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McCarthyism
During the McCarthy era, thousands of Americans were accused of being communists or communist sympathizers and became the subject of aggressive investigations and questioning before government or private-industry panels, committees and agencies. The primary targets of such suspicions were government employees, those in the entertainment industry, educators and union activists. -
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U.S. HISTORY
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Korean War
A war between the Republic of Korea (South Korea), supported by the United Nations, and the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (North Korea), at one time supported by China and the Soviet Union. American administrators divided the peninsula along the 38th parallel, with U.S. military forces occupying the southern half and Soviet military forces occupying the northern half. -
Malcolm X
An African-American Muslim minister and a human rights activist. In 1952 quickly rose to become one of its leaders. For a dozen years he was the public face of the controversial group; in keeping with the Nation's teachings he espoused black supremacy, advocated the separation of black and white Americans and scoffed at the civil rights movement's emphasis on integration. -
The Great Smog
A thick fog settled on London. This fog mixed with trapped black smoke to create a deadly layer of smog. Although there was no great panic at the time, the smog proved deadly. In the five days it hovered over London, the smog killed 4,000 people. In the following weeks, another 8,000 people died from exposure to the Great Smog of 1952. -
First to Climb Mount Everest
After years of dreaming about it and seven weeks of climbing, New Zealander Edmund Hillary and Nepalese Tenzing Norgay reached the top of Mount Everest, the highest mountain in the world, at 11:30 a.m. on May 29, 1953. They were the first people to ever reach the summit of Mount Everest. -
Brown v. Board of Education
A landmark United States Supreme Court case in which the Court declared state laws establishing separate public schools for black and white students to be unconstitutional. The decision overturned the Plessy v. Ferguson decision of 1896, which allowed state-sponsored segregation, insofar as it applied to public education. -
Vietnam War
The Vietnam War was one of the most controversial armed conflicts during the 20th century. Many people were against the war as they believed that the soldiers were only being sent to their deaths, and that the war was not very productive for the United States. Many of the soldiers returned home only to be called by protesters as "baby killers." The war first started towards the end of the Cold War when the United States attempted at eliminating any Communist Presence in Vietnam. It ended in 1975 -
Emmett Till's Murder
14-year-old Emmett Till, an African American from Chicago, is brutally murdered for flirting with a white woman four days earlier. The white woman's husband and her brother--made Emmett carry a 75-pound cotton-gin fan to the bank of the Tallahatchie River and ordered him to take off his clothes. The two men then beat him nearly to death, gouged out his eye, shot him in the head, and then threw his body, tied to the cotton-gin fan with barbed wire, into the river. -
Rosa Parks Refuses to Give Up Her Bus Seat
Rosa Parks, a 42-year-old African-American seamstress, refused to give up her seat to a white man while riding on a city bus in Montgomery, Alabama. For doing this, Rosa Parks was arrested and fined for breaking the laws of segregation. Rosa Parks' refusal to leave her seat sparked the Montgomery Bus Boycott and is considered the beginning of the modern Civil Rights Movement. -
Little Rock Nine
A group of African American students enrolled in Little Rock Central High School in 1957. Their enrollment was followed by the Little Rock Crisis, in which the students were initially prevented from entering the racially segregated school by Orval Faubus, the Governor of Arkansas. They then attended after the intervention of President Eisenhower. -
Eisenhower Doctrine
A speech by President Dwight David Eisenhower on 5 January 1957, within a "Special Message to the Congress on the Situation in the Middle East". Under the Eisenhower Doctrine, a Middle Eastern country could request American economic assistance or aid from U.S. military forces if it was being threatened by armed aggression from another state. -
Civil Rights Movement
A worldwide series of political movements for equality before the law that peaked in the 1960s. In many situations it took the form of campaigns of civil resistance aimed at achieving change through nonviolent forms of resistance. In some situations it was accompanied, or followed, by civil unrest and armed rebellion. -
Cold War (1962–1979)
The U.S. maintained its Cold War engagement with the Soviet Union during the period, despite internal preoccupations with the assassination of John F. Kennedy, the Civil Rights Movement and the Vietnam War antiwar movement. -
