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President Dwight D. Eisenhower is inagurated (1953-1961.) Kennedy, David., et al. The American Pageant. Thirteenth edition. Boston: Houghton Mifflin Company, 2006
I Like Ike. That was the familiar shared notion during the 50's. It was also the first aired politcal slogan, a slogan that won Eisenhower his presidency. Eisenhower was a go getter, so much so that he went to Korea personally and threatened to nuke the North Koreans off the map if they didn't do as he said. Back home, Dwight dominated domestic conundrums, such as sending in federal troops to allow the little rock nine to go to a desegregated school. Ike was the might that fought the good fight. -
1954 Vietnam Revolution
A communist revolution ensues in vietnam after the french pullout of vietnam in 1954. The north and south are divided in hopes of keeping the south a capitalist democracy. The north is heavily supported by china and the USSR, and until the gulf of tonkin, the U.S. only send military advisers. Kennedy, David., et al. The American Pageant. Thirteenth edition. Boston: Houghton Mifflin Company, 2006 -
Brown v. Board Of Education
The supreme court unaminously overrules the 1896 Plessy v. Ferguson and rules in favor of Brown; stating, "seperate education facilities are inherently unequal." It keystone ruling in the civil rights movement, NAACP, and Marshall Thurgood who later becomes appointed as the U.S's first black supreme court justice. -
The McCarthy Trials and President Eisenhower (1949-1956)
McCarthy had accused Secretary of State D. Acheson of hiring 205 communists during Eisenhowers presidency. Senator McCarthy's claims were far-fetched and lacked evidents. His empty accusations got many asian workers fired in the state department. This loss of asian diplomats proved a disadvantage in the Korean war for Eisenhower. -
Rosa Parks and The Montgomery Bus Boycott
Rosa Parks refused to give up her bus seat for a white passenger in Montgomery, Alabama. She broke standard segregation law at the time and went to jail following the incident. Her protest sparked the Montgomery bus boycott which ensued until December 26, 1956. The boycott was lead by the Montgomery Improvement association, which was led by the newly elected Martin Luther King. Kennedy, David., et al. The American Pageant. Thirteenth edition. Boston: Houghton Mifflin Company, 2006 -
President Eisenhower Sends in the National Guard for the Little Rock Nine
Nine black students are blocked from entering the school on the orders of Governor Orval Faubus. President Eisenhower sends the national guard to allow those brave students entry into Little Rock Central High School. -
Greensboro N. Carolina Lunch Counter Sit in
Four black students from North Carolina Agricultural and Technical College begin a sit-in at a segregated Woolworth's lunch counter. They are denied service but there presence takes up space at the counters, deterring business. The event inspires many other non-violent protest organizations, like the Student Non-Violent Cordinating Commitee (SNCC.) Six months later the original four protesters are served lunch at the same Woolworth's counter. -
John F. Kennedy is inagurated (1961-1963.) Kennedy, David., et al. The American Pageant. Thirteenth edition. Boston: Houghton Mifflin Company, 2006
JFK was a stud, such a stud he was elected president in 1960. Kennedy won many peoples votes with his idea of the "New frontier"-- space exploration, so much so that he promised the moon to be manned by 1970. JFK was a moderate in civil rights, however he did largely fund MLK and SNCC. In april 1960, JFK found himself caught on the edge of nuclear war with the USSR in the bay of pigs. Thanks to his true leadership, the standoff was settled and nuclear arms were removed on both sides. -
Freedom Rider bus ride to Montgomery
Civil rights volunteers begin taking bus trips through the South to see the "desegregation" in interstate travel facilities, which includes bus and railway stations. Several of the groups of the freedom riders, were attacked by racist mobs along the way. The movement is fueled by The Congress of Racial Equality (CORE) and the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC), involves more 1,000 black and white members. Kennedy, David., et al. The American Pageant. Thirteenth edition. Boston: Ho -
JFK and U.S. Steel
