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Geneva Summit
The first summit conference between Soviet and American leaders, along with those of France and Great Britain, begins in Geneva, Switzerland. No important agreements are forged, but the meeting eases some Cold War tensions. -
Interstate Highway System
Eisenhower signs the Federal-Aid Highway Act of 1956, which will create the Interstate Highway system, one of the biggest public works projects in U.S. history. -
Little Rock Desegregation
Eisenhower sends federal troops to Little Rock, Arkansas, to enforce the court-ordered desegregation of the city's public schools. As a result, nine Black students are allowed to attend classes at Little Rock Central High School. -
JFK Defeats Nixon to Win Presidency
John F. Kennedy becomes the youngest elected president. Eisenhower is disappointed by Kennedy's defeat of his former running mate Richard Nixon in a close election. -
Bay of Pigs
A force of 1,500 Cuban exiles, trained and financed by the United States, lands at the Bay of Pigs in Cuba in an attempt to overthrow the Castro regime. The operation, initiated and planned during the Eisenhower administration but launched under Kennedy, is a fiasco that badly damages U.S. prestige. -
MLK Assassinated
Martin Luther King, Jr. is assassinated at the Lorraine Motel in Memphis, Tennessee. His assassin, James Earl Ray, pleads guilty and is sentenced to 99 years in prison. -
Nixon Elected President
Republican Richard Nixon is elected President of the United States. -
26th Amendment Ratified
The 26th Amendment is ratified, lowering the national voting age from 21 to 18. -
Nixon Reelected
Nixon defeats Democratic candidate Senator George McGovern in the presidential election. McGovern has run on an anti-war platform that would grant amnesty to draft evaders who have left the country, and would exchange American withdrawal from Vietnam for the return of American prisoners of war (POWs). -
Saigon Falls
The North Vietnamese take Saigon; the war in Vietnam ends.