1954-1975 Timeline APUSH by meriwetherlewis

McCarthyism

Feb 9, 1950

history.com Joseph R. McCarthy was definitely a problem in the U.S. In February 1950, he delivered a speech declaring 205 communists working within the State Department. He launched a second "red scare" within the paranoid atmosphere of the Cold War. He launched interrogations and violated civil liberties. President Eisnehower disapproved of his tactics. There were never any proven communists within the State Department.

Dwight D. Eisenhower

Jan 20, 1953

history.com Americans like to elect their generals. As one of the most important generals in World War II, "Ike" was a perfect fit as the 34th president of the United States. He eventually led an end to the Korean War in 1953. He also continued many New Deal programs and expanded Social Security. Although immensely popular, he lacked in the protection of civil rights.

Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka, Kansas

May 17, 1954

history.com The Supreme Court's ruling in Brown v. Board of Education--which ended federal tolerance of racial segregation--overturned the Court's previous ruling in Plessy v. Ferguson (1896). Public schools were now legally obligated to integrate their students. This case sparked the civil right's movement.

Rosa Parks Bus Incident

Dec 1, 1955

history.com On December 1, 1955, Rosa Parks boarded a bus in Montgomery, Alabama, on her way home from work. When asked to move towards the back of the bus so a white man could take her seat, she refused. Two officers later arrived, and she was put under arrest. Her opposition to discrimination later led to the Montgomery Bus Boycott.

Montgomery Bus Boycott

Dec 5, 1955

history.com Spurred by Ms. Rosa Parks, the yearlong black boycott of city buses in Montgomery,Alabama unfolded. The young Martin Luther King, Jr. emerged as one of the leaders of the boycott. It is the first large-scale demonstration against segregation in the United States. It showed the South that blacks would no longer submit themselves to the absurdities of segregation. TheSupremeCourt ordered Montgomery to integrate buses.

Eisenhower's Interstate Highway System

Jun 29, 1956

history.com A "National System of Interstate and Defense Highways" was signed into law by Ike, with the Federal-Aid Highway Act of 1956 on June 29, 1956. This bill eliminated unsafe roads and traffic jams as well as prepared the nation in the case of atomic attack.

SCLC

Feb 14, 1957

stanford.edu The founding of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference was spurred by the Montgomery Bus Boycott. It was founded to redeem "the soul of America" through nonviolent acts. The SCLC was led by Martin Luther King Jr. and was supported by black churches.

Little Rock Nine

Sep 4, 1957

history.com In September 1957, nine black students registered to attend the originally all-white Central High School in Little Rock, Arkansas. On the first day, the Arkansas National Guard stopped the nine students from entering school. Later that month, Eisenhower had to send in federal troops to escort the students to their classes.

Greensboro Sit-In Leads to Sit-In Movement Leads to SNCC

Feb 1, 1960

history.com On February 1, 1960, four black students sat down at a lunch counter in Greensboro, North Carolina, and were denied service. They refused to give up their seats and the peaceful protests grew among college students. By the summer of 1960, most restaurants across the South were being integrated. These sit-in movements launched the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC).

John F. Kennedy

Jan 20, 1961

history.com As the youngest and first Catholic president to be elected into office, JFK faced some colassal harships. He cradled the nation as it teetered on the brink of nuclear war, and dealt with Cold War tensions in Vietnam. He also strongly supported civil rights. He was assassinated on November 22, 1963.

JFK's Peace Corps

Mar 1, 1961

history.com On March 1st, 1961, John F. Kennedy issued an executive order establishing the Peace Corps as a trial program. Months later, Congress voted to make it permanent. It was developed to help nations struggling to economic and social progress. Young volunteers were to go to underdeveloped countries.

Birminham Campaign

Apr 3, 1963

stanford.edu The campaign was launched on April 3, with various direct action and sit-ins. On May 2, 1,000+ black students started to march to downtown Birmingham and hundreds were arrested. On television, the nation was horrified to see the peaceful marchers repelled by attack dogs and high-pressure fire hoses.

JFK's Civil Rights Announcement

Jun 11, 1963

history.com Kennedy could no longer remain quiet on the subject of civil rights. On June 11th, 1963, he ordered the Alabama National Guard to the University of Alabama in Tuscaloosa to allow two black students to attend. He then delivered a speech that evening and proposed a new civil rights legislation to protect black citizens, though didn't live to see any action take place.

March on Washington

Aug 28, 1963

history.com On August 28, 1963, Martin Luther King Jr. led more than 200,000 black and white demonstrators on a peaceful "March on Washington," where he delivered his famous "I Have a Dream" speech. This march was to shed light on the political and social challenges faced by black Americans.

Lyndon B. Johnson

Nov 22, 1963

history.com On the day of JFK's assassination, Johnson was promptly sworn in. He established his Great Society program to fight a "war on poverty." He achieved many things domestically, but failed when it came to the guiding the nation through the Vietnam war.

