
This timeline depicts the historical, political, social and economic events from 1950 to 1990 in American History.
By jacob 1999
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The U.S., under the leadership of president Jimmy Carter, boycotts the 1980 Olympics in Moscow, due to the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan in December 1979 .
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This Supreme Court decision officially legalized abortion in America. This was a impactful and controversial case that continues to be a topic of debate in American society today.
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After the United States finished WWII, jobs were more available the ever before and production was at full power. This lead two consecutive decades of relative economic success. The Bretton Woods monetary system in 1971, the 1973 oil crisis, and the 1973–1974 stock market crash marked the end of this time of economic prosperity.
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The Vietnam War began in the mid 1950s and escalated into the 60s and 70s. America set out to aid South Vietnam against the Communist, Soviet Union backed, Viet Cong. As more men were sent to battle by LBJ and American deaths increased, the unit-war sentiment in American society increased. The war caused a lot of turmoil and jeopardized the American public's trust in the government.
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The young singer shocked music critics across America with his notorious "hip shake" dance move on live television.
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The CIA attempts to incite a revolt against the young Communist leader in Cuba, Fidel Castro.
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JFK, the 35th President of the United Sates , was shot and killed while riding in an automobile in Dealey Plaza (downtown Dallas).
Lee Harvey Oswald was identified as the assassin, however much controversy and uncertainty remains about who is responsible for JFK's assassination. -
The 49th and 50th states where entered into the United Sates.
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The Black Panther party, an organization that focused on a means of violence to end discrimination against black people in America, was founded by by Huey Newton and Bobby Seale in Oakland, California.
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Martin Luther King, the respected leader of the African American Civil Rights Movement, is shot and killed by James Earl Ray in Memphis, TN.
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During President Nixon's run for a second term in 1972, he and his close advisors set up the organization named CREEP in order to win the election. After breaking in to find information in the Watergate building in Foggy Bottom (Washington DC), Nixon's men where caught and identified. Nixon avoided an impeachment by congress months later by resigning from the presidency.
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George Lucas, a young hollywood director from Modesto, CA, premieres one of the most successful movies in cinematic history.
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The Monterey Pop Festival was held in San Francisco and did much to popularize the hippie movement in America. This event signifies the dawn of the "Summer of Love" centered in Haight-Ashbury, San Fransisco.
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NASA's Apollo 11 lands on the moon and makes history as the first human visit of the moon. This was a triumphant achievement for the United Sates against the Soviet Union in the space race. (a part of the long lasting cold war)
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The NASA Space Shuttle orbiter Challenger broke apart 73 seconds into its flight. This was a major disaster that shook American with the deaths of seven American lives.
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Roland Reagan calls on the Soviet Union leader, Mikhail Gorbachev, to tear down the Berlin Wall, a symbol of the devisor of the cold war.
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East and West Germany signed the Unification Treaty, thus ending the long lasting separations between friends and families in Berlin. This wall was a notorious sign of the Cold War between the Soviet Union and the United States