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The Vietnam War was a civil war fought in Vietnam from 1955 to 1975. The war was fought between the communist Viet Cong and South Vietnam. The United States fought on the side of South Vietnam until 1973. After the U.S left the war, South Vietnam fell quickly and Vietnam became a communist state.
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On January 3rd, 1959 President Dwight D. Eisenhower signed a proclamation allowing Alaska to be admitted into the Union. Alaska became the 49th and largest state -
Hawaii became a state on August 21st, 1959, becoming the 50th U.S state. -
John F. Kennedy was inaugurated as President of the United States on January 20th, 1961. He spent most of his presidency dealing with Cuba and the Soviet Union. He served less than three years before being assassinated in 1963. -
Construction started on the Berlin Wall in August of 1961. This wall divided Berlin both physically and ideologically for sixteen years. It stopped immigration from East Germany to West Germany. It stood as a symbol of the iron curtain that separated Europe throughout the cold war. -
The Cuban Missile Crisis was a brief period of skyrocketing tensions between the U.S and the Soviet Union. The incident stemmed from the Soviets giving nuclear missiles to Cuba in case of a U.S attack. The United States opposed this and this caused tensions to escalate almost to the point of full nuclear war. The crisis was resolved when the Soviets agreed to take back their missiles from Cuba.
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President Kennedy was assassinated while his motorcade was passing through Dallas, Texas in November of 1963. He was rushed to the hospital where he was declared dead thirty minutes later. He was succeeded by his Vice President Lyndon B. Johnson. -
The Tet Offensive was one of the biggest campaigns of the Vietnam War. It was a major series of attacks by the Vietcong against the American and South Vietnamese troops. This offensive took the U.S by surprise and stirred strong anti-war sentiments within America.
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On April 30th, South Vietnam officially surrendered to the Vietcong, leaving Vietnam in communist hands. This rendered all U.S efforts to save the country futile and led to much unrest inside the United States.