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george wallace
George Wallace was born in Clio, Alabama, on August 25, 1919. After law school and military service, he embarked on a career as a judge and local politician. He served four terms as Alabama governor, from the 1960s through the 1980s, and ran unsuccessfully for the U.S. presidency three times. Despite his later efforts to revise his public image, Wallace is remembered for his strong support of racial segregation in the '60s. He died in Montgomery, Alabama, on September 13, 1998. -
martin luther king jr
Martin Luther King Jr. was born on January 15, 1929, in Atlanta, Georgia. King, both a Baptist minister and civil-rights activist, had a seismic impact on race relations in the United States, beginning in the mid-1950s. Among many efforts, King headed the SCLC. Through his activism, he played a pivotal role in ending the legal segregation of African-American citizens in the South and other areas of the nation, as well as the creation of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and the Voting Rights Act of 1 -
malcom x
Born on May 19, 1925, in Omaha, Nebraska, Malcolm X was a prominent black nationalist leader who served as a spokesman for the Nation of Islam during the 1950s and '60s. Due largely to his efforts, the Nation of Islam grew from a mere 400 members at the time he was released from prison in 1952 to 40,000 members by 1960. Articulate, passionate and a naturally gifted and inspirational orator, Malcolm X exhorted blacks to cast off the shackles of racism "by any means necessary," including violence. -
cold war
In 1945, one major war ended and another began. The Cold War lasted about 45 years. There were no direct military campaigns between the two main antagonists, the United States and the Soviet Union. Yet billions of dollars and millions of lives were lost in the fight. -
McCarthyism
"Are you now, or have you ever been, a member of the Communist party?" In the 1950s, thousands of Americans who toiled in the government, served in the army, worked in the movie industry, or came from various walks of life had to answer that question before a congressional panel. -
space race
The Space Race was a 20th-century (1955–1972) competition between two Cold War rivals, the Soviet Union (USSR) and the United States (US), for supremacy in spaceflight capability. It had its origins in the missile-based nuclear arms race between the two nations that occurred following World War II, enabled by captured German rocket technology and personnel. The technological superiority required for such supremacy was seen as necessary for national security, and symbolic of ideological superiori -
veitnam war prolongs conflict
Vietnam War: Prolonged conflict between Communist forces of North Vietnam, backed by China and the USSR, and non-Communist forces of South Vietnam, backed by the United States. President Truman authorizes $15 million in economic and military aid to the French, who are fighting to retain control of French Indochina, including Vietnam. As part of the aid package, Truman also sends 35 military advisers -
korean war
The Korean War (in South Korea: Hangeul: 한국전쟁, Hanja: 韓國戰爭, "Korean War"; in North Korea: 조국해방전쟁, Joguk Haebang Jeonjaeng, "Fatherland Liberation War"; 25 June 1950 – 27 July 1953)[31][a][33] was a war between North and South Korea, in which a United Nations force led by the United States of America fought for the South, and China fought for the North, which was also assisted by the Soviet Union. The war arose from the division of Korea at the end of World War II and from the global tensions of -
twenty seond admendment ratified
Twenty-Second Amendment to the Constitution is ratified, limiting the president to two terms -
julius and ethel executed
Julius and Ethel Rosenberg are executed for passing secret information about U.S. atomic weaponry to the Soviets -
joseph r mcarthy accuses army officials
Sen. Joseph R. McCarthy accuses army officials, members of the media, and other public figures of being Communists during highly publicized hearings -
civill rights movement
The African-American Civil Rights Movement or 1960s Civil Rights Movement encompasses social movements in the United States whose goals were to end racial segregation and discrimination against black Americans and to secure legal recognition and federal protection of the citizenship rights enumerated in the Constitution and federal law. This article covers the phase of the movement between 1954 and 1968, particularly in the South. The leadership was African-American, much of the political and fi -
brown v. board of education
Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka, 347 U.S. 483 (1954), was 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. Handed down on May 17, 1954, the Warren Court's unanimous (9–0) decision stated that "separate educational facil -
little rock nine
The Little Rock Nine were a group of nine 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 Dwight D. Eisenhower. The U.S. Supreme Court issued its historic Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka, Kansas, 347 U.S. 483, on Ma -
emmett tills murder
Fourteen-year-old Emmett Till was visiting relatives in Money, Mississippi, on August 24, 1955, when he reportedly flirted with a white cashier at a grocery store. Four days later, two white men kidnapped Till, beat him and shot him in the head. The men were tried for murder, but an all-white, male jury acquitted them. -
VEITNAM WAR
Promises and commitments to the people and government of South Vietnam to keep communist forces from overtaking them reached back into the Truman Administration. Eisenhower placed military advisers and CIA operatives in Vietnam, and John F. Kennedy sent American soldiers to Vietnam. Lyndon Johnson ordered the first real combat by American troops, and Richard Nixon concluded the war. Despite the decades of resolve, billions and billions of dollars, nearly 60,000 American lives and many more inju -
rosa parks
Civil rights activist Rosa Parks was born on February 4, 1913, in Tuskegee, Alabama. Her refusal to surrender her seat to a white passenger on a Montgomery, Alabama bus spurred a city-wide boycott. The city of Montgomery had no choice but to lift the law requiring segregation on public buses. Rosa Parks received many accolades during her lifetime, including the NAACP's highest award. -
suez crisis
The Suez Crisis was a war fought over control of the Suez Canal. It followed the unexpected nationalization of the Suez Canal in 1956 by Gamal Abdel Nasser, in which the United Kingdom, France and Israel invaded to take control of the canal. The U.S. had strongly warned against military action. The operation was a military success, but the canal was blocked for years to come. Eisenhower demanded the invaders withdraw, and they did. -
mlk speech
Rev. Martin Luther King, Jr., delivers his “I Have a Dream” speech before a crowd of 200,000 during the civil rights march on Washington, DC -
price is right
The Price Is Right is an American game show where contestants made successive bids on merchandise prizes with the goal of bidding closest to the actual retail price of the prize without going over. The series premiered on the NBC network on November 26, 1956, and aired as both a daytime series and as part of the network's prime time lineup. The daytime series aired daily while the evening series was aired once a week. Bill Cullen hosted both the daytime and nighttime versions of the show. Culle -
station wagon
One of the most noteworthy trends in 1957 was the rise of the station wagon. Before the war, this body style was regarded as a luxury suitable only a country-estate, a resort or an occasional business establishment. By 1957, however, it had arrived as a truly popular and useful family car and accounted for more than 14% of new car sales. -
hippie movement
he hippie subculture began its development as a youth movement in the United States during the early 1960s and then developed around the world. Its origins may be traced to European social movements in the 19th and early 20th century such as Bohemians, and the influence of Eastern religion and spirituality. From around 1967, its fundamental ethos — including harmony with nature, communal living, artistic experimentation particularly in music, and the widespread use of recreational drugs — spread -
to kill a mockingbird
To Kill a Mockingbird is a novel by Harper Lee published in 1960. It was immediately successful, winning the Pulitzer Prize, and has become a classic of modern American literature. The plot and characters are loosely based on the author's observations of her family and neighbors, as well as on an event that occurred near her hometown in 1936, when she was 10 years old. -
lyndon b johnson
Lyndon B. Johnson, the 36th president of the United States, was born in Texas on August 27, 1908. He was elected vice president of the United States in 1960, and became the 36th president in 1963, after President John F. Kennedy was assassinated. During his administration, Johnson initiated the "Great Society" social service programs, signed the Civil Rights Act into law, and bore the brunt of national opposition to his vast expansion of American involvement in the Vietnam War. Johnson died in T -
freedom riders
mixed-race group of volunteers sponsored by the Committee on Racial Equality—the so-called Freedom Riders—travel on buses through the South in order to protest racially segregated interstate bus facilities -