Kennedy had negotiated with steel workers and settled a wage agreement in return for fringe benefits. After the agreement, U.S. Steel decided to increase prices by six dollars a ton. JFK calls the leaders of U.S. Steel to his office personally, and warns of a boycott of their steel if prices don't go down. US Steel decides to agree with JFK and the agreement works. -
A Letter From Birmingham Jail
Martin Luther King is arrested and jailed during anti-segregation protests in Birmingham, Alabama.; he writes a corresponding letter to journalist critiques called "A Letter from Birmingham Jail," arguing that individuals have the moral duty to disobey unjust laws. The Letter was written purely on the spot and newspaper margins. Kennedy, David., et al. The American Pageant. Thirteenth edition. Boston: Houghton Mifflin Company, 2006 -
University of Alabama Incident
President Kennedy sent federal troops when Alabama Governor George Wallace blocked the entry to the University of Alabama from two black girls, Vivian Malone and James Hood. The Federal troops escorted the girls to class and to school until no longer needed. It was highly publicized and help sway the publics support in favor of the civil rights movement. Kennedy, David., et al. The American Pageant. Thirteenth edition. Boston: Houghton Mifflin Company, 2006 -
Medgar Evers Murder
Mississippi's NAACP Medgar Evers, aged 37, is murdered outside his home after coming home late on June 12th. Byron De La Beckwith is tried twice in 1964, both trials resulting in hung juries. Thirty years later he is tried and convicted for murdering Evers. Kennedy, David., et al. The American Pageant. Thirteenth edition. Boston: Houghton Mifflin Company, 2006 -
March on Washington
In washington D.C. about 200,000 people join the March on Washington. Organizing at the Lincoln Memorial, peaceful protesters listen as Martin Luther King delivers his famous "I Have a Dream" speech. Kennedy, David., et al. The American Pageant. Thirteenth edition. Boston: Houghton Mifflin Company, 2006 -
The Birgmingham Baptist Church Bombing
Four young girls--Denise McNair, Cynthia Wesley, Carole Robertson, and Addie Mae Collins-- were attending Sunday school on September 15th, are killed when a bomb explodes at the Sixteenth Street Baptist Church-- a core civil rights gathering. Riots erupt in Birmingham, leading to the deaths of two more black youths. The suspects were easily aquitted, due to rampant racism in "Bombingham." Kennedy, David., et al. The American Pageant. Thirteenth edition. Boston: Houghton Mifflin Company, 2006 -
Lyndon B. Johnson is inagurated (1963-1969.) Kennedy, David., et al. The American Pageant. Thirteenth edition. Boston: Houghton Mifflin Company, 2006
"The Great Society" was his 1964 campaign pledge, a pledge that won him the widest popular vote margin in U.S. history-- 16 million votes. His Great Society composed of an america with considerable aid to education, an america fighting a war on poverty, and many more essential policies. In his presidency, Johnson signed the civil rights bills of 1964 and 1965. As popluar as he was domestically, Johnson escaleted the vietnam war which killed his image as a great president. -
Civil Rights Act of 1964 and LBJ
JFK had called for it, and President Johnson signed it--the civil rights act of 1964 banned unequal hiring practices for women, minorities, and blacks. The Bill also provided for the end of segregation and unequal voting registration requirements in the south. This bill was a direct result of the nonviolent protests occuring leading up to the act. Organizations like SNCC and CORE were major factors into pressuring congress into voting the bill into law.
Kennedy, David., et al. The American Pagea -
Gulf of Tonkin
Two naval ships are attacked by north vietnamese ships in the Gulf of Tonkin incident. President Johnson throws the revatively small attack out of proportion, and is granted the Gulf of Tonkin Resolution-- a congressional measure that granted Johnson a blank check for vietnam. This is know as the catalyst and beginning of the vietnam war. -
Bloody Sunday
Starting in Selma Alabama, blacks begin marching to Montgomery in support of voting rights but are stopped at the Pettus Bridge by a police blockade. Fifty marchers are hospitalized after police use tear gas, whips, and clubs against them. The incident is dubbed "Bloody Sunday" by the media. The march is considered the catalyst for pushing through the voting rights act five months later.
