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Roosevelt banned discrimination in the defense industry
Roosevelt banned the practice of discriminatory employment in the defense industry in June of 1941 with the Executive Order 8802. -
CORE formed
The Congress of Racial Equality was a leading activist organization during the civil rights movement and was founded on the University of Chicago's campus as an outgrowth of the pacifist Fellowship of Reconciliation. -
Jackie Robinson joined the Brooklyn Dodgers
On April 10, Jackie Robinson joined the Brooklyn Dodgers, breaking the color barrier in baseball. -
Desegregation of Military
Executive Order 8802 was established to commit the government to integrating the races in the military. This order followed complaints that blacks were not receiving the same treatment in the military. This helped to create job-training programs in defense plants, forbidding discrimination by defense contractors, and establishing the Fair Employment Practices Commission. -
Sweatt v. Painter
This court case began when a black man was denied entry in the University of Texas Law School. The case was ruled that because the black law school was not equal, he had every right to attend the University of Texas Law School and that the school had violated his fourteenth amendment right. -
McLaurin v. Oklahoma State Regents
The confrontation began when George McLaurin was denied admission to the University of Oklahoma based on the color of his skin. The trial decided that it was his constitutional right to the education he was requesting. -
Dwight D. Eisenhower elected president
Dwight D. Eisenhower was the thirty fourth president of the United States during 1953 - 1961. -
Brown v. Board of Education
Up until the case fell beneath the Supreme Court, the rule had been that racial segregation was legal as long as the facilities were equal. Brown v. Board of Education challenged that although public schools were separate, they were not equal. The case sparked from when Oliver Brown's daughter was denied entry to a Topeka, Kansas public school based on the color of her skin. -
Southeast Asia Treaty Organization (SEATO) formed
SEATO was created to prevent communism from gaining ground in Asia. The formation of SEATO was also vital in the war in Vietnam. The countries in SEATO were the United States, France, Britain, New Zealand, Australia, the Philippines, and Thailand. -
French surrender
On May 7, the French had lost the Battle of Dien Bien Phu. The French troops had been severely damaged, but their defeat is what lead the Americans to join the war efforts. -
Rosa Parks refuses to give up her seat
On December 1, 1955, Rosa Parks refused to give up her seat on a bus to a white man. This initiated many of the segregated bus protests. -
Montgomery Bus Boycott
The bus boycotts were a civil rights protest to end segregated seating on public transportation. -
Supreme Court rules the desegregation of buses in Montgomery
The Supreme Court ruling that segregation on public transportation was illegal paved the way for an ordinance that African Americans could sit anywhere they chose on a bus. -
Little Rock Nine
The Little Rock Nine were nine African American students that were denied entry into Central High School in Little Rock, Arkansas. On the first day of school, the governor of Arkansas, Orval Faubus, ordered the National Guard to block the students from entering the building. Following the Little Rock Nine, Brown II decided that schools had to integrate their facilities. -
Congress passes Civil Rights Act of 1957
The Civil Rights Act of 1957 was the beginning of the federal government being a much bigger part of the civil rights movement. The act created the Civil Rights Division in the Department of Justice, a Civil Rights Commission in the executive branch, and expanding authority to include civil lawsuits. The act that had been in place before the Civil Rights Act of 1957 hadn't been updated since after the Civil War. -
National Liberation Front (NLF) committed to undermining Ngo Dinh Diem's government
The NLF was an underground communist insurgency that was committed to defeating Ngo Dinh Diem and replicate the success of Viet Minh. -
Viet Cong formed
The Viet Cong were who the Americans were fighting in the Vietnam War. They were a military branch off the National Liberation Front and were with North Vietnam. -
SCLC formed
The Southern Christian Leadership Conference was founded on January 10, 1957 in Atlanta, Georgia. Martin Luther King, Jr. was it's first president. The SCLC organized the 381-day bus boycott in Montgomery that led to the end of segregated public transportation and also played a key role in the March on Washington. -
Fidel Castro overthrows the regime of Fulgenicio Batista
The U.S. saw Castro overthrowing Batista as a potential threat to the Americans. They felt Castro was spreading anti-Americanism in Cuba. The potential of a threat grew larger when Castro began to have ties with the communist party and the Soviet Union. -
Greensboro sit-ins
The Greensboro sit-ins were a series of non-violent protest held in Greensboro, North Carolina. It was meant to remove the policy of racial segregation in public buildings. -
John F. Kennedy wins presidency
On November 8, 1960, John F. Kennedy was elected president and became the youngest president to ever be elected. He beat Richard Nixon, who was vice-president at the time. He was also the first Catholic president. -
John F. Kennedy takes aggressive stance
John F. Kennedy changes his stance to a more aggressive fight against the communists in Vietnam. -
SNCC formed
The Student Non-Violent Coordinating Committee was created by the director of the SCLC, Ella Baker, who was concerned that the SCLC did not represent young blacks the way they wanted to be. So she organizied the first meeting of the SNCC. She stressed to focus on broader social change instead of solely integration. -
CORE stages first freedom ride
Freedom riders were activist who rode on interstate buses to end segregation on southern public transportation. -
Peace Corps is created
The Peace Corps was created on March 1, 1961 to support economic and social development in other regions. -
Alliance of Progress started
The Alliance of Progress was started to improve political democracy, economic growth, and social justice in Latin America. It had good intentions but fell short of its goals. The United States gave Latin American twenty million dollars to help with those goals. One of the problems was that America only supported governments that were anti-communist. -
Berlin Wall is built
The Berlin Wall was a concrete barrier that divided Berlin from 1961 to 1989. -
Bay of Pigs invasion
The Bay of Pigs invasion was a failed operation to overthrow the communist government and Fidel Castro, who the U.S. saw as a threat to themselves. The Central Intelligence Agency for the U.S. trained a group of Cuban exiles to invade the Bay of Pigs. The invasion was a complete failure. The plan would have been successful had they not alerted the Cuban militia on accident. Once things had gone awry, the U.S. pulled back its air cover which were critically needed. -
Cuban Missile Crisis
The Cuban Missile Crisis refers to the time when the Soviet Union sent missiles to Cuba, which threatened the U.S. in an even closer manner than ever. Finally, the Soviet Union backed down and withdrew missiles from Cuba, and in return, America withdrew missiles from Turkey. -
Nikita Khrushchev blamed for threatening world peace
He threatened world peace by sending missiles to Cuba, this being the closest time to nuclear war to the U.S. and the Soviet Union have come. After imposing a naval blockade, Khrushchev backed down. -
James Meredith won court case to desegregate University of Mississippi
James Meredith was a black man who had made many failed attempts to receive admission into the University of Mississippi. After filing a lawsuit, the Supreme Court ruled in his favor and he was admitted into the school. He later graduated in 1963 as the first African-American to graduate "Ole Miss." -
James Meredith graduates from University of Mississippi
James Meredith graduated from the University of Mississippi as the first African-American to graduate from the school. -
Martin Luther King violates order and joins demonstrations in Birmingham, Alabama
Martin Luther King, Jr. and other campaign leader were ordered by the courts to not participate in demonstrations in Birmingham, Alabama. MLK did not comply and participated. He was later arrested for disobeying the courts. -
John F. Kennedy sends National Guard to Alabama
John F. Kennedy ordered the National Guard to go to Alabama and stop Governor George Wallace's racist agenda. -
March of Washington
The March on Washington was a mass protest for the civil rights movement. It was also the event in which Martin Luther King gave his "I Have a Dream" speech. -
The United States, Britain, and the Soviet Union sign Nuclear Test Ban Treaty
The Nuclear Test Ban Treaty was put in place to stop nuclear testing, above ground at least. Scientists and the public were becoming concerned when they found radiation in their wheat and milk. Kennedy also supported the treaty because it would prevent the other countries involved from furthering nuclear testing. The treaty also help Kennedy and Khrushchev reduce tensions between the countries. -
