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Period: to
American Events in the 60s
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JFK is elected president.
Beat Richard M. Nixon by 100,000 votes. 300 electoral College
votes to Nixon’s 219 -
Peace Corps are established by Kennedy.
The corps aim to disseminate good will and
practical knowledge by enlisting volunteers, most under 30 with a 2 year service. -
Kennedy Proposes Moon Program.
Kennedy Pledges to land a man on the moon by the end of the decade. -
The Other America
The Other America was published by Michael Harrington to expose the poverty of the wealthiest nation in the world. -
National Guard Desegregates Ole Miss.
Kennedy orders federal troops and the federalized National Guard to the campus of the University of Mississippi to enforce the admission of James Meredith, an African American. -
Kennedy Assassination.
Kennedy is assassinated in Dallas, Texas. Vice president Lyndon Baines Johnson is sworn in as president the same day. -
Civil Rights Act of 1964.
LBJ signs the Civil Rights Act of 1964. Act outlaws discrimination in public facilities, such as the parks, and in public accommodations, such as hotels and restaurants. Also prohibits employment discrimination on the basis of race, ethnicity, religion, or gender. -
Berkeley Free Speech Movement.
Hundreds of students at the University of California, Berkeley spontaneously surround a police car as it attempts to remove a political activist for engaging in political advocacy on campus. -
Creation of Medicare and Medicaid.
LBH signs the bill creating Medicare, a national health insurance program for the elderly. -
Voting Rights Act of 1965.
President LBJ 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. -
Protests at Chicago DNC Convention.
Thousands of protestors converge on the Democratic National Convention to protest the war in Vietnam. Violent confrontations between the protestors and police lead to thousands of arrests. -
Nixon wins the Presidency.
Republican candidate Richard Nixon is elected president of the US. -
Man on the Moon.
Astronaut Neil Armstrong sets foot on the moon, fulfilling JFKs
pledge to land a man on the moon by the end of the decade.
