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Period: to
1950s through 1990s
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The Korean War
The Korean War began as a civil war between North and South Korea, but the conflict soon became international when, under U.S. leadership, the United Nations joined to support South Korea and the People’s Republic of China (PRC) entered to aid North Korea. The war left Korea divided and brought the Cold War to Asia. -
Technological Advances of the Time Period
Frank McNamara came up with the idea of the credit card when he went out to supper with a dinner partner. His partner forgot his wallet, and that gave McNamara the idea for the credit card. His idea was that you would have a card that would be accessible at all times with money on it. -
Joseph McCarthy- McCarthyism
McCarthyism is the practice of making accusations of disloyalty, subversion, or treason without proper regard for evidence. Joseph McCarthy made a public accusation that more than two hundred "card carrying" communists had infiltrated the United States government. -
Brown v. Board of Education, 1954
He delivered the opinion of the Court, stating that "We conclude that in the field of public education the doctrine of ‘separate but equal’ has no place. Separate educational facilities are inherently unequal. . .". Expecting opposition to its ruling, especially in the southern states, the Supreme Court did not immediately try to give direction for the implementation of its ruling. -
Lyndon B. Johnson
On July 2, while visiting George Brown's estate in Middleburg, Virginia, Johnson suffered a severe heart attack and entered Bethesda Naval Hospital. On August 7, he was released from Bethesda; on August 27, he returned to the LBJ Ranch to recuperate. Johnson did not return to Washington and Capitol Hill until December. -
Disney Land Opening
Disneyland Park, originally Disneyland, is the first of two theme parks built at the Disneyland Resort in Anaheim, California, opened on July 17, 1955. It is the only theme park designed and built under the direct supervision of Walt Disney. -
Emmett Till's murder
While visiting family in Money, Mississippi, 14-year-old Emmett Till, an African American from Chicago, is brutally murdered for flirting with a white woman four days earlier. His assailants--the white woman's husband and her brother--made Emmett carry a 75-pound cotton-gin fan to the bank of the Tallahatchie River and ordered him to take off his clothes. -
The "Little Rock Nine"
A group of African American students enrolled in Little Rock High School in 1957. Their enrollment was followed by the Little Rock Crisis, in which students were initially prevented from entering the racially segregated school by Orval Faubus, the Governor of Arkansas. -
The Space Race
In October, 1957, the Soviet Union launched the first satellite — named Sputnik — to be hurled into orbit around the Earth. Sputnik was actually no larger than a beach ball and sent meaningless signals back to earth, but it had a profound effect on the thinking of citizens and governments around the globe. It was a shiny steel sphere about 23 inches across with four antennas trailing behind it. -
Marilyn Monroe is DEAD
Marilyn Monroe was found dead in the bedroom of her Brentwood home by her psychiatrist Ralph Greenson after he was called by Monroe's housekeeper Eunice Murray on August 5, 1962. She was 36 years old at the time of her death. -
George Wallace, Governor of Alabama
The summer of 1963 was a tense time in this nation's history. The day after Wallace's standoff, civil rights leader Medgar Evers was assassinated in Jackson, Mississippi. Violence also struck in Cambridge, Maryland, and Danville, Virginia, that June. -
Martin Luther King, Jr.
