-
Period: to
The Vietnam War
-
John F. Kennedy was elected president.
He was the 35th president to be elected. He was the youngest man and first Roman Catholic to hold the office at 43 years old. -
Agent Orange
The first batch of herbicides occured on this date. These chemical sprayings were targeted to destroy the food crops. There were at least 6,542 sprayings that happened. By 1971, 12% of South Vietnam had been contaminated. About 3 million Viatnamese people were affected and around 150,000 children were born with birth defects. When this chemical was tested, it was proven that the chemical was heavily contaminated with dioxin residue. -
Cuban Missile Crisis
This was the closest the world came to a nuclear war. US forces were ready but Cuba was prepared to use battlefield nuclear weapons if the island is invaded. US had a plan to place missiles in Cuba. Reconnaissance photographs revealed Soviet missiles under construction in Cuba. President Kennedy concluded to impose a naval quarantine around Cuba. Kennedy demanded that Soviets remove all offensive weapons on Cuba.The Soviet Union wouldn't dismantle installations unless the US wouldn't invade Cuba -
JFK was assassinated
The day Kennedy and his wife landed in Dallas, Texas is when he was killed. He had spoken in San Antonio, Austin, and Fort Wort the day before. The party was on their way to his next speaking engagement. Around 12:30 p.m. as Kennedy was making his way through downtown Dallas, gunshots were made. He was struck in the neck and head and was pronounced dead shortly after at the hospital.The 24 year old man responsible for this was sent to jail. -
Gulf of Tonkin
The North VIatnamese forces attacked US navy ships and this was considered a sea battle. Another sea battle occurred on August 4. These incidents granted the president, Lyndon B. Johnson, to assist any Southeast Asia country whose government was to be considered jeaporadized. The resolution served as Johnson's legal justification for deploying US forces and the commencement of open warfare against North VIetnam. -
Black Panther Party
The Black Panther Party was formed in California of October of 1966. They believed the non-violent campaign of Martin Luther King failed and preached for a revolutionary war. They considered themselves an African American party. They were willing to use violence to get what they wanted. Four desires were wanted: to have equality in education, housing, employment, and civil rights. The FBI did not like this and the Black Panther Party became FBI's most wanted. -
Tet offensive
The Tet Offensive was a series of surprise attacks by the vietcongs and North Viatnamese forces. A truce was declared to celebrate a holiday but then the vietcongs attacked almost every city in South Viatnam. Tis was considered to be the bloodiest war in history and also the turning point of the war. Vietcongs got the victory while 58,000 US soldiers were killed and 304,000 wounded. -
People's Park
After an article was put out on April 18, about 100 people arrived at the site to what was wanted to be People's Park. !000 people became involved to help build this site. But, on April 28, a man released plans to build a sports field on the site which conflicted with the People's Park plans. He agreed to give 3 weeks for the plans to be done. The governor didn't like this idea and sent police officers to destroy what has already been done. -
The Moon Landing
On July 16, 1969 a space shuttle launched from the Kennedy Space Center. Neil Armstrong was the first man to walk on the moon. He was with two other men. They had to wear suits that controlled oxygen, temperature, and pressure inside the suit. They spent 2 and a half hours on the moon and came back to Earth. Soil and rock samples were collected for scientists to study. The American flag was left on the surface to show the accomplishment. -
Woodstock
In New York more than half a million people came together to protest against the Vietnam War. It was the weekend from August 15-17 but ended up going another day loner into the !8th of August. It was made up of anti-war songs mostly rock n' roll. This festival created many traffic jams from people all over the world coming to this festival.
