiles in each country. Congress never approved the treaty.
