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The first televised presidential candidate debate took place on CBS. Kennedy and Nixon debated about domestic issues
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Democrat Kennedy defeated Republican Richard Nixon by a paper thin margin.
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1400 Cuban exiles invaded the southern coast of Cuba. The whole event was masterminded by the US, but Kennedy insisted on covert action. Castro's forces quashed the invasion in 2 days.
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The Soviets and East Germans sealed off their zone of Berlin to stop the flow of talent to the West. Tensions eased soon after when the Soviets signed a separate peace treaty with Germany
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Supreme Court decision that banned school prayer. Conservative Americans were incensed
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Supreme Court case enabling federal courts to intervene in and to decide reapportionment cases
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President Kennedy informed the nation of the existence of Soviet missiles in Cuba. He also discussed his plans to remove them and blamed Khrushchev for the whole situation
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200,000 marchers gathered for a rally in front of the Lincoln Memorial. They listened to hymns, speeches, and prayers for racial justice. MLK Jr's speech was the highlight of the event
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Authorities - under Bull Connor - broke up a demonstration in Birmingham. The nation was appalled by televised scenes of police brutality
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South Vietnamese leader Diem was overthrown and killed in an American coup. The resulting power vacuum drew America deeper into their involvement with Vietnam.
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Oswald shot President Kennedy as he rode in a motorcade in dowton Dallas. JFK's death shocked the world.
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Johnson gave his State of the Union address, announcing that his administration was declaring a war on poverty in America
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North Vietnamese torpedo boats attacked the Maddox, an American destroyer that had been engaged in electronic intelligence gathering in the Gulf of Tonkin
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LBJ created this program, which mandated health insurance under the Social Security program for Americans over 65. Truman witnessed the signing of the law.
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Banned literacy tests in states and counties in which less than the population had voted in 1964. Provided for federal rigstrars in these areas to assure blacks the franchise
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Betty Friedan founded the National Organization for Women. It was later challenged by people with more extreme views
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Over 100,000 demonstrators confronted military policemen guarding the Pentagon
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An American copany led by Lieutenant Calley, Jr., killed more than 200 unarmed villagers.
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Almost 10,000 high school students walked out of class in East Los Angeles high schools.
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Martin Luther King Jr was assassinated in Memphis just before he could lead his Poor People's March on Washington
