Important Historic and Cultural Events of the 1960’s and Early 1970’s
1960




The first laser device is developed by U.S. scientists.
Student for a Democratic Society (SDS) is established by student activists.
The Soviet Union destroys an airborne U.S. spy plane.
The Kennedy and Nixon debate appears as the first presidential debate on TV.
1961




A Russian, Yuri Gagarin becomes the first man in space.
President John F. Kennedy establishes the U.S. Peace Corps.
The Bay of Pigs invasion in Cuba (backed by America) fails.
Freedom Riders challenge segregation on interstate buses.
1962
 U.S. astronaut John Glenn orbits the earth in a spacecraft.
 The Cuban missile crisis occurs.
 James Meredith becomes the first African American student to attend the University of
Mississippi, a highly segregated southern school.
 President Kennedy issues the order that protects federal employees' right to organize and
bargain collectively, but not to strike.
1963







A civil rights march on Washington D.C. takes place.—250,000 attend
A treaty is signed banning nuclear testing.
November 22-President John F. Kennedy is assassinated in Dallas, Texas.
Betty Friedan writes The Feminine Mystique inspiring a new generation of women activists
Vietnamese and Americans stage a coup in Vietnam.
Martin Luther King delivers his “I have a dream speech”
Lyndon Johnson becomes President of the United States
1964
 The Beatles gain international fame as a rock band.
 Congress ratifies the Civil Rights Act.
 Three civil rights activists are killed in Mississippi.
1965





Congress establishes Medicaid, Medicare, and passes the Voting Rights Act.
Black leader Malcolm X is assassinated in New York.
President Lyndon Johnson quickly increases the number of troops in Vietnam.
Race riots occur in Watts, Los Angeles.
Cesar Chavez organizes farm workers.
1966
 A B-52 bomber from the U.S. crashes near the coast of Spain with four unarmed Hydrogen
Bombs as its cargo.
 The National Organization for Women is founded. This Organization sparks women's
movements for women's rights.
 The Black Panther party is founded.
1967
 Antiwar protesters march on the Pentagon in protest.
 Three Apollo astronauts are killed in a fire on the launch pad.
 Martin Luther King leads an anti Vietnam protest in New York.
1968




The American Indian Movement (AIM) is founded by activists.
The Kerner Commission publishes its own report on civil disobedience.
Riots break out at the Democratic National Convention in Chicago.
Robert Kennedy and Martin and Martin Luther King Jr. are assassinated.
1969
 The U.S. becomes the first nation to land astronauts on the moon
 Woodstock, a three day music festival drew 400,000
1970
 A federal jury found "the Chicago 7" antiwar activists innocent of conspiring to incite riots
during the Democratic National Convention
 The Environmental Protection Agency is set up
 U.S. forces invade Cambodia.
 Rebellious rock stars Janis Joplin and Jimi Hendrix die of drug overdoses.
 Four Kent State University students were killed in a Vietnam War protest by the National
Guard.
 The U.S. starts to withdraw troops from Vietnam.
 First "Earth Day" celebrated as environmental movement launched
1971
 The 26th Amendment lowering the voting age to 18 in all elections was ratified.
 President Nixon imposes a freeze on prices and wages.
 Huge anti-war march in Washington, D.C.
1972
 A break-in at the Democratic headquarters sets off the Watergate Scandal.
 The Equal Rights Amendment is passed by Congress, touching off an unsuccessful ratification
battle across the United States.
 The full-scale bombing of North Vietnam after Paris peace negotiations failed.
 Republican agents burglarize Democratic headquarters at Watergate
 Strategic Arms Limitation Treaty (SALT I) signed by U.S. & Soviets.
 Nineteen killed in terrorist siege at Munich Olympic Games
1973








The Senate begins to investigate the Watergate affair.
The Vietnam War peace pacts were signed in Paris.
The end of the military draft was announced.
An energy crisis occurs.
Henry Kissinger wins the Nobel Peace Prize.
Native Americans stage a protest at Wounded Knee, South Dakota.
The last of the American forces finally leave Vietnam.
On Gerald Ford, congressman from Michigan, becomes the first Vice President appointed
under the 25th Amendment.
 Roe v. Wade Supreme Court decision legalizes abortion