1955-1975

  • Eisenhower signs the Minimum Wage Act

    Eisenhower signed the act which raised the minimum wage from $.75 to $1.00. Raising the minimum wage helped the working conditions and improved the number of workers that began to work./
  • Rosa Parks Arrested

    Rosa Parks was a black woman riding on a bus. She refused to give up her seat to a white man, this resulted in her getting arrested. Her arrest marked a huge turning point in the African-American freedom struggle.
  • The Little Rock Nine

    The Little Rock Nine were the first black students to attend an all-white school. The students attended classes at Little Rock Central High School, and Eisenhower sent his troops to help enforce the desegregation of the public schools.
  • US launches Satellite

    The United States launched its first-ever satellite called Explorer I. The launching of the satellite marked the US's entry into the "space race" with Russia.
  • John F. Kennedy becomes president

    Kennedy was the youngest elected president in US history. John F. Kennedy defeated Nixon in the race. Kennedy was the US's 35th president and his main campaign movement was "be an active citizen".
  • Kennedy is assassinated

    Kennedy was assassinated in Dallas Texas. He was in a car riding in a parade when a sniper shot him in the back of the head.
  • Martin Luther King Jr. is assassinated

    Luther was killed in the Lorraine Motel in Memphis, Tennessee.
  • Nixon is reelected

    He defeated the Democratic candidate senator George McGovern in the election.
  • Vietnam War officially ends

    The very last US soldier leaves Vietnam. The war ends with 60,000 dead and 150,000 wounded, and 1,000 missing in action.