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Vietnam War
Vietnam, a now independent country, is split between a communist north and a pro-west south. This conflict lasts 20 years, with Vietnam fighting American troops until 1973. -
Montgomery Bus Boycott
Rosa Parks refuses to give up her seat on a Montgomery Bus to a white passenger. Martin Luther King Jr. leads protestors in a boycott of the Civil Rights system, resulting in the Supreme Court ruling bus segregation as unconstitutional. -
President Sends Troops to Little Rock, Arkansas
President Eisenhower sends troops to Central High School in Little Rock, Arkansas to enforce integration of black students. -
First Satellite Launched
Explorer I, the first American satellite, is launched by the Army at Cape Canaveral. -
Alaska Becomes a State
Alaska is admitted as the 49th state of America. -
Hawaii Becomes a State
Hawaii is admitted as the 50th state in America. -
March on Washington
The Civil Rights march on Washington, D.C. results in Martin Luther King Jr.'s famous "I Have a Dream" speech on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial. -
JFK Assassinated
President Kennedy is assassinated while in a motorcade through downtown Dallas, Texas by Lee Harvey Oswald. -
First Men Land on the Moon
Neil Armstrong and Edwin Aldrin, Jr., become the first men to land on the moon. -
26th Amendment
The 26th Amendment reduced the legal voting age to 18. -
Equal Rights Amendment
The ERA, which would outlaw sex discrimination in the workplace, was passed by Congress but was not ratified by the states.