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Bay of Pigs Debacle
The plot to overthrow Fidel Castro goes disastrously, leading many to question Kennedy's abilities as Commander in Chief -
Alan Shepard becomes the first American in Space
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John Glenn becomes the first American to orbit the earth
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Silent Spring published
Written by Rachel Carson, the book revealed the hazards of DDT and helped to garner public opinion against the pesticide. -
Cuban Missle Crisis
America and the Soviet Union come closer to nuclear war than ever before -
Martin Luther King Delivers his "I Have a Dream" Speech in Washington, DC
Over 200000 people listen to his oration on equality as he speaks from the steps of the Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall -
President Kennedy Assassinated in Dallas
Lyndon Johnson assumes the presidency -
Watts race riots
After five days, 34 people are dead, and 200 million dollars in property has been damaged -
First public burning of a draft card
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Veterans Stage Anti-War Rally
Veterans from previous wars burn discharge and draft papers in protest of the Vietnam war. Hostility towards the war continues to grow. -
Thurgood Marshall becomes the first black Supreme Court Justice
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North Vietnamese Launch Tet Offensive
While the American military is taken by surprise, they win the battle; in numbers. Psychologically and politically, it is a Vietcong victory. -
Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin, become the first men to walk on the moon
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Policy of "Vietnamization" Announced
The American military begins to make plans to leave Vietnam -
The internet (Arpanet) is invented
Engineers at Advanced Research Projects Agency at the U.S. Department of Defense connect the IMP at UCLA to the one at Stanford Research Institute. -
Kent State Incident
National Guardsmen fire on an anti-war demonstration, killing four students.
