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Democratic candidate John F. Kennedy is elected president of the United States.
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President John F. Kennedy established the Peace Corps. The Corps aims to disseminate good will and practical knowledge by enlisting volunteers, most under age 30, to two-year terms of service.
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JFK stated that the United States should set as a goal the "landing a man on the moon and returning him safely to the earth" by the end of the decade.
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East German soldiers and construction workers quickly constructed a barrier made of concrete posts and barbed wire along the border.
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JFK orders federal troops and the federalized National Guard to the campus of the University of Mississippi to enforce the court-ordered admission of James Meredith
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President John F. Kennedy is assassinated in Dallas, Texas
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President Lyndon Johnson declared war on poverty and outlines an ambitious domestic agenda aimed at reducing unemployment, increasing support for education and job training, and expanding public services for the poor
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President Lyndon Johnson signs the Civil Rights Act of 1964. The act outlaws discrimination in public facilities, such as parks, and in public accommodations, such as hotels and restaurants, and it prohibits employment discrimination on the basis of race, ethnicity, religion, or gender.
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President Lyndon Johnson signs the Voting Rights Act of 1965. The act abolishes literacy tests and other tests used by local and state governments to inhibit African-American voting.
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The minimum wage is raised in stages from its current $1.25 per hour to $1.60 by February 1968
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Che Guevara took part with Fidel Castro and other Cuban rebels in the successful attempt to overthrow the Cuban government
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U.S. soldiers entered the Vietnamese village of My Lai on a search and destroy mission during the Vietnam War. The soldiers massacred somewhere between 347 and 504 civilians, including women, children, and the elderly.
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Martin Luther King Jr. was hit by a sniper's bullet when he was standing on the balcony in front of his room at the Lorraine Motel in Memphis, Tennessee,
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reveals that the communist forces are still strong and, thus, American administration claims that the war is nearing conclusion are discredited.
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The Apollo 11 was the first successful mission with the objective of step on the moon