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Hippies
The Hippies of the 1960's were a subgroup that was part of the counterculture lifestyle. Typically, they peacefully protested against the government's "political and social orthodoxy." Being people who represented the idea of peace, love, and freedom, they appeared sort of like bums with their shabby long hair, home-made clothing, sported peace signs, and unshaven, barefoot ways. Freedom of sexuality, and interracial relationships was encouraged, as well as the use of recreational drugs. -
NASA
On May 25, 1961, President John F. Kennedy set the proclamation to he U.S. Congress for the creation of the Kennedy Space Center. The whole idea began when the Soviet union decided to get into competition with the U.S. to prove who could successfully send a man to the moon first. The space center was originally to be used to test new rockets, but took the challenge of sending a man to the moon. On July 20th, 1969, NASA's dream had become a reality when Neil Armstrong set foot on the moon. -
The Berlin Wall
On August 12th-13th, 1961, German soldiers went to the border of West and East Berlin and proceeded the construction of the Berlin Wall. The barrier, quickly constructed of concrete and barbed wire, was a surprise to the people of Germany when they came to find that the city had been divided and they couldn't cross to the opposite side. The construction of the wall was ordered by Joseph Stalin, to keep people from East Berlin from escaping over to West Berlin. The wall stood for 28 years. -
Silent Spring Novel
Rachel Carson, a biologist from Western Pennsylvania, published her novel, Silent Sprig, on September 27th, 1962. The book discussed the harmful affects on the environment and people from harmful pesticides that were commonly used. Because of Carson's evidence and scientific research, it was proved to the Federal Government and pesticide companies just how much damage was being caused. As a result, there was the creation of the Environmental Protection Agency(EPA). -
Miranda Rights
The court case of Miranda v. Arizona was the case that accused Ernesto Miranda of robbery, kidnapping, and rape; because of extremely intimidating police force during interrogation, Miranda admitted to the crime, but the intensity of the interrogation caused the case to be overturned. Later, the case was re-opened and, Miranda was convicted. It was decided that because of the outcome of this case that when a person is arrested, they must be read their rights. -
British Invasion
Psychedelic rock, jazz, R&B, and blues were the most popular forms of music in the 1960's. Artists like Pink Floyd, Grateful Dead, Bob Dylan, Janis Joplin, and Stevie Wonder took the music generation to a new level. On February 7, 1964, The Beatles Came to the U.S. and a week later, during their performance on the Ed Sullivan show, the British Invasion was born. A whole revolution of the 60's had started and evolutionary music by The Beatles had impacted many people's beliefs and ideas. -
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My Lai Massacre
A search-and-destroy operation was issued to the U.S. Military to go to the small village of My Lai in South Vietnam. Lt. William Calley ordered his men to enter shooting. Over 300 innocent, unarmed civilians were slaughtered. Eyewitnesses report that the women and children were shot in the back of the head, some women were raped, and several elderly men were bayoneted. The American public did not hear about this until November of 1969. In September 1969, Lt. Calley was convicted for murder. -
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Strategic Arms Limitation Treaty
Referred to as SALT, the treaty began with 2 meetings between the US and the Soviet Union on the issue of arms control. The first started in November of 1969, which led to the Anti-Ballistic Missile Treaty. The second meeting resulted in an agreement in a treaty, but the US did not ratify it because of the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan. They later withdrew from SALT II in 1986. -
Kent State Shootings
An antiwar protest by college students at the Kent State University was sparked by the invasion of Cambodia in April. On the third day of the demonstration, National Guard Members fired into the crowd , killing four and wounding nine more. This led a wave of student protests, and forced many colleges and universities to close. -
Watergate Scandal
Several burglars were arrested in the office of Democratic National Committee (DNC) in the Watergate Building in Washington, DC on this day. They were connected to President Nixon's reelection, but is unclear whether or not he knew in advance about the break-in. The intruders had been trying to wire-tap phones and steal secret documents. Nixon went to great lengths to cover it up, even raising money to keep the burglars quiet, trying to stop the FBI investigations, destroying evidence, and firin -