Martin Luther King, Jr. delivered his "I Have a Dream" speech at the Lincoln Memorial in Washington D.C.. That is his most popular speech. Unfortunately he was assassinated on April 4th, 1968. -
Assassination of John F. Kennedy
On November 22nd, 1963, president John F. Kennedy was shot in the head while riding in a car. He was accompanied by his wife Jacqueline and the Vice President. -
Civil Rights Movement
President Johnson signs the Civil Rights Act of 1964. The most sweeping civil rights legislation since Reconstruction, the Civil Rights Act prohibits discrimination of all kinds based on race, color, religion, or national origin. The law also provides the federal government with the powers to enforce desegregation. -
Jackson 5 Discovery
The Jackson 5 (later known as the The Jacksons) are an American popular music family group from Gary, Indiana. Formed in 1964 under the name The Jackson Brothers, the founding members were Jackie, Tito, Jermaine, Marlon and Michael. After participating in talent shows and the chitlin' circuit, they entered the professional music scene in 1967 signing with Steeltown Records, releasing two singles, before signing with Motown in 1969. -
Malcolm X
On February 21, 1965, Malcolm X was assassinated in front of his entire family. He was shot several times by a grouo of Muslims while giving an important speech. His killer only served 44 years in prison and was released. -
War Protests
Between 15,000 and 25,000 people gathered at the capital, a turnout that surprised even the organizers. The Anti-War Movement in the United States was one of the biggest wars in U.S. History. -
Hippie Culture (Music, Clothing, Beliefs)
The hippie subculture was originally a youth movement that arose in the United States during the mid-1960s, swiftly spreading to other countries around the world. In January 1967, the Human Be-In in Golden Gate Park in San Francisco popularized hippie culture, leading to the legendary Summer of Love on the West Coast of the United States, and the 1969 Woodstock Festival on the East Coast. -
Assassination of Robert F. Kennedy
Presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy was shot three times by Palestinian immigrant Sirhan Sirhan after giving a speech at the Ambassador Hotel in Los Angelos, California. His death later led to Secret Service protection for all future major candidates. -
Red Lobster Founded
The company has operations in Canada, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Qatar, and Japan, in addition to the United States. Company founder Bill Darden opened his first restaurant, The Green Frog, at age 19. From the beginning, Bill’s restaurants focused on quality and service. With a passion for seafood, it was only a matter of time before Bill and his team opened the first Red Lobster in Lakeland, Fla., in 1968. -
Woodstock, 1969
Woodstock was the pop culture music event of the decade and arguably to this day the single most profound event in the history of music. Acts from all around the world met at Max Yasgur's Farm in Bethel, NY on August 15-18, 1969 for a celebration of peace and music. -
Disney World Opening
The Walt Disney World Resort, informally known as Walt Disney World or simply Disney World, is an entertainment complex in Lake Buena Vista, Florida. To avoid the problems that plagued Disneyland on its opening day, official dedications and other media events were held off until late in the month so as to make sure everything was running smoothly. Capping off the celebration would be a 90-minute television special called, naturally, The Grand Opening of Walt Disney World on October 29. -
Richard Nixon/ Watergate Scandal
Watergate prosecutors find a memo addressed to John Ehrlichman describing in detail the plans to burglarize the office of Pentagon Papers defendant Daniel Ellsberg's psychiatrist, Alexander Butterfield, former presidential appointments secretary, reveals in congressional testimony that since 1971 Nixon had recorded all conversations and telephone calls in his offices. -
President Nixon Resigns
Richard Milhous Nixon announced last night that he will resign as the 37th President of the United States at noon today. Vice President Gerald R. Ford of Michigan will take the oath as the new President at noon to complete the remaining 2 1/2 years of Mr. Nixon's term. -
Vietnam War
The Vietnam War was the prolonged struggle between nationalist forces attempting to unify the country of Vietnam under a communist government and the United States (with the aid of the South Vietnamese) attempting to prevent the spread of communism. Engaged in a war that many viewed as having no way to win, U.S. leaders lost the American public's support for the war. Since the end of the war, the Vietnam War has become a benchmark for what not to do in all future U.S. foreign conflicts. -
Wet 'n' Wild Opening
Wet 'n Wild Orlando is a water park located at Universal Orlando Resort in Orlando, Florida. The park was founded in 1977 by SeaWorld creator George Millay and is considered America's first water park. -
