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President John F. Kennedy is assassinated by Lee Harvey Oswald while in a riding in a presidential motorcade through Dealey Plaza in Dallas, Texas.
His vice president -LBJ- is sworn in quickly after. -
A music festival in Fort Adams State Park in Newport, Rhode Island, plunges into a major riot because of alcohol and the large crowd. About 200 people were arrested, a town record. This festival has been held every year since it was first held in 1954, and has been a pivotal event in the history of jazz. -
The first televised presidential debates with John F. Kennedy and Richard Nixon. People who watched though JFK won and people who listened thought Nixon won. -
The band "the Beatles" appear in their first show. -
The Gulf of Tonkin Resolution authorized President Lyndon B. Johnson to take "all necessary measures" to defend U.S. forces in Southeast Asia. -
People march on the Pentagon in protest of the Vietnam War. Approximately 100,000 protesters, including hippies, black activists, and other social groups, gathered near the Lincoln Memorial in Washington D.C. -
Operation Rolling Thunder was a continuous bombing campaign conducted by the U.S. Air Force and Navy against North Vietnam during the Vietnam War. Mar 2, 1965 – Nov 2, 1968 -
The mass murder of unarmed civilians by a US troop in Sơn Mỹ village, South Vietnam, during the Vietnam War. -
The Woodstock Music and Art Fair was a three-day rock and roll festival held on Max Yasgur's farm in Bethel, New York, from August 15 to 18. It was a defining moment in the 1960's because of how many attended (estimated 400,000). -
Approximately 10,000 protesters gathered in Grant Park for a demonstration and march on the International Amphitheatre, where the convention was being held, in protest of the Vietnam War. -
The trial of anti-war (Vietnam) activists who had been arrested during the riots at the 1968 Democratic National Convention in Chicago. The eight included: Abbie Hoffman, Jerry Rubin, and Bobby Seale, all of whom were charged with violating the Anti-Riot Act. Five of them were charged with crossing state lines for the protest. Judge Julius Hoffman has trouble controlling the courtroom because of the chaotic atmosphere. -
The hit band "The Beatles" publicly announced their breakup. -
Students protesting the Vietnam War at Kent State University are fired on by the Ohio National Guard. Four students were killed, and nine others were wounded. -
This U.S. Supreme Court case ruled that the Constitution (14th Amendment)protects a woman's right to have an abortion before fetal viability after a woman named Jane Roe (not her real name) sued Henry Wade, the district attorney of Dallas County, for the right to have a doctor perform an abortion to save a woman's life.
(The woman with the light colored hair in the photo is Jane.)