engel v. vitale
A decision in Engel v. Vitale determined that it was unconstitutional for state officials to compose an official school prayer and require its recitation in public schools. -
marilyn monroes death
Marilyn Monroe died of an apparent overdose from acute barbiturate poisoning at age thirty-six -
assassination of JFK
Ask any American who was over the age of 8 in 1963 the question: "Where were you when President Kennedy was shot?" and a complete detailed story is likely to follow. On November 22, 1963, a wave of shock and grief swept the United States. While visiting Dallas, President Kennedy was killed by an assassin's bullet. Millions of Americans had indelible images burned into their memories. The bloodstained dress of Jacqueline Kennedy, a mournful Vice-President Johnson swearing the Presidential oath o -
war protest
The movement against U.S. involvement in the Vietnam War began small–among peace activists and leftist intellectuals on college campuses–but gained national prominence in 1965, after the United States began bombing North Vietnam in earnest. Anti-war marches and other protests, such as the ones organized by Students for a Democratic Society (SDS), attracted a widening base of support over the next three years, peaking in early 1968 after the successful Tet Offensive by North Vietnamese troops pro -
miranda v. arizona
Miranda v. Arizona: The Supreme Court ruled that not informing suspects held in custody on their right to counsel and silence violated protection against self incrimination, establishing what later became known as "Miranda Rights". -
jack rubies death
Jack Ruby died of a pulmonary embolism at Parkland Hospital, where Oswald had died and where President Kennedy had been pronounced dead after his assassination -
national mobilization committe
National Mobilization Committee to End the War in Vietnam: 400,000 demonstrators march in New York City from Central Park to the United Nations Headquarters against the Vietnam War; with 100,000 protesting the war in San Francisco, being one of the largest demonstrations against the Vietnam War. -
assassination of robert f kennedy
Senator Robert Kennedy is shot at the Ambassador Hotel in Los Angeles after winning the California presidential primary. Immediately after he announced to his cheering supporters that the country was ready to end its fractious divisions, Kennedy was shot several times by the 22-year-old Palestinian Sirhan Sirhan. He died a day later. -
united states presidential election
United States presidential election, 1968: Former Vice President Richard Nixon was elected President, defeating incumbent Vice President Hubert Humphrey and Alabama Governor George Wallace. -
Woodstock, 1969
he Woodstock Music & Art Fair—informally, the Woodstock Festival or simply Woodstock—was a music festival, billed as "An Aquarian Exposition: 3 Days of Peace & Music". It was held at Max Yasgur's 600-acre (240 ha; 0.94 sq mi) dairy farm in the Catskills near the hamlet of White Lake in the town of Bethel, New York, from August 15 to 18, 1969. Bethel, in Sullivan County, is 43 miles (69 km) southwest of the town of Woodstock, New York, in adjoining Ulster County. During the sometimes rainy weeke -
pentagon papers
Pentagon Papers: The New York Times publishes its first story on the classified 7,000 page Department of Defense study, leaked by study participant Daniel Ellsberg, on the U.S.'s political-military involvement in Vietnam since 1945. -
the godfather
The Godfather is a film series consisting of three feature-length crime films directed by Francis Ford Coppola based upon the novel of the same name by Italian American author Mario Puzo. The first two films of the series were written, filmed, and released just two years apart in the 1970s, while the third installment was not released until 1990. All three films were distributed by Paramount Pictures. -
richard nixon/watergate scandal
During the campaign in June 1972, rumors began to circulate about White House involvement in a seemingly isolated burglary of the Democratic National Election Headquarters in the Watergate complex in Washington, D.C. Initially, Nixon downplayed the coverage of the scandal as politics as usual, but by 1973, the investigation (initiated by two cub-reporters for the Washington Post, Bob Woodward and Carl Bernstein) had mushroomed into a full-scale inquest. White House officials denied the press's r -
jackie robinson
Jack Roosevelt Robinson), 1919–72, American baseball player, the first African-American player in the modern major leagues, b. Cairo, Ga. He grew up in Pasadena, Calif., where he became an outstanding athlete in high school and junior college. While attending (1939–41) the Univ. of California at Los Angeles, he established a wide reputation in baseball, basketball, football, and track. -
