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Debate
Kennedy and Nixon's debate is the first televised debate ever seen. -
Kennedy Vs. Nixon
Massachusetts Democratic Senator John F. Kennedy becomes the youngest president to win an election. He beat Vice President Richard Nixon by only 120,000 popular votes. -
U.S vs. Cuba
U.S. Government severs diplomatic and consular relations with the cuban government due to disputes over the nationalization of United States businesses in Cuba. -
Firgure skaters
An entire figure skating team is killed in a plane crash near Brussels, Belgium. Seventy-three people are killed. -
The "Bay of Pigs"
An invasion to overthrow the regime of Fidel Castro by Cuban exiles is repulsed by Cuban forces. -
Cape Canaveral, Florida
The first U.S. manned sub-orbital space flight is launched 116.5 miles above the earth. President Kennedy announces his intention to place a man on the moon by the end of the decade. -
The "Iron Curtain"
The Soviets begin constructing the Berloin Wall to segregate the German city, previously held in four sectors by Allied forces, including the United States. The wall would last for twenty-eight years. -
Period: to
1961-1963
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National Park Service
President John F. Kennedy proclaims the Buck Island Reef as a National Monument. The reef includes an underwater nature trail and one of the best marine gardens in the Caribbean Sea. -
Vietnam
President Kennedy admits that the military advisors already in Vietnam would engage the enemy if fired upon. -
The Cuban Missile Crises
President John F. Kennedy orders a naval and air blockade of military equipment to Cuba in response to the Soviet Union building offensive missiles on the island. Many think this is the closest the Cold War came to breaking into armed conflict. -
Agreements Between the Allies
The United State, Soviet Union, and Great Britain agree to a limited nuclear test-ban treating, barring all nuclear testing above ground. -
Civil Rights
The Civil Rights march on Washington D.C. -
The boundary in the El Paso Juarez Valley
A peaceful settlement to the land dispute between Mexico and the United States for ninety-nine years is enacted with the signing of the Chamizal Treaty. -
The Shot heard 'round the world
Assassin Lee Harvey Oswald murders President John F. Kennedy during a motorcade through downtown Dallas, Texas. Vice President Lyndon B. Johnson is sworn into office later that day. Two days later, Lee Harvey Oswald was shot by Jack Ruby while being transported in police custody.