Elvis Presley is DEAD
Elvis Presley died on August 16, 1977 in the bathroom of his Graceland mansion in Memphis, Tennessee. He was 42 at the time of death. He had been on the toilet, but fallen off onto the floor, where he lay in a pool of his own vomit. Panicked, his staff contacted an ambulance, which rushed him to nearby Baptist Memorial Hospital, where, after several attempts to revive him, he died at 3:30 pm CST. His autopsy was performed at 7:00 pm. -
Disco Music/Culture
In the late 1970s, dance-oriented disco music was very popular in the United States. Despite its popularity, disco sparked a backlash from rock music fans. -
Jimmy Carter/ Iran Hostage Crisis
A group of Iranian students stormed the U.S. Embassy in Tehran, taking more than 60 American hostages. The immediate cause of this action was President Jimmy Carter’s decision to allow Iran’s deposed Shah, a pro-Western autocrat who had been expelled from his country some months before, to come to the United States for cancer treatment. -
John Lennon's Murder
Lennon was fatally shot in front of his New York City home by deranged fan Mark David Chapman. John Lennon left behind an indelible legacy of music that evoked a range of emotions. -
Ronald Reagan/ Reagonomics
Reagan's economic policies are known as Reaganomics. Reagan based his policies on the theory of supply side economics, which states that tax cuts encourage economic expansion enough to eventually broaden the tax base. In time, the increased revenue from a stronger economy offsets the initial revenue loss from the tax cuts. Reagan's tax cuts worked because tax rates were so high in the early '80s that they were in the "Prohibitive Range," according to the Laffer Curve. -
Assassination attempt of Ronald Reagan
John Hinckley Jr. opened fire on U.S. President Ronald Reagan just outside the Washington Hilton Hotel. President Reagan was hit by one bullet, which punctured his lung. Three others were also injured in the shooting. -
Michael Jackson's Thriller Released
Thriller is the sixth studio album by American recording artist Michael Jackson. It was released on November 30, 1982, by Epic Records, as the follow-up to Jackson's critically and commercially successful 1979 album Off the Wall. -
Olive Garden Founded
Olive Garden is an American casual dining restaurant chain specializing in Italian-American cuisine. It is a subsidiary of Darden Restaurants, Inc., which is headquartered in unincorporated Orange County, Florida, near Orlando.[1] As of 2012, Olive Garden restaurants account for 45% of the sales generated by Darden.[2] Olive Garden operates more than 800 locations globally. -
HIV/AIDS
The best accepted theory about the origin of HIV is that it is a descendant of a closely related virus, simian immunodeficiency virus (SIV), which infects monkeys. Researchers have known for a long time that certain viruses can pass from animals to humans, a process that is called zoonosis. HIV may have crossed over from chimpanzees as a result of a human killing a chimp and eating it for food. -
Dirty Dancing Released
Dirty Dancing [1] is a 1987 American romantic drama film. Written by Eleanor Bergstein and directed by Emile Ardolino, the film stars Patrick Swayze and Jennifer Grey in the lead roles, as well as Cynthia Rhodes and Jerry Orbach. The story is a coming of age drama that documents a teenage girl's coming of age through a relationship with a dance instructor whom she encounters during her family's summer vacation. -
Cold War
The Cold War is the name given to the relationship that developed primarily between the USA and the USSR after World War Two. The Cold War was to dominate international affairs for decades and many major crises occurred - the Cuban Missile Crisis, Vietnam, Hungary and the Berlin Wall being just some. For many, the growth in weapons of mass destruction was the most worrying issue. -
The Falling of the Berlin Wall/Fall of Communism/ Breakup of Soviet Union
Berlin had been politically divided since the end of World War II, with the eastern portion of the city serving as the capitol of German Democratic Republic. The two parts of the city were physically divided in 1961 with the construction of the Berlin Wall, the most visible expression of the Cold War. When the Berlin Wall was opened on November 9, 1989 it marked for many the symbolic end of that war. -
Destiny's Child Begins
Beyoncé's father, Mathew, leaves his six-figure sales job at Xerox to manage the girls full-time, and helps negotiates a deal for them with Columbia Records. They are eventually renamed Destiny's Child and release their self-titled debut in 1998. Their standout single from the album is a remix of "No, No, No," with Wyclef Jean. -
Universal Studios Orlando Opening
The Universal Orlando Resort, commonly known as Universal Orlando, is a theme park resort in Orlando, Florida. It is wholly owned by NBCUniversal and its affiliates. Universal Studios and Universal's Islands of Adventure are open 365 days a year. Operating hours normally begin at 9am and closing times vary.
