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Newport Jazz Festival
A music festival held every summer in Newport, Rhode Island since 1954 that still occurs today. The Newport Jazz Festival is important because it established jazz music as a legitimate art form. -
Kennedy-Nixon Debate
John F. Kennedy and Richard Nixon took part in the first ever televised debate for presidency. This televised debate showed the importance of a candidates appearance and changed the way people campaigned. -
The Assassination of John F. Kennedy
Kennedy was on his way to give a speech when he was shot and killed. The suspected murderer was Lee Harvey Oswald who allegedly shot three times killing Kennedy and injuring the Texas Governor. Kennedy's assassination sent the United States into shock and sent Lyndon Johnson into presidency. In which he based his political campaign on Kennedy's death which made it hard for people to deny. -
The Beatles Appear for the first time on the Ed Sullivan Show
The Beatles first appeared on the Ed Sullivan Show on February 9th 1964 during the "British Invasion" or a part of time that more music and pop culture was coming from the United Kingdom. The Beatles appearance on the Ed Sullivan Show changed the United State's view of fashion, music, etc. -
The Gulf of Tonkin Resolution
The Gulf of Tonkin Resolution gave approval for the expansion of the Vietnam war. President Johnson's only fear was the affects that the expansion would have on the public. Other forces had already taken control of South Vietnam and Johnson was looked down on because he was not more aggressive in his war efforts. This allowed the military to make more drastic decisions and allowed further fighting in Vietnam. -
Operation Rolling Thunder
A bombing campaign that was designed to interdict North Vietnamese transportation routes in the southern part of North Vietnam and slow infiltration of personnel and supplies into South Vietnam. This bombing caused Nixon to continue and resulted in a total of 4.6 million tons of bombs which destroyed a large part Vietnam. -
March on the Pentagon
Thousands of people took a march on the Pentagon in the late 60s after President Johnson was called "the enemy" in response to the Vietnam war that was currently taking place. People gathered around the pentagon to share the their oppositions of the war. This marked the first national protest against war. -
Mai Lai Massacre
The Vietnam War mass killing of between 347 and 504 unarmed civilians in South Vietnam by Americans. During this era, it was one of the most horrific incidents of violence against innocent civilians. The brutality of the My Lai killings and the extent of the cover-up exacerbated growing antiwar sentiment on the home front in the United States and further divided the nation over the continuing American presence in Vietnam. -
Riots at the Chicago Democratic Convention
In 1968, during the time of the Democratic National Convention in Chicago, tens of thousands of Vietnam War protesters battle police in the streets, while the Democratic Party falls apart over an internal disagreement concerning its stance on Vietnam. This was the first time that Americans caused mass harm as an opposition to the Vietnam War. -
Apollo 11 Moon Landing
The first human landing on the moon. The first humans on the moon were Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin who famously stated, "That's one small step for a man, one giant leap for mankind." The United States won the Space Race by being the first on the moon which was formally thought to be accomplished by the Soviets. -
Woodstock
The Woodstock Music & Art Fair was a music festival attracting an audience of 400,000 people or more commonly called "Hippies," and was held at Max Yasgur's 600 acre farm in New York. It was a pivotal point in America's history because it changed the generation and music of the time period. -
Chicago 8 Trial
Seven defendants (originally eight) were charged by the federal government with conspiracy, inciting to riot, and other charges related to anti-Vietnam War and countercultural protests that took place in Chicago, Illinois, at the 1968 Democratic National Convention. Five of the defendants were sent to prison, while the other two were free from all charges. This trial gave the city of Chicago a blind-eye and the city is still yet to fully recover. -
The Beatles Break Up
The Beatles break up was allegedly caused by a girl named, Yoko Ono, who was currently in a relationship with John Lennon. Quickly the members of the group began pursuing different music interests and eventually broke up because of their inability to harmonize as a group like they once did. Although the Beatles broke up, they still left their imprints on the modern culture of the United States. -
Kent State Protest
President Richard M. Nixon appeared on national television to announce the invasion of Cambodia by the United States and the need to draft 150,000 more soldiers for an expansion of the Vietnam War effort. This angered many people, especially the people attention Kent State University in Ohio, in a way in which they responded by burning down a building. This event caused many public places to close and affected people's views of the United States in Vietnam. -
Roe vs. Wade
A landmark decision by the United States Supreme Court on the issue of abortion. Stating that women have the right to their own decisions without interference. This decision was known to legalize abortion nationwide. 40 years later, there are still many supporters of this case. The legalization decrease the amount of deaths due to the related cause.
