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Ku Klux Klan
Forrest was named after the KKK; the KKK inspired the Civil Rights Act and exposed racism after slavery had ended in the U.S -
Elvis Presley on the Ed Sullivan Show
Supposedly, Forrest taught Elvis how to do his signature moves. Elvis was a great inspiration to America with his hit songs, and the Ed Sullivan show was also becoming popular. -
College Football - University of Alabama
Forrest played for the team under legendary coach "Bear" Bryant. Big game against rival teams, and Alabama pulled out the win (according to the movie, the win was because of Forrest) -
Alabama Desegregation
African Americans were attempting to get into the school, Governor Wallace ordered the doors be blocked to the blacks. Alabama was the only school that had not desegregated schools, and was part of the Civil Rights movement. -
Forrest Meets President John F. Kennedy
Kennedy confronted Cold War issues, and offered federal support to the Civil Rights movement. -
Assassination of JFK
Had previously been working on his next campaign for the election, JFK was a well known and well liked president. He was struck in Dallas, Texas, in the neck and head and rushed to the nearest hospital, where he was proclaimed dead. LBJ took his place. -
Forrest Fights in Vietnam
Forrest was there to fight with South Vietnam in a battle against communism. This sparked protests in the United States against the war later on because it wasn’t necessarily our battle. In the end, the North would win. Communism would win. -
Assassination of Robert F. Kennedy
RFK was shot several times at the Ambassador Hotel in Los Angeles, where he died a day later. Peace movements and civil rights had been shooting up in several places and Kennedy had been said to be the only one who could unite the American people -
LBJ Awards Medal of Honor to Vietnam Veterans
LBJ constantly expressed sorrow for the loss of American lives in the Vietnam war and close to this date had awarded the Medal of Honor to Sgt. David Dolby, who had gone through exactly what Forrest had done to save lives during the bombing and fights. Johnson had tried to make peace with Vietnam and hated the war with a burning passion. -
Peace Marches/Protests Against Vietnam War
The peace movements started small, and gained interest after the U.S bombed North Vietnam. Anti-war marches gained a lot of support afterwards. Marches occurred at Lincoln Memorial with over 100,000 people gathering there. -
U.S Land on the Moon
President Kennedy had a challenge to put a man on the moon by the decade’s end, and by then launched Apollo 11 with Neil Armstrong. Armstrong was the first man to take the first human steps on the moon with over half a billion people watching on television. As he steps, he says the famous line “That’s one small step for man, one giant leap for mankind.” -
U.S/China/Ping Pong
Ping Pong Diplomacy, this was designed to become friends between China and the United States. China offered U.S Ping Pong team to visit during their World Championship in Nagoya, Japan. The Americans played exhibition matches (Forrest was on the team in the movie) -
John Lennon on the Dick Cavott Show
John Lennon and his wife appeared on the Dick Cavett show to premiere their new work. Fun discussions and play part of a song from Yoko’s double album “Fly” -
Nixon's Election - Forrest Meets Nixon
One of the closest elections in U.S history, Nixon beat VP Hubert Humphrey. Nixon appealed to the “silent majority” and promised peace and honor in Vietnam, along with changes in the Cold War with the Soviets. -
Watergate Hotel Scandal
Men attempted to wiretap phones and steal documents during Nixon’s re-election campaign. Nixon desperately tried to hide the crimes that he had committed with “hush money” and burning evidence until it was finally revealed that Nixon was, indeed, part of the scandal. -
Nixon Resigns
Nixon was and is the only president to ever resign from office. He hoped to send healing to America, because of the Watergate Hotel Scandal. Newly President Ford later pardoned Nixon for any crimes he may have committed in office. -
Hurricane Carmen
Struck Mexico and gulf of Mexico as a level 5 hurricane. Destroyed everything in its path. In the movie, after the hurricane the Jenny was the only boat still intact and Forrest was able to catch enough shrimp to start the Bubba Gump Shrimp Co. -
Apple Computers Come Out
Two Steves - Jobs and Wozniak - had been friends since high school. Both drop outs, they created Apple Computers as a hobby but didn’t take it seriously until after 1976. People loved the computers and the company grew until it was selling computers abroad with a huge company invested in Apple computers. (Lt. Dan invested in the Apple Computers in the movie) -
Reagan Assassination Attempt
Outside the Hilton Hotel, John Hinckley Jr. shoots Reagan with a .22 revolver. Hinckley hit a few men before hitting Reagan but was not killed from the incident. Lots of confusion on who was in charge at the white house after the attempt. -
HIV/AIDS Outbreak
People were unaware on how HIV/AIDS was spread through humans. Californian gay men were diagnosed with the disease and it was suggested AIDS was spread through sexual contact. People all around were contracting it.
