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Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka, Kans.: Landmark Supreme Court decision declares that racial segregation in schools is unconstitutional.
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Alaska becomes the 49th state; Hawaii later becomes the 50th and last state on August 21st.
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Cuban Missile Crisis begins; President Kennedy denounces Soviet Union for secretly installing missile bases on Cuba and initiates a naval blockade of the island.
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President Kennedy is assassinated in Dallas, Tex; He is succeeded in office by his vice president, Lyndon B. Johnson.
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President Johnson signs the Civil Rights Act; Ended segregation in public places and banned employment discrimination on the basis of race, color, religion, sex or national origin.
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Congress approves Glutionulf of Tonkin resolution; Authorizes President Johnson to take any measures necessary to defend U.S. forces and prevent further aggression.
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Astronauts Neil Armstrong and Edwin Aldrin, Jr., become the first men to land on the Moon; The moon landing was watched by an estimated 600 million people around the world.
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The Twenty-Sixth Amendment to the Constitution is ratified, lowering the voting age from 21 to 18.
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Roe v. Wade: Landmark Supreme Court decision legalizes abortion in first trimester of pregnancy.
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Representatives of North and South Vietnam, the Viet Cong, and the U.S. sign a cease-fire agreement in Paris; The last U.S. troops later leave Vietnam on March 29th.