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Vietnam War Begins
The Vietnam War started because of the fear of the spread of communism. The war would go on for about 20 years. -
The Election of 1956
Dwight Eisenhower was reelected in 1956. He defeated the democratic Adlai Stevenson again. -
Sputnik
The Soviet Union successfully launched the first artificial earth satellite, named Sputnik, into low orbit of the earth on October 4th, 1957. Its batteries died after 3 weeks and then 2 months after that, Sputnik fell back into the atmosphere. -
Alaska
Alaska became a US state on January 1st, 1959. Alaska use to belong to Russia but the US bought it in 1867 for $7,200,000. It was just a US territory until 1959. -
The Election of 1960
John F Kennedy beat the republican candidate, Richard Nixon, in a close race. -
The First Man in Space
Soviet cosmonaut Yuri Alekseyevich Gagarin was the first man in space. He was aboard the spacecraft Vostok 1. He also became the first person to orbit the earth. -
The First Woman In space
Valentina Tereshkova became the first woman in space aboard the Vostok 6. She stayed there for 71 hours, more than all US astronauts combined at that date. -
JFK Gets Assassinated
JFK was assassinated during a motorcade through Dealey Plaza in downtown Dallas. His assassin, Lee Harvey Oswald, was later shot and killed by Jack Ruby. Lyndon B Johnson was president after Kennedy's death. -
The Election of 1964
Lyndon B Johnson would serve as president again after defeating the republican candidate, Barry Goldwater. -
The 1968 Election
Former vice president, Richard Nixon, beat the democratic candidate, former vice president Herbert Humphrey. -
The Moon Landing.
Apollo 11 was the spaceflight that first landed humans on the Moon. Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin were the crew that landed Apollo 11 in the sea of tranquility. Neil Armstrong became the first person to step foot on the moon. -
The Election of 1972
Richard Nixon was reelected, defeating the democratic candidate, George McGovern.