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CORE is Founded
The Congress of Racial Equality, also known as CORE, was founded in 1942 and led by Roy Innis. Their goal was to bring equality for everyone. CORE was headquartered in the North of the US, it was founded on Chicago University's campus. CORE played a large role in the Montgomery Bus Boycott, and they even dispersed some of their following into the South because of it. This organization also helped set up the March on Washington in 1963. -
Jackie Robinson Joins the Dodgers
Jackie Robinson played for the Brooklyn Dodgers and broke the color barrier for future African Americans baseball players. His number is retired all throughout the MLB because of his significance. He faced tons of racism as he fought for equality in baseball- he was treated poorly by coaches, umpires, teammates, opponents, and especially from fans. He joined the Dodgers after playing for the Kansas City Monarchs of the Negro Leagues. -
Truman Desegregates the Military
In 1948, Harry Truman passed legislation that desegregated the US military. It eliminated discrimination on "the basis of race, color, religion and national origin". -
America Increases Aid to the French
America increased aid to the French forces fighting in Vietnam so that they could defeat their enemy. The French ended up surrendering at the Battle of Dien Bien Phu. -
Brown v. Board of Education
This landmark case for racial equality happened close to home: taking place in Topeka. It began in 1952 and lasted through 1954. The decision ruled that segregation of schools is unconstitutional, no matter the quality of the school. This case helped show that the motto "separate but equal" is not true at all. -
SEATO is Formed
The United States, France, Great Britain, New Zealand, Australia, Philippines, Thailand and Pakistan formed the Southeast Asia Treaty Organization. The purpose of the organization was to prevent communism from gaining ground in the region. -
France Surrenders at Dien Bien Phu
The Viet Minh decisively defeated the French at the Battle of Dien Bien Phu. This marked the end of France's colonial influence in Indochina. -
Rosa Parks Bus Boycott
Rosa Parks helped start the Montgomery Bus Boycott when she refused to give up her seat on a public bus. The boycott lasted for just over a year and helped increase equality for African Americans. This show of refusal was one of the first large-scale demonstrations against segregation. Rosa Parks and her actions also helped set up Martin Luther King, Jr.'s success. -
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The Vietnam War
The Vietnam War lasted 20 years and it was a very costly war for the United States. They pooled a lot of resources into stopping the spread of Communism, however the US did not succeed in their goal. -
Southern Manifesto is Published
The Southern Manifesto was a book written by Richard Russell Jr. and Strom Thurmond in 1956. The book was written in opposition of racial integration. -
SCLC is Formed
The Southern Christian Leadership Conference was an organization led by Martin Luther King, Jr. that focused on civil rights. They worked primarily in the South to bring justice in states such as Alabama. This organization started after the Montgomery Bus Boycott ended and had a continued impact for many years. It's headquarters were in Atlanta, Georgia where King lived much of his life. -
Civil Rights Act of 1957
The Civil Rights Act was the first civil rights legislation to pass since the time of Reconstruction. The act empowered federal prosecutors to obtain court injunctions against interference with the right to vote. -
Viet Cong is Formed
The Viet Cong, also know as the National Liberation Front, was the name of the political organization in South Vietnam and Cambodia that opposed the United States. The Viet Cong were Communist and most of their ideologies were the complete opposite of the United States' ideologies. They tended to fight in surprise attacks and at night, and they used booby traps to weaken the strenght of the US soldiers. -
Little Rock Nine
The Little Rock Nine were a group of high school students who used their constitutional right to go to a desegregated school in Arkansas. It was faced with heavy backlash and they had to be escorted into the school by federal officers. -
NASA is Created
The US passed a legislation in 1958 to establish the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA). The primary reason for the US to do this was in response to the Soviet Union's growing power and the satellite that they had just built. The Sputnik launched into space and orbited the Earth in 98 minutes, and this feared Americans. They were scared because they thought that they would have the ability to nuke the US. That event helped start the Space Race. -