George Wallace - Governer of Alabama
An American politician and the 45th governor of Alabama, having served two nonconsecutive terms and two consecutive terms as a Democrat: 1963–1967, 1971–1979 and 1983–1987. Wallace has the third longest gubernatorial tenure in post-Constitutional U.S. history at 5,848 days. After four runs for U.S. president, he earned the title "the most influential loser" in 20th-century U.S. politics. -
Stand in the Schoolhouse Door
The "stand in the schoolhouse door" incident was Alabama Governor George Wallace's symbolic opposition to school integration imposed by the federal government. The action occurred in the doorway of Foster Auditorium at the University of Alabama and was intended to prevent the enrollment of two black students, James Hood and Vivian Malone. The day marks the beginning of school desegregation in the state. -
Lyndon B. Johnson
The 36th President of the United States (1963–1969), a position he assumed after his service as the 37th Vice President of the United States (1961–1963). He is one of only four people[1] who served in all four elected federal offices of the United States: Representative, Senator, Vice President, and President. -
President John F. Kennedy's Assassination
The youth and idealism of America in the 1960s faltered as its young President, John F. Kennedy, was assassinated by Lee Harvey Oswald while riding in a motorcade through Dealey Plaza in Dallas, Texas. Two days later, Oswald was shot and killed by Jack Ruby during a prisoner transfer. -
The Black Panther Party
The Black Panther Party was an African American revolutionary leftist organization from 1966-1982. They believed in preventing racism against blacks, and that all blacks deserved to be treated equally to whites in society. The group was specifically known for its rhetoric, military posture and its way of expressing their beliefs. It ended in the year of 1982. -
The Hippie Movement
A hippie subculture started to emerge among the youth population.The main belief that they expressed was their anti-sentiments towards the war in Vietnam. The Hippie's created their own social groups, listened to psychedelic rock, embraced the sexual revolution and used drugs such as marijuana, LSD, and "magic mushrooms" to explore other states of consciousness. -
Martin Luther King Jr. Assassinated
Civil rights leader Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. was hit by a sniper's bullet. King had been standing on the balcony in front of his room at the Lorraine Motel in Memphis, Tennessee, when, without warning, he was shot. The .30-caliber rifle bullet entered King's right cheek, traveled through his neck, and finally stopped at his shoulder blade. King was immediately taken to a nearby hospital but was pronounced dead at 7:05 p.m. -
Gay Rights Movement
The United States, in the middle of a social revolution, led the world in LGBT rights in the late 1960s and early 1970s. Inspired by the civil-rights movement and the women's movement, early gay-rights pioneers had begun, by the 1960s, to build a movement. These groups were rather conservative in their practices, emphasizing that gay men and women are no different from those who are straight and deserve full equality. -
The Moon Landing by Apollo 11 Astronauts
Apollo 11 was the spaceflight that landed the first humans on the Moon, Americans Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin, on July 20, 1969, at 20:18 UTC. Armstrong became the first to step onto the lunar surface six hours later on July 21 at 02:56 UTC. -
Woodstock Festival
The Woodstock Festival was a three-day concert (which rolled into a fourth day) that involved lots of sex, drugs, and rock 'n roll - plus a lot of mud. The Woodstock Music Festival of 1969 has become an icon of the 1960s hippie counterculture. -
Watergate Scandal
The Watergate scandal was a political scandal during the 1970's which involved a break-in of the Democratic National Committee headquarters at the Watergate Office Complex in Washington D.C. After investigation it was found out that President Nixon was aware of this and that several members of the Committee to Re-elect the President had participated in this break-in. -
Ping-Pong Diplomacy
The exchange of table tennis (ping-pong) players between the United States and People's Republic of China (PRC) in the early 1970s. The event marked a thaw in U.S.–China relations that paved the way to a visit to Beijing by President Richard Nixon. -
Earth Day
An annual event, celebrated on April 22, on which day events worldwide are held to demonstrate support for environmental protection. It was first celebrated in 1970, and is now coordinated globally by the Earth Day Network, and celebrated in more than 192 countries each year. -
United States Environmental Protection Agency
An agency of the U.S. federal government which was created for the purpose of protecting human health and the environment by writing and enforcing regulations based on laws passed by Congress. -
Roe vs Wade Legalizes Abortion in the U.S.