Civil Rights Act of 1964

Jul 2, 1964

history.com Lyndon be Johnson signed the Civil RIghts Act of 1964 into law on July 2, 1964. It gave the government more muscle to enforce school-desegregation and to prohibit racial discrimination in all kinds of public accomidations and employment.

Operation Rolling Thunder

Mar 2, 1965

history.com The first sustained American assualt on North Vietnamese territory was launched on March 2, 1965. Dubbed Operation Rolling Thunder, American soldiers dropped bombs throughout North Vietnam from March 1965 to October 1968. These attacks were intended to put military pressure on the Communist leaders and lessen their ability to wage war against South Vietnam. The effectiveness is arguable.

Bloody Sunday

Mar 7, 1965

blackpast.org From January to February 1965, King led demonstration to the Dallas County courthouse. When a protester was shot by an Alabama state trooper, a protest march was scheduled for March 7 from Selma to Montgomery. 600 marchers assembled and when police told them to turn back and they refused, the officers shot teargas at them and beat them. This day was dubbed "Bloody Sunday."

Voting Rights Act of 1965

Aug 6, 1965

history.com On August 6, 1965, Johnson signed one of the most important pieces of civil rights legislation into law--the Voting Rights Act of 1965. It finally granted blacks the right to vote. Blacks now had power.

Tet Offensive

Jan 31, 1968

history.com On Tet, the lunar new year holiday, the NVA and Viet Cong launched a series of attacks on more than 100 cities in South Vietnam. These attacks were called the Tet Offensive. The US and South Vietnam were able to stand up to these attacks, but caused an even bigger loss of the American homefront.

My Lai

Mar 16, 1968

history.com On March 16, 1968, American soldiers went on a search and destroy mission to the small South Vietnamese village of My Lai. There, they killed what is believed to be 500 people, and managed to cover it up for a year. Only one officer was charged with a war crime. This is one of the worst episodes of violence agaisnt civilians in all of the Vietnam War.

Assassination of Martin Luther King Jr.

Apr 4, 1968

history.com On April 3rd, Martin Luther King Jr. delivered a speech in Memphis Tennessee, that seemed to foreshadow his untimely death. The next evening, King was standing on the second-floor balcony of a motel where he was staying and was shot in the neck. He died at 39.

Richard M. Nixon

Jan 20, 1969

history.com Richard Nixon is better remembered for his faults. He was the only president ever to resign from office. His most valuable asset was his expertise in foreign affairs. He also withdrew American troops from the unpopluar Vietnam War. His good deeds were tainted with the Watergate scandal. He resigned before impeachment on August 9, 1974.

SALT and ABM

May 27, 1972

history.comThe Strategic Arms Limitation Talks (SALT) were two rounds of negotiations between the United States and the Soviet Union. Nixon and the Soviet president met and the SALT negotiations were signed on May 27 and first limited the number of anti-ballistic missile sites (ABM) each country could have to two. And also froze the existing levels of intercontinanetal ballistic missiles and submarine launched ballistic missiles. These were the first steps to slowing the arms race.

Watergate

Jun 17, 1972

history.com Nixon's presidency went down the drain with the Watergate scandal. 5 of his men were found planting "bugs" in the offices of the Democratic National Committee to find out their strategies of winning the election of 1972 to help the Republican campaign. Nixon denied it but then was found guilty when tapes were finally revealed. He then resigned on August 9, 1974.

Gerald R. Ford

Aug 9, 1974

history.com Following the resignation of Richard Nixon, Ford was the only vice president and president who was elected to neither. After an extensive background check, he helped restore American confidence in the government after Watergate.

Ford Pardons Nixon

Sep 8, 1974

history.com After the Watergate Scandal and Nixon's resignation, Gerald Ford took over the presidency. In a speech on September 8, 1974, Ford granted a complete pardon for any crimes Nixon may have committed. He defended this action by saying he wanted to end the national divisions created by the Watergate Scandal.

Conditional Amnesty

Sep 16, 1974

nytimes.com On September 16, 1974, the forgiving Ford offered a conditional amnesty to thousands of Vietnam draft evaders as well as military deserters if they work for up to two years in public service jobs.

Operation Frequent Wind

Apr 29, 1975

history.com Operation Frequent Wind occured during the last days of the Vietnam War. It was one of the largest helicopter evacuations in history. It removed the last American from Saigon and at-risk Vietnamese civilians. 81 helicopters carried more than 1,000 American and almost 6,000 Vietnamese to aircraft carriers offshore.

The Fall of Saigon

Apr 30, 1975

history.com The North Vietnamese Army continued defeating the South Vietnamese as they worked their way toward Saigon. The NVA met little resistance when they attacked on April 30, 1975. They took over and the city was renamed Ho Chi Minh City. This marked the end of the Vietnam War.