-
Dwight D. Eisenhower becomes the 34th President of the U.S.
-
The Salk polio vaccine was determined to be effective and was released to the public. Polio had plagued so many people and the vaccine changed lives.
-
Eisenhower raised the minimum wage from $0.75 to $1.00 per hour. Eisenhower also suffers a heart attack that night and stayed in the hospital until November
-
Rosa Park, a black seamstress, refused to give up her seat to a white man and was arrested. This event triggered the bus boycott and a major step toward racial equality
-
The Vietnam war was between communist North Vietnam and South Vietnam, allied with the U.S. The U.S. wanted to stop the spread of Communism and was partly by the ongoing Cold War. More than 3 million Americans served in the war.
-
Eisenhower signs off on the Federal-aid Highway Act of 1956, creating the interstate highway system. The was one of the biggest public work projects in the U.S.
-
Little Rock, Arkansas, was refusing to desegregate the city's public school systems. Eisenhower sent federal troops to enforce it, and it allowed nine black students to go to school at Little Rock Central High School.
-
In Shippingport, Pennsylvania, the first nuclear power plant starts operating, supplying electricity to Pittsburgh.
-
The U.S. launches Explorer I, a satellite, into space. This marks the U.S. entry into the space race with Russia. The start of satellites completely changed the world and is the reason for a lot of advanced technology today.
-
John F. Kennedy becomes the 35th president of the U.S. He was assassinated in Dallas Texas by Lee Harvey Oswald
-
Martin Luther King Jr. gave his famous "I Have a Dream" speech that is still studied today. It is considered the turning point in the Civil Rights Movement.
-
Lyndon B. Johnson becomes the 36th president.
-
Many people were against the war in Vietnam and thousands marched to the Pentagon in protest
-
Richard Nixon becomes the 37th president of the U.S. He was the only president to resign following the Watergate scandal.
-
Five men were arrested for burglarizing the headquarters of the Democratic National Committee and resulted in President Nixon's resignation.