Kennedy, David., et al. The American Pageant. Thirteenth edition. Boston: Houghton Mifflin Company, 2006 -
Voting Rights Act of 1965
The incident of Bloody Sunday five months prior fueled the nation to pass the Voting Rights Act of 1965. This act provided for purely equal and easy enfranchisment for minorities and the poor, manly focusing on southern states. It also provided for huge federal overlook in suspected states of disfranchisement, mainly the south. -
Tet Offensive
The Tet offensive was launch on January 30th, 1968, by the Viet Cong in hopes of infultrating South Vietnam. The attacks took the U.S. and South Vietnam off guard, but the communists were easily beaten back. Heavy casualties were taken by the North Vietnamese, but the realization that the North Vietnamese were capable of such an attack was an erie though for the U.S. to grasp. Text -
Richard M. Nixon is inagurated (1969-1974.) Kennedy, David., et al. The American Pageant. Thirteenth edition. Boston: Houghton Mifflin Company, 2006
Tricky Dick was an genius president, but ultimately he let the watergate scandal ruin his presidency. A staunch conservative, he continued the Vietnam war until 1975 in a process called Vietnamization. He secretely bombed cambodia and lied about it--congress started to put limits on executive privelage after this and watergate. Contradicting his conservative outlook, he continued the great society calling them a "necessity for the working poor." In the end, Nixons paranoia brought him down. -
Watergate
Five men are caught breaking in to the Democratic National Committee headquaters. These men are arrested, and the watergate scandal begins. Money from the burgurlers is later linked to a slush fund Nixon had provided them with. The scandal is largely unacknowledged by the public, but The Washington Post sticks with the story until it becomes apparent Nixon was trying to cordinate a massive cover-up. -
Vietnam Cease Fire
textThe cease fire took effect on January 28th, 1973. Both sides violated the cease fire. South Vietnamese forces continued to take back villages occupied by communists in the two days before the cease-fire deadline and the communists tried to capture additional villages. Each side justified their attacks by blaming each other, but both were just trying to claim more territory. The ensueing battles resulted in the North Vietnamese Central Highland attacks which ultimately lead to the fall of Saigon. -
Nixon Declares His Resignation
Facing a conviction in the senate, and a impeachment in the house of represetatives, president Nixon ends his charade and caves. He assigns his predecessor Gerald Ford-- who has one of the most thorough backround checks by the FBI in U.S. history-- to become president. The watergate scandal had ultimately ended, along with Nixons presidency. -
Gerald R. Ford is inagurated (1974-1976.) Kennedy, David., et al. The American Pageant. Thirteenth edition. Boston: Houghton Mifflin Company, 2006
Gerald Ford was the only president to be inaugurated from the house of representatives. Ford tried to mend the mishappening of watergate, but with inflation rampant, and energy shortages among the U.S., his presidency was a troubled one. Ford was a conservative domestically--he vetoed nearly all of the democrats bill. He did however sustain the middle east, avoiding war with israel and egypt. He continued detente, and evacuated 250,000 south vietnamese when the north conquered south vietnam. -
The Fall of Saigon
The conquering of Saigon by the North Vietnamese on April 30th 1975 was a stifling defeat for the U.S. and the South Vietnamese. The U.S. had failed at their policy of containment--preventing communism from spreading-- and the South Vietnamese had fallen to communism. However, the stunning loss didn't come without any reconciliation. Operation baby lift helped 250,000 south vietnamese evacuate during the fall of Saigon. http://history1900s.about.com/od/1960s/qt/tetoffensive.htm -
Ford Pardons Nixon
On September 8, 1974, Ford issued Proclamation 4311, which gave Nixon a full and unconditional pardon for any crimes he might have committed against the United States while President. This was seen as Ford selling out to Nixon, and suspicions arose about any secret deal that the too made concerning Nixons pardon, but none were found. Along with Ford's image, it also hurt Ford's reelection-- an election that he barely won his own primary too and ultimately lost. Kennedy, David., et al. The Ameri