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Camp David Accords
Egypt and Israel had technically been at war since 1948. Peace talks began when Egyptian President Anwar Sadat traveled to Jerusalem to address the Israeli government in 1977. The Camp David Accords were negotiated by the Prime Minister of Israel, Menachem Begin and President Sadat, and mediated by President Carter. -
Three Mile Island Accident
On this day, the largest nuclear plant in the US located on Three Mile Island experienced a failure in the non-nuclear section of the plant. The main feedwater pumps used for cooling shut off. The reactor overheated, and since there was no instrument that measured the temperature of the reactor, they were unaware of it. This led to a severe core meltdown. Though no one was injured in or outside the plant, this accident led to more preparation and protective measures in case of another accident. -
Reaganomics
While running for president, Reagan spoke about supporting the supply side economics, also referred to as Reaganomics and Trickle-down economics. It's policies focused on reducing government spending, reducing the federal income tax and capital gains tax, reducing government regulation, and control the money supply to reduce inflation. -
Reagan's Middle East Policy
In June of 1982, Israel invaded Lebanon for the second time. Reagan, who had condoned the invasion, demanded a cease fire when they advanced as far into Lebanon as Beirut. That summer, along with the Italians and French, American troops landed in Beirut. They withdrew in October of '83 after they started being targeted for terrorist attacks that April. Iran had taken several hostages, and Reagan organized the Iran-Contra Affair. They also supported Saddam Hussein in the 8 yr. Iran-Iraq War. -
Nuclear Freeze Movement
Randall Forsberg, a young defense and disarmament researcher started the Nuclear Weapons Freeze Campaign. They wanted to end the threat of a nuclear attack, and end the arms race with a US - Soviet Union agreement. Their plan was to get enough support to submit the issue into electoral politics. It grew into a huge movement that spread across the US. Finally, in March of 1983, negotiations between the US and the Soviets for a nuclear freeze began. -
Iran-Contra Affair
Iran and Iraq were at war, and Iran secretly requested to buy weapons from the US. National Security Adviser Robert McFarlane asked for the president's permission, even thought there was an embargo against selling weapons to Iran. He said that it would improve relations, and spread influence in the Middle East. Reagan agreed to sell them weapons if they would release the seven American hostages that they had. Three were released, soon replaced by 3 more, but 1,500 missiles had been shipped. -
Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty
This treaty was the agreement between the US and the Soviet Union on the elimination of both nuclear and conventional intermediat range missiles. It was signed by President Ronald Reagan and General Secretary Mikhail Gorbachev on this day, was ratified on May 27 of the following year, and came into force on June 1st. -
Persian Gulf War
On August 2, 1990, Iraqi dictator, Suddam Hussein led tanks and troops into Kuwait to try and invade in order to take their oil. Because of the Persian Gulf being the main source of oil for many nations, the United States and the United Nations agreed that they must take action. By January 1991, the United States had nearly 540,000 troops trying to stop Hussein. On January 17th, 1991, operation Desert Storm was put into action. -
Fighting Terrorism
On Sept. 11th, 2001, there was a major terrorist attack on the World Trade Center. When the Twin Towers were crashed into and bombed by a hijacked airplane, the U.S. started to take serious precautions for the country's safety, and began to fight terrorism, with increased security at airports, political buildings, and at the borders. On May 2nd, 2011, a squad of U.S. Navy SEALs located Osama bin Laden, the founder of al Qaeda, and assasinated him. The threat of terrorism has since decreased. -
Barack Obama
First elected on November 4th, 2008, Barack Obama became the 44th President of a country in deep economic crisis. Obama has tries numerous ways to bring this county out of recession. Some successes are the signing of the Children's Health Insurance Program Re-authorization Act (CHIP) in 2009 which expanded healthcare from having 7 million children under the plan to 11 million, or like the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (AARP), Obama has helped support the country's people in need.
