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sputnik launches space race
the soviet union sucsessfully launches space race -
jfk wins presidency
Democratic candidate John F. Kennedy is elected president of the United States. His margin of victory over Republican candidate Richard M. Nixon is just over 100,000 votes. Kennedy wins 300 Electoral College votes to Nixon’s 219. -
jfk inaugural
John F. Kennedy is inaugurated president of the United States. In a memorable address he urges Americans to “ask not what your country can do you—ask what you can do for your country. -
peace corps
kenedy established peace corps proved to be one of the most innovated and highly publicized cold waf programs set up by the u.s. -
peace corps
President John F. Kennedy issues an executive order establishing the Peace Corps. The Corps aims to disseminate good will and practical knowledge by enlisting volunteers, most under age 30, to two-year terms of service. -
minimum wage hike
President John F. Kennedy signs legislation raising the minimum wage in stages from its current $1 per hour to $1.25 per hour by September 1963. -
Kennedy Proposes Moon Program
In a congressional address, President John F. Kennedy pledges to land a man on the moon by the end of the decade -
JFK Appoints Segregationist Judge
President John F. Kennedy appoints Judge William Harold Cox to the federal court. The appointment of Cox, a segregationist, angers civil rights advocates. According to some accounts, Kennedy appoints Cox in order to gain Senate Judiciary Chairman James Eastland’s support for Thurgood Marshall, an African American who Kennedy wanted to name to the Second Circuit Court of Appeals. -
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the other america
Michael Harrington publishes the The Other America, a shocking exposé about poverty in the wealthiest nation in the world. President John Kennedy is among those influenced by the book; he and his successor, Lyndon Johnson, declare war on poverty and launch a decade-long political mission aimed at reducing unemployment, increasing federal support for schools and adult education, and expanding the network of government programs assisting the poor and elderl -
us steel crosses kennedys
US Steel announces that it is raising prices just weeks after President Kennedy convinced the steel workers union to temper its wage demands. Kennedy’s anger with US Steel is reported in the press and Attorney General Robert Kennedy adds further to business anxieties by convening a grand jury investigation of the steel giant. The stock market will fall in the following weeks, climaxing with a 6% drop on 28 May. -
national guard desegrates ole miss
kennedy deployed federal marshales to oxford.