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African American seamstress Rosa Parks refuses to give up her seat on a Montgomery, Alabama bus to a white man. This prompted a large bus boycott that led to the federal court declaration that bus segregation laws were unconstitutional.
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Dwight D. Eisenhower, as with the previous election, runs against Democratic candidate Adlai E. Stevenson, only to win once again by a very large margin.
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Alaska was admitted on January 3, 1959, as the 49th state with Hawaii being admitted later in the same year on August 21 as the 50th state.
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This seaway was opened along the U.S.-Canada borders, which allowed for greater ship traffic between the Atlantic Ocean and the Great Lakes of the U.S. and Canada.
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Nikita Khrushchev visits President Dwight D. Eisenhower at his farm in Gettysburg, Pennsylvania.
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The United States supported Cuban exiles in the Bay of Pigs Invasion of Cuba, to overthrow the regime of Fidel Castro. It was quickly repulsed by Cuban forces.
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This wall segregated the German city of Berlin, which was previously held in four sectors by Allied forces. This wall would stand tall for 28 years before its eventual fall.
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The Cuban Missile Crises begins. In response to the Soviet Union building offensive missiles in Cuba, President John F. Kennedy orders a naval and air blockade of military equipment to the island. An agreement is eventually reached with Soviet Premier Khrushchev on the removal of the missiles, ending the potential conflict after thirty-eight days.
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This march for equal rights including over 200,000 people culminated in Dr. Martin Luther King's infamous "I Have a Dream" speech from the steps of the Lincoln Memorial.
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President Kennedy was assassinated by Lee Harvey Oswald during a motorcade through downtown Dallas, Texas. Vice President Lyndon B. Johnson was sworn into office later that day, and two days later Oswald was also killed by Jack Ruby.
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The Tonkin Resolution is passed by the United States Congress, authorizing broad powers to the president to take action in Vietnam after North Vietnamese boats had attacked two United States destroyers five days earlier.
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Richard M. Nixon retakes the White House for the Republican party, with his victory over Hubert H. Humphrey and George Wallace.
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The U.S. Astronaut Neil Armstrong becomes the first man to ever set foot on the moon, with the Apollo program now completing its mission. Edwin E. Aldrin also accompanies him as the second man to do so.
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The Senate approved this amendment to the Constitution that lowered the voting age from 21 to 18, with approval from the House of Representatives coming on March 23. It was ratified by the states on June 30, and certified by the President on July 5.
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The Watergate crisis begins when four men are arrested for breaking into the Democratic National Committee headquarters in the Watergate office building in Washington, D.C.
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In one of the most lopsided races in American Presidential election history, incumbent President Richard M. Nixon beat his Democratic challenger George S. McGovern, winning 520 Electoral College votes to McGovern's 17, and taking over 60% of the popular vote.
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The U.S. Supreme Court ruled that women cannot be prevented by a state from having an abortion during the first six months of pregnancy.
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President Richard M. Nixon resigns the office of the presidency, avoiding the impeachment process and admitting his role in the Watergate affair. He was replaced by Vice President Gerald R. Ford, who, on September 8, 1974, pardoned Nixon for his role. Nixon was the first president to ever resign from office.
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Communist forces complete their takeover of South Vietnam, forcing the evacuation from Saigon of civilians from the United States and the unconditional surrender of South Vietnam.