Castro Takes Control of Cuba
Fidel Castro took control over Cuba in the year 1959. He was a Communist and he assumed total control of the country. He made Cuba the first Communist state in the Western Hemisphere. Even though he restricted many freedoms, he helped improve Cuba almost all the way across the board. Because of his ties to the Soviet Union, Castro and Cuba were viewed as a threat to the United States. -
SNCC is Formed
The Student Non-Violent Coordinating Committee, or SNCC, was a civil rights group that was compromised of younger people. They were one of the more radical groups that were organized. -
Kennedy Wins Election
John F. Kennedy won the election in 1960 and he was highly regarded by most Americans. He narrowly beat out Richard Nixon for the presidency in what was one of the closest elections in US history. Nixon won more states than Kennedy, but JFK won the popular vote and had the support of larger states. Kennedy primarily dealt with relations with the Soviet Union for most of his presidency because when he was sworn in the US was in the middle of the Cold War. -
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The Hippies Emerge
The Hippies and the counterculture movement were a huge part of America all throughout the 1960's. They embraced Eastern beliefs and customs, and they were very against the Vietnam War. -
Freedom Riders Protest
The Freedom Riders were civil rights activists who rode buses into the South to protest inequality and Boynton v. Virginia. It was led by James Farmer. -
Peace Corps is Created
John F. Kennedy created the Peace Corps in what was one of his most well-known acts of his short presidency. The Peace Corps sent trained American men and women to foreign countries to assist in development efforts. -
Berlin Wall is Created
The Berlin Wall was created in 1961 and lasted until 1989, when it was ordered to get taken down by government officials. The wall was made by East Germany to keep their citizens from West Germany. The east side had influences by the Soviet Union and the west had ties to the US. The influences created a lot of tension for both sides, and it created yet another problem for Germany post-WWII. -
Bay of Pigs
The Bay of Pigs invasion was an invasion conducted by the United States against Cuba. The United States soldiers did not fight in the invasion, but they had trained Cuban exiles to fight the invasion for them. The US didn't send soldiers because they feared that an event like that may start an all out war between them, Cuba, and the Soviet Union. The US did this act because they did not like Castro, who overthrew the previous dictator that was an ally to America. -
John Glenn is the 1st American to Orbit Earth
John Glenn orbited the Earth three times in close to five hours on February 20, 1962. He was aboard the Friendship 7 and reached speeds up to 17,000 mph. -
Alabama University is Desegragated
The Governor of Alabama, George Wallace, made a blockade to prevent African American students from attending Alabama University. However, he let up eventually and two black students enrolled. -
Cuban Missile Crisis
The Cuban Missile Crisis was a conflict between the United States and the Soviet Union. This event started because the Soviet Union put some of there missiles in Cuba, which is very close to the Unites States. The US felt threatened by the movement of the missiles, so they instituted a naval blockade around Cuba. However, a nuclear war was avoided when the US and Soviet Union agreed to terms. The Soviet Union removed missiles from Cuba and the US promised to not invade Cuba. -
March on Washington
The march on Washington was a signifying time for the Civil Rights Movement. There were a total of 250,000 people that took place in the demonstration to protest equality for African Americans. Martin Luther King, Jr. delivered his most famous speech ever at this event. Almost every American today has heard his "I Have a Dream" speech. -
MLK Delivers "I Have a Dream" Speech
Martin Luther King, Jr. delivered his most famous speech at the March on Washington in 1963. It was the peak of the civil rights movement and is known all throughout the world. -
JFK Assassination
John F. Kennedy was assassinated at a parade in downtown Dallas on November 22, 1963. He was killed by a former US Marine, Lee Harvey Oswald. There are many conspiracies about this subject but the government disclosed that Oswald acted alone and had no help from an outside source. This event shocked Americans everywhere and made the morale of the whole country plummet. -
Nuclear Test Ban Treaty is Signed