Each year, the Supreme Court reaches over one hundred decisions that impact the lives of Americans, yet few have been as controversial as the Roe v. Wade decision announced on January 22, 1973. The case concerned the right of women to seek an abortion, which was largely banned under Texas state law where the case originated in 1970. The Supreme Court ultimately ruled in a 7 to 2 vote that a woman’s right to seek an abortion is protected under the Ninth and Fourteenth Amendments. -
Hurricane Carmen
Hurricane Carmen was the most intense tropical cyclone of the 1974 Atlantic hurricane season. A destructive and widespread storm, Carmen originated as a tropical disturbance that emerged from Africa toward the end of August. The disturbance traveled westward, spawning a tropical depression east of the Lesser Antilles on August 29. The storm moved through the Caribbean Sea, and in an environment conducive to intensification, it quickly strengthened to its initial peak intensity as a Category 4. -
Copyright Act
A United States copyright law and remains the primary basis of copyright law in the United States, as amended by several later enacted copyright provisions. The Act spells out the basic rights of copyright holders, codified the doctrine of "fair use," and for most new copyrights adopted a unitary term based on the date of the author's death rather than the prior scheme of fixed initial and renewal terms. -
United States Presidential Election of 1976
The 48th quadrennial presidential election, held on Tuesday, November 2, 1976. The winner was the relatively unknown former governor of Georgia, Jimmy Carter, the Democratic candidate, over the incumbent President Gerald Ford, the Republican candidate. -
New York City Blackout
An electricity blackout that affected most of New York City on July 13–14, 1977. The only neighborhoods in the city that were not affected were in southern Queens and neighborhoods of the Rockaways, which are part of the Long Island Lighting Company system. -
Iran Hostage Crisis
A diplomatic crisis between Iran and the United States. Fifty-two American diplomats and citizens were held hostage for 444 days (November 4, 1979, to January 20, 1981), after a group of Iranian students, -
the Eruption of Mt St Helen
The worst volcanic disaster in U.S. history; however, it offered scientists an exceptional opportunity to examine and study a large volcanic eruption, which has enriched scientific knowledge of volcanoes. -
United States Refugee Act
It was created to provide a permanent and systematic procedure for the admission to the United States of refugees of special humanitarian concern to the U.S., and to provide comprehensive and uniform provisions for the effective resettlement and absorption of those refugees who are admitted. The act was completed on March 3, 1980, was signed by President Jimmy Carter on March 17, 1980 and became effective on April 1, 1980. -
John Lennon Assassination
At around 10:50 pm on 8 December 1980, as Lennon and Ono returned to their New York apartment in the Dakota, Mark David Chapman shot Lennon in the back four times at the entrance to the building. Lennon was taken to the emergency room of nearby Roosevelt Hospital and was pronounced dead on arrival at 11:07 pm. Earlier that evening, Lennon had autographed a copy of Double Fantasy for Chapman. -
HIV/AIDS Outbreak
The acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS) epidemic has had a substantial impact on the health and economy of many nations. Since the first AIDS cases were reported in the United States in June 1981, the number of cases and deaths among persons with AIDS increased rapidly during the 1980s followed by substantial declines in new cases and deaths in the late 1990s. This report describes the changes in the characteristics of persons with AIDS since 1981. -
Assassination Attempt of President Reagan
The attempted assassination of Ronald Reagan occurred on Monday, March 30, 1981, 69 days into his presidency. While leaving a speaking engagement at the Washington Hilton Hotel in Washington, D.C., President Reagan and three others were shot and wounded by John Hinckley, Jr. -
First Woman Appointed to the U.S. Supreme Court
President Ronald Reagan nominated Sandra Day O'Connor to be the first woman on the U.S. Supreme Court. On September 21, the United States Senate confirmed O'Connor in a vote of 99 for and zero against. Sandra Day O'Connor was officially sworn in and took her seat on the U.S. Supreme Court on September 25, 1981. -
New Coke
New Coke was a 1985 fiasco in which The Coca-Cola Company, based in Atlanta, Georgia, introduced a new formulation of their flagship product that was universally detested by consumers. This event is satirized in the Gump & Co. novel, with some creative liberties. -
Space Shuttle Challenger Disaster
At 11:38 a.m. on Tuesday, January 28, 1986, the Space Shuttle Challenger launched from the Kennedy Space Center at Cape Canaveral, Florida. As the world watched on TV, the Challenger soared into the sky and then, shockingly, exploded just 73 seconds after take-off. -
Tax Reform Act
To simplify the income tax code, broaden the tax base and eliminate many tax shelters and other preferences. The Tax Reform Act of 1986 was given impetus by a detailed tax-simplification proposal from President Reagan's Treasury Department, and was designed to be tax-revenue neutral because Reagan stated that he would veto any bill that was not. -
Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty (INF)
An agreement between the United States and the Soviet Union. Signed in Washington, D.C. by U.S. President Ronald Reagan and General Secretary Mikhail Gorbachev on December 8, 1987, it was ratified by the United States Senate on May 27, 1988 and came into force on June 1 of that year. -
Hurricane Hugo
A powerful Cape Verde-type hurricane that caused widespread damage and loss of life in the Leeward Islands, Puerto Rico, and the Southeast United States. Hurricane Hugo formed over the eastern Atlantic near the Cape Verde Islands on September 9, 1989. Hugo moved thousands of miles across the Atlantic, rapidly strengthening to briefly attain category 5 hurricane strength on its journey. -
Loma Prieta Earthquake
Also known as the Quake of '89 and the World Series Earthquake, struck the San Francisco Bay Area of California on Tuesday, October 17, 1989, at 5:04 pm local time. Caused by a slip along the San Andreas Fault, the quake lasted 10–15 seconds and measured 6.9 on both the moment magnitude scale and on the Richter magnitude scale. The quake killed 63 people throughout Northern California, injured 3,757 and left some 3,000–12,000 people homeless.
