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John F. Kennedy is Assassinated
While driving in a motorcade through Dallas, Texas, President Kennedy is shot at several times, with several of the bullets hitting him. He is rushed to a nearby hospital but declared dead soon after. Although some controversy surrounds who exactly assassinated him, there is significant evidence that the assassination was the work of Lee Harvey Oswald and not (as some people like to think) the work of a conspiracy. -
The Civil Rights Act
On July 2nd, 1964 Congress passed a landmark bill, creating the Civil Rights Act. Although it was not the first Civil Rights Act to be passed, it is generally considered the most important. It banned segregation in public places and ensured that nobody could be discriminated against because of their race, gender, ethnicity, or religion. -
Gulf of Tonkin Incident
On August 2nd, 1964, the USS Maddox reports incoming fire from North Vietnamese ships. Although American "advisors" had been in South Vietnam for some time, the Gulf of Tonkin incident escalated the situation and resulted in American ground troops landing in Vietnam in 1965. The Vietnam War had officially started for the United States. -
The Great Society (EOA)
Lyndon Johnson passes the Great Society's Economic Opportunity Act of 1964. The cornerstone of the Great Society programs was Johnson's "war on poverty." The program spent nearly $3 billion dollars on the war on poverty. Other parts of the Great Society included Medicare and Medicaid, the Elementary and Secondary Education Act, the National Endowment for the Arts, and the National Endowment for the Humanities. -
Voting Rights Act of 1965
On August 6th, 1965, Lyndon Johnson passed the Voting Rights Act. This act together with the Civil Rights Act of 1964 helped to end Jim Crowe laws. The Voting Rights Act particularly made it easier for African Americans and other minority groups to vote by having federal oversight of southern voting to ensure that African Americans and minorities were allowed to vote. -
The Tet Offensive
In January of 1968, the Tet Offensive began in Vietnam, attacking more than 100 places in South Vietnam. Even though the attacks were repelled, they demonstrated that even after years of war, American and Southern Vietnamese forces were no closer to defeating the North Vietnamese than they were when they started. The North could still reach and attack anywhere in the country, and the Tet Offensive (combined with negative sentiment back home) helped propel anti-war feelings in America. -
Martin Luther King Jr. is Assassinated
On April 4th, 1968, Martin Luther King Jr. is assassinated. King was a leader of the Civil Rights movement and he was instrumental in bringing about change in many different cities. King hoped to end discrimination and segregation, and after he experiences success in getting African Americans these rights, he worked to help bring them out of the poverty that was so common for the average African American. -
National Environmental Policy Act
President Nixon passes the National Environmental Policy Act on January 1st, 1970. Eight years earlier, in 1962, Rachel Carson had published her landmark book "Silent Springs" showing all of the harmful things humans were doing to the environment. The book resonated with many Americans and foreshadowed a growing movement of environmentalists. Nixon also created the Environmental Protection Agency which had the job of protecting natural environments (air, water, endangered species, etc).