Ngo Dinh Diem removed from power
Ngo Dihn Diem was removed from power and shortly after assassinated. -
Ngo Dinh Diem assassinated
Diem was assassinated on November 2, 1963, marking a major turning point in the Vietnam War. -
"Letter from Birmingham Jail" Martin Luther King
The "Letter from Birmingham Jail" was written when King was put in jail for disobeying court orders to abstain from joining civil rights protests. The letter depicted the struggles that all African-Americans were going through and the long road to equal rights they had been traveling. -
Martin Luther King delivers "I Have a Dream" Speech
Martin Luther King, Jr. gave his "I Have a Dream" speech at the March on Washington. The speech spoke of civil and economic rights as well as ending racism. He used universal themes and references from the Bible to convey an image of the African-American struggle. -
John F. Kennedy assassinated
John F. Kennedy had been touring Texas to help settle tension in the Democratic Party to secure his reelection. While in Dallas, during a motorcade on November 22, Kennedy was shot in the neck and the head. He was later pronounced dead at Parkland Memorial Hospital. His assassin was Lee Harvey Oswald, who never actually went to trial because he was shot and killed by Jack Ruby, a nightclub owner, while being transferred to a prison. -
Civil Rights Act of 1964 is made a law
The Civil Rights Act of 1964 outlawed discrimination on the basis of race, color, religion, sex, or national origin. -
Gulf of Tonkin Resolution
The Gulf of Tonkin Resolution was extremely important and effects how we handle war conflicts today. It allowed the president to send troops where they wanted to, without Congress declaring war. This is why they Vietnam War was never really a war. -
Freedom Summer Campaign
The Freedom Summer Campaign was a volunteer campaign to register as many blacks to vote as possible. -
Twenty-fourth Amendment ratified
The twenty-fourth amendment was made to get rid of poll tax. -
Malcolm X breaks away from the Nation of Islam
On March 8, Malcolm X announced he would be leaving the Nation of Islam because it had "gone as far as it can." -
President Lyndon Johnson delivers Great Society speech
President Johnson gave his Great Society speech which highlight his ideas for the country, the main goal being to eliminate poverty and racial injustice. -
Bloody Sunday
Bloody Sunday refers to the day when police attacked non-violent protesters on Edmund Pettus Bridge. -
Protest confrontations on Edmund Pettus Bridge
A protest march on Edmund Pettus Bridge were interrupted by police and resulted in two deaths, hundreds injured, and some people arrested. -
Equal Employment Opportunity Commission
The EEOC was founded on July 2 and works to ensure equal opportunity of employment and end discrimination in the work place. -
Voting Rights Act passed
The Voting Rights Act was aimed at breaking down legal barriers that prevented minorities from exercising their voting rights. It is known as one of the most far-reaching acts that have been passed. The legislation followed the tragedy in Selma where state trooper attacked protesters on Edmund Pettus Bridge. -
Johnson implemented Medicare and Medicaid
President Johnson introduces Medicare and Medicaid as part of his Great Society ideology. -
Black Panther is formed
Black Panther formed as an organization to challenge police brutality against blacks. -
Vietnam War devolves to a stalemate
The U.S. government announced that the war was devolving into a stalemate because, despite many victories for South Vietnam, the Viet Cong was still growing in numbers. Neither side seemed to be making any headway. -
Congress divides into two camps
Congress divided into two camps while in the Vietnam War. These camps were the hawks and the doves. The hawks believed in the war efforts and wanted to continue, the doves thought quite the opposite and wanted to pull troops. -
Kerner Commission is formed
The Kerner Commission was formed to investigate the causes of the Race Riots. -
Race Riots
The Chicago Race Riot was a major racial conflict that ended with 38 dead and over 500 injured African-Americans. -
Supreme Court challenges racial gerrymandering
The Supreme Court challenges racial gerrymandering, redrawing district lines to exclude minority voters, in White v. Regester. -
Paris Peace Accord
The Paris Peace Accord was the agreement that was supposed to establish peace in Vietnam. -
Vietnam becomes communist
Eventually, after the U.S. left, South Vietnam was overtaken by communist North Vietnam, making Vietnam communist.