The Nuclear Test Ban Treaty was signed on August 5, 1963. It banned test detonations of nuclear weapons above the ground. It was signed by the US, Soviet Union, and Great Britain. -
Lyndon B. Johnson is Sworn in as President
In one of the most shocking events in American history, John F. Kennedy was shot and killed at a parade in Dallas, Texas. From that tragedy, Lyndon B. Johnson was sworn in as the 36th President of the United States. He passed a ton of legislation for his Great Society plan to help raise the lower classes of the US. He helped instill Medicare and Medicaid into the country's standards. -
Letter From Birmingham Jail
When Martin Luther King, Jr. was arrested in Birmingham, Alabama, he wrote a letter stating his beliefs on nonviolence and the continued struggle for civil rights. He wrote the letter to his fellow members of the SCLC, but a lot of the US heard about its message. -
Civil Rights Act of 1964
The Civil Rights Act of 1964 was a landmark civil rights and labor law in the United States that outlawed discrimination based on race, color, religion, sex, or national origin. It was signed into law by President Lyndon B. Johnson. -
Malcolm X Breaks Away from the Muslim Faith
Malcolm X was a Muslim for most of his life. However, he broke away from his faith in 1964 and joined the Nation of Islam, which combined the teachings of Islam with black nationalism. -
24th Amendment is Ratified
The 24th Amendment ended the poll tax. The poll tax was used excessively in the South to keep black citizens and poor people out of the booths. The reason why the South was against releasing the poll tax was because that if African Americans had the right to vote, then they would elect African American officials. They didn't want African American officials because they wanted to keep oppressing them. -
Economic Opportunity Act
The Economic Opportunity Act was made to create local community agencies to help fight the war on poverty. It was signed into law by President Lyndon B. Johnson. -
Gulf of Tonkin Resolution
The Gulf of Tonkin resolution gave President Lyndon B. Johnson the right to take action against aggression made by the Vietnamese. This resolution effectively launched America’s full-scale involvement in the Vietnam War. The resolution passed unanimously in the House of Representatives and had only two opposing votes in the Senate. The goal of the United States was to stop the spread of Communism throughout Indochina, even though the US failed in their goal. -
US Troops Arrive in Vietnam
The war in Vietnam had been brewing for quite some time before 1965, but that was the year in which the US troops arrived to fight. They came in 1965 after the Gulf of Tonkin Resolution was signed in 1964. -
March on Selma
The Selma to Montgomery March was a turning point in the civil rights movement in attempting to gain more voting rights. This march was led by Martin Luther King, Jr. and the SCLC. The march began at the Edmund Pettis Bridge and made its way 54 miles to Montgomery. The march captured the attention of most of the US and it had tons of supporters. This event achieved its goals and it granted African Americans the Voting Rights Act. -
Malcolm X's Assassination
Malcolm X was killed by Black Muslims in New York City in 1965. He was one of the strongest activists for civil rights, even though his methods did not align with Martin Luther King, Jr's. -
LBJ Institutes Medicare and Medicaid
Medicare and Medicaid both got their starts when President Lyndon B. Johnson signed the Social Security Amendments of 1965. Under the amendment, people in low-income families and the elderly receive federal health insurance. -
The Immigration and Nationality Act of 1965
This act, passed in 1965, marked a new trend in immigration. It allowed for reuniting of immigrant families and brought in more skilled laborers from other countries. -
Black Power Spreads Through African American Ideology
The Black Power movement started in 1966 when it broke into the mainstream of African American culture. The term "black power" started a year earlier in 1965 when an organization in Alabama had a slogan of "Black Power for black people". -
Black Panthers Created
The Black Panthers began in 1966 when Huey Newton and Bobby Seale started to challenge police brutality against the African American community. The Black Panthers dressed in black berets and black leather jackets. By 1968, the group had over 2,000 members. They were an armed organization that started in Oakland, California. They used more force than the other civil rights groups. -
Clean Water Restoration Act
The Clean Waters Restoration Act provided federal funds for the construction of sewage treatment plants. It was signed in 1966 by Lyndon B. Johnson. -
Race Riots - New Jersey, Detroit, Los Angeles
The Race Riots of 1967 broke out because of racial tension and continued problems with inequality. The worst of these riots was in Detroit, where 43 people were killed and 342 people were injured. -
2,000 People Flock to Haight Ashbury
Back in 1967, the counterculture gained wild popularity throughout America. Because of this over 2,000 hippies moved to Haight Ashbury which is a district of San Francisco. -
Air Quality Act
The Air Quality Act of 1987 was a federal law designed to control air pollution in the United States. It is one of the first modern environmental laws in the US and is also one of the most comprehensive. -
MLK's Assassination
Martin Luther King, Jr. was assassinated on April 4, 1968 in Memphis, Tennessee. He was in Memphis that day to support sanitation workers who were on strike. During the time in Memphis, he was also coordinating another march in Washington with the SCLC to advocate for the poor. However, that plan was cut short. King was shot and killed outside of his motel room by James Earl Ray who sniped him from a separate location. -
RFK Assassination
In another American tragedy, Robert Kennedy was assassinated on June 5, 1968. The murder came immediately after he won the California presidential primary. He was killed by a Palestinian named Sirhan Sirhan. -
First to the Moon
Apollo 11 made its journey to the near side of the moon on July 20, 1969. It was the first ever crewed moon landing and Neil Armstrong is the pioneer of the trip. The significance of the event came as the United States and USSR were engaged in a battle to see who could make it to space first. To this day, there have not been many more successes in world history than stepping on the moon. -
Tinker v. Des Moines
Tinker v. Des Moines was a historic Supreme Court ruling from 1969 that cemented students’ rights to free speech in public schools. The case started because a student, Mary Beth Tinker, and other classmates wore black armbands at school to protest the war in Vietnam. Because of the treatment that they got at school while protesting, Tinker and others filed a First Amendment lawsuit which they eventually one. This helped set up expanded freedoms for students. -
Woodstock I
Woodstock was an event that attracted 400,000 people to listen to some of the world's top music artists. The event took place for four days and brought together thousands of hippies and people influenced by the counterculture of the 1960's. Woodstock took place on a 600 acre dairy farm in New York, next to the town of Woodstock. This event has continued to be popular and it is an annual event. -
The EPA is Created
Richard Nixon proposed the Environmental Protection Agency's creation in 1970. Its creation came after people had an elevated sense of keeping the environment stable. -
Nixon Orders Attack in Cambodia
President Richard Nixon ordered American troops to invade Cambodia as the war in Vietnam continued on. He gave this command on April 30, 1970 and asked for support of the American people. -
Kent State Killings
After Nixon ordered invasions in Cambodia, Kent State students disagreed with his stance and had a public protest at their campus. While they peacefully protested, four students were killed by Ohio National Guard. -
My Lai Massacre Goes Public
The My Lai Massacre was one of the worst tragedies to come out during the Vietnam War. The US soldiers involved in the massacre carried out disgusting acts on the unarmed civilians. The incident itself happened in 1968, but the public was made aware of the massacre over a year later. Over 500 people were killed in the event, and none of them were Vietcong soldiers. -
Congress Passes the War Powers Act
The War Powers Act was passed in 1973 and it checked the president's power to enact the country into a war without the approval of Congress. It was passed by President Johnson and it made sure that no formal acts of aggression would be carried out without a declaration of war. -
Paris Peace Accords
The Paris Peace Accords signaled the official end of the United States' war effort against Vietnam. It was signed on January 27, 1973. -
Vietnam Falls to Communism
The entire war effort for the United States can be chalked up as an utter failure. The reason for this judgement is because the US did not succeed in its main objective which was to prevent another nation from falling to Communism. After Saigon fell, and South Vietnam surrendered, Vietnam fell to a complete Communist state. After the city of Saigon fell, the leader of South Vietnam fled the country because of the harsh treatment that the South got from the North.
