1960, Cold War

• American U-2 spy plane, piloted by Francis Gary Powers, shot down over Russia (May 1). Khrushchev kills Paris summit conference because of U-2 (May 16). Powers sentenced to prison for 10 years (Aug. 19)—freed in February 1962 in exchange for Soviet spy.

1960, Civil Rights

• May 6: President Dwight Eisenhower signs the Civil Rights Act of 1960 into law.

1961, Space Race

• On board Vostok 1 , Soviet cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin made history on April 12, 1961 when he became both the first person in the world to enter space and the first person to orbit the Earth. Gherman Titov is launched in Soviet spaceship Vostok II: makes 171/2 orbits in 25 hours, covering 434,960 miles before landing safely (Aug. 6)

1961, Space Race

• May 25: President John F. Kennedy delivered the speech, "Special Message to the Congress on Urgent National Needs". Acknowledging that the Soviets had a head start in their space program, JFK stated that the United States should set as a goal the "landing a man on the moon and returning him safely to the earth" by the end of the decade.

1961, Cold War

• Berlin Wall built during the night of August 12-13, 1961. The Berlin Wall physically separated Communist East Germany and Democratic West Germany. When Berliners woke up, they found themselves stuck on whichever side of the border they had fallen asleep on. For nearly three decades, East Germans would be kept behind this barrier, the Berlin Wall.

1961, Nuclear and Strategic arms race

• September 15 – the United States starts underground nuclear testing. October 29 - USSR fires 50-megaton hydrogen bomb, biggest explosion in history.

1961, US foreign policy

• U.S. breaks diplomatic relations with Cuba (Jan. 3).
• Cuba invaded at Bay of Pigs by an estimated 1,200 anti-Castro exiles aided by U.S.; invasion crushed (April 17).

1962, Space Race

• February 20 - Lt. Col. John H. Glenn, Jr., is first American to orbit Earth—three times in 4 hr 55 min.

1962, Cold War

• October 22 – Cuban Missile Crisis: Soviets establish missile bases in Cuba, Kennedy orders a naval blockade to divert any missiles from arriving in Cuba. The leaders of both superpowers recognized the devastating possibility of a nuclear war and publicly agreed to a deal in which the Soviets would dismantle the weapon sites in exchange for a pledge from the United States not to invade Cuba.

1963, Nuclear arms race

• The U.S. and U.S.S.R. sign a treaty banning any atmospheric nuclear tests. September 24 – Nuclear Test Ban Treaty is ratified by Senate. October 10 – Nuclear Test Ban