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On January 1st, 1961, President John F. Kennedy assumed office, succeeding President Eisenhower. Immensely popular, Kennedy was attractive and viewed as a military hero for his service in the Navy during World War II. He had received a Navy and Marine Corps Medal as well as a Purple Heart for rescuing his comrades who otherwise would have drowned after their torpedo boat was sunk by the Japanese. Kennedy most notably led the US through the Bay of Pigs Invasion and the Cuban Missile Crisis.
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In August 1961, the Soviets began construction of the Berlin Wall. The Berlin Wall divided neighbors and families for decades until its fall in November 1989. Ten days after the wall was initially constructed, an East Berliner was shot while trying to swim into West Berlin. Hundreds more would die in similar ways. Fun fact: one of my next-door neighbors escaped from East Germany by swimming across a river into the West. She's an American citizen today.
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Jackie was photographed minutes after JFK was assassinated wearing a bloody pink suit as LBJ was sworn in on Air Force One. Her suit is in storage in the National Archives and won't be released until 2103.
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President Lyndon B. Johnson proposed the Gulf of Tonkin Resolution to Congress, which (if passed) would allow the US to send troops to Vietnam. On August 10th, 1964, Congress passed the resolution. Although the resolution allowed America to send troops to Vietnam, the first American combat troops didn't arrive in Vietnam until March 8th, 1965.
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The Detroit race riot began in July 1967 and ensued for several days. At least 43 people were killed, 33 of whom were Black. The local, state, and federal governments all sent in support to put the rebellion down (police, state National Guard, and federal troops). Many historians agree that the riot was incentivized by socioeconomic inequality between Blacks and Whites. Race riots also occurred in Chicago and Newark during the "Long, Hot Summer of 1967."
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On Jan. 30, 1968, North Vietnamese fighters began the Tet Offensive when they invaded the US embassy in Saigon. South Vietnamese troops did not expect the attack since they were celebrating the Vietnamese New Year. The publication of media images showing the US embassy under attack and brutal fighting revealed to the public that victory was not as clear-cut as the official government narrative claimed. Although the South Vietnamese officially won, the Offensive demoralized the average American.
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Students in the New Left demonstrated against the Vietnam War on Ken State University on May 4th, 1970 after President Nixon decided to expand US involvement in the Vietnam War. The National Guard was called to maintain order and fired at anti-war student demonstrators after they believed they heard sniper fire. The students turned out to be unarmed. The National Guardsmen killed 4 students and wounded 9.
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The 1972 Summer Olympics were held in Munich, West Germany. Just 36 years after the 1936 Berlin Olympics (which Hitler attended), the 1972 Olympics held a unique torment for Israeli athletes. Palestinian terrorists held 11 Israeli Olympians hostage before being murdering them on September 5th, 1972. Their murders demonstrated that anti-Semitism was alive and well in the world.
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In 1969, President Nixon decided to pursue the exit strategy of Vietnamization in order to leave the war with honor. Vietnamization involved removing American troops slowly to acclimate the South Vietnamese troops to defending their homeland from communism. Vietnamization ultimately failed as communism spread into South Vietnam. Saigon fell to communist forces on April 30, 1975.
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Steve Jobs and Steve Wozniak founded Apple in 1976. A decade later, they had marketed several different computers. In 1987, the company marketed the Macintosh II. At the time, the simplest Mac II sold for $3,898 while the version with more accessories sold for $5,498. The company was worth $5.5 billion in 1987, a massive increase from its $900 million from 1985.