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The longest and bloodiest war in the 20th century. The conflict between Communist forces of North Vietnam, backed by China and the USSR, and non-Communist forces of South Vietnam, backed by the United States. North Vietnamese torpedo boats allegedly attack U.S. destroyer in Gulf of Tonkin off the coast of North Vietnam. Vietnam allegedly won the war.
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Eisenhower becomes the president for the second time. -
The first American satellite was launched. -
Alaska becomes the 49th state. -
Hawaii becomes the 50th state. -
A mixed-race group of volunteers sponsored by the Committee on Racial Equality called the Freedom Riders, travel on buses through the South in order to protest racially segregated interstate bus facilities. -
The U.S. severs diplomatic relations with Cuba. -
John F. Kennedy is inaugurated as the 35th president. -
Bay of Pigs invasion of Cuba fails. -
President Kennedy denounces the Soviet Union for secretly installing missile bases on Cuba and initiates a naval blockade of the island. -
Martin Luther King, Jr., delivers his "I Have a Dream" speech before a crowd of 200,000 during the civil rights march on Washington, DC. -
President Kennedy is assassinated in Dallas, Texas. He was killed by Lee Harvey Oswald. -
President Johnson signs the Civil Rights Act. This act ended segregation in public places and banned employment discrimination on the basis of race, color, religion, sex, and national origin. -
Miranda v. Arizona: Landmark Supreme Court decision further defines the due process clause of the Fourteenth Amendment and establishes Miranda rights. -
Twenty-Fifth Amendment to the Constitution is ratified, outlining the procedures for filling vacancies in the presidency and vice presidency. -
The Twenty-Sixth Amendment to the Constitution is ratified, lowering the voting age from 21 to 18.