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1964
The USS Maddox is on spy patrol 30 miles off the coast of Vietnam when it reports an attack by three enemy vessels. Another U.S. ship reports an attack on Aug 4. (Later inquiries will cast doubt on both reports.) On Aug 7, Congress passes the Gulf of Tonkin Resolution, allowing Pres. Johnson to wage war against North Vietnam without a formal Declaration of War -
1965
Johnson approves Rolling Thunder in February, believing that a program of limited bombing in North Vietnam will deter support for Vietcong. Rolling Thunder continues for three years and eight months, involving 305,380 raids and 634,000 tons of bombs. Results include: 818 pilots killed and hundreds more captured; 182,000 civilians killed in North Vietnam. -
1965
Anti-war faculty members and the SDS publicize and protest U.S. involvement in Vietnam. About 3,000 attend. -
1966
Breaking with the President, Martin Luther King announces his opposition to the war. -
1967
More troops are on their way: 33,000 are stationed in Thailand; 60,000 sail offshore. -
1968
Running on a platform of "law and order," Republican Richard Nixon and running mate Spiro Agnew narrowly defeat incumbent Vice President Hubert Humphrey. Nixon receives 43.4% of the popular vote, just seven-tenths of 1% more than Humphrey. Third-party segregationist candidate George Wallace receives about 15 percent of the popular vote. Nixon wins a second term in 1972, and resigns from office in 1974. -
1968
urmoil and Robert Kennedy's death push the party toward chaos, while anti-war demonstrators are beaten by police. Prominent activists are charged with inciting the riots. -
1969
Judy Garland's funeral attracts gay mourners to the Stonewall Tavern in New York. A melee with police breaks out when someone resists arrest, launching the Gay Liberation Movement. -
1969
The Strategic Arms Limitation Talks (SALT) begin negotiations to curb nuclear capabilities of U.S. and USSR. -
1969
The protesters fail to gain title to the island, but inspire a native movement.