disco music/culture
Well-known late 1970s disco performers included ABBA, Giorgio Moroder, Donna Summer, The Bee Gees, KC and the Sunshine Band, The Trammps, Gloria Gaynor and Chic. Various critics would also claim that Kraftwerk, who were an electronic band played a large part in pioneering disco as well as the electronic sound that became a big element of disco. While performers and singers garnered some public attention, producers working behind the scenes played an equal, if not more important role in disco, si -
u.s establishes diplomatic ties
U.S. establishes diplomatic ties with mainland China for the first time since Communist takeover in 1949 -
jimmy carter/iran hostage
Probably the biggest factor in Carter's declining political fortunes, however, was the Iranian Hostage Crisis. In November 1979, radical Iranian students seized the United States Embassy in Tehran, taking 66 Americans hostage. Carter's failure to negotiate the hostages' release, followed by a badly botched rescue mission, made him look like an impotent leader who had been outmaneuvered by a group of radical students. The hostages were held for 444 days before finally being released on the day Ca -
olympics cancelled
President Carter announces that U.S. athletes will not attend Summer Olympics in Moscow unless Soviet Union withdraws from Afghanistan -
ronald reagan
Born in Tampico, Illinois, on February 6, 1911, Ronald Reagan initially chose a career in entertainment, appearing in more than 50 films. While in Hollywood, he served as president of the Screen Actor's Guild and met his future wife, Nancy (Davis) Reagan. He served two terms as governor of California. Originally a liberal Democrat, Reagan ran for the U.S. presidency as a conservative Republican and won two terms, beginning in 1980. -
john lennons murder
John Lennon was born on October 9, 1940, in Liverpool, England. He met Paul McCartney in 1957 and invited McCartney to join his music group. They eventually formed the most successful songwriting partnership in musical history. Lennon left the Beatles in 1969 and later released albums with his wife, Yoko Ono, among others. On December 8, 1980, he was killed by a crazed fan named Mark David Chapman. -
ronald regan assassination attempt
On March 30, 1981, as President Ronald Reagan was exiting the Washington Hilton Hotel with several of his advisors, shots rang out and quick-thinking Secret Service agents thrust Reagan into his limousine. Once in the car, aides discovered that the president had been hit. His would-be assassin, John Hinckley Jr., also shot three other people, none of them fatally. At the hospital, doctors determined that the gunman's bullet had pierced one of the president's lungs and narrowly missed his heart. -
hiv/aids
In 1983, scientists discovered the virus that causes AIDS. The virus was at first named HTLV-III/LAV (human T-cell lymphotropic virus-type III/lymphadenopathy-associated virus) by an international scientific committee. This name was later changed to HIV (human immunodeficiency virus). -
space shuttle challenger
Space shuttle Challenger explodes 73 seconds after liftoff, killing all seven crew members -
u.s bombs military bases in libyia
It is the worst accident in the history of the U.S. space program. U.S. bombs military bases in Libya in effort to deter terrorist strikes on American targets -
reagan challenges soviet leader
In a speech in Berlin, President Reagan challenges Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev to “tear down this wall” and open Eastern Europe to political and economic reform -
reagan and gorbachev sign inf treaty
Reagan and Gorbachev sign INF treaty, the first arms-control agreement to reduce the superpowers' nuclear weapons -
oil tanker exxon
Oil tanker Exxon Valdez runs aground in Prince William Sound, spilling more than 10 million gallons of oil -
fall of communism
On the night of November 9, 1989, the Berlin Wall--the most potent symbol of the Cold War division of Europe--came down. Earlier that day, the communist authorities of the German Democratic Republic had announced the removal of travel restrictions to democratic West Berlin. Thousands of East Germans streamed into the West, and in the course of the night, celebrants on both sides of the wall began to tear it down. The collapse of the Berlin Wall was the culminating point of the revolutionary cha -
u.s forces invades panama
U.S. forces invade Panama in an attempt to capture Gen. Manuel Noriega, who previously had been indicted in the U.S. on drug trafficking charge -
persian gulf war
Iraqi troops invade Kuwait, leading to the Persian Gulf War
