HISTORIC EVENTS 

The Civil Rights movement made great changes in society in the 1960's.  The movement began peacefully, with Martin Luther King and Stokely Carmichael leading sit-ins and peaceful protests, joined by whites, particularly Jews. Malcolm X preached about Black Nationalism.  After his assassination, the Black Panthers were formed to continue his mission.  In 1965, the Watts riots broke out in Los Angeles.  The term "blacks" became socially acceptable, replacing "Negroes." 

The Presidential Commission of the Status of Women (1963) presented disturbing facts about women's place in our society.   Betty Friedan, Pauli Murray and Gloria Steinem,  (National Organization for Women) questioned the unequal treatment of women, gave birth toWomen's Lib, and disclosed the "glass ceiling."  The Civil Rights Act of 1964 was amended to include gender.  The birth control pill became widely available and abortion for cause was legalized in Colorado in 1967.  In 1967, both abortion and artificial insemination became legal in some states.

When Fidel Castro, soon after overtaking Cuba, declared that he was a communist, the United States broke off diplomatic relations.  Castro seized American property.  The CIA attacked Cuba in an ill-fated mission at the Bay of Pigs.  In 1962, a spy plane identified long range missiles in Cuba.  President John F. Kennedy  readied troops to invade Cuba, and the Soviet Union prepared to fire at US cities if we made a move.

John F. Kennedy was young and charismatic, and his brief reign as president was often called Camelot.  He was assassinated byLee Harvey Oswald in 1963. His Vice President, Lyndon B. Johnson became president, and was reelected the following year.  To prevent communist North Vietnam from overtaking South Vietnam, the United States sent military advisors and then soldiers. 

The Space Race, begun by the Soviets in 1957, was highlighted by Alan Shepard, the first American in space in 1961.  In 1963, John Glennwas the first American to orbit the earth.  Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin, in Apollo XI, were the first men to walk on the moon in 1969.

Vietnam war 

Jhon F. Kennedy 

Martin Luther King

Neil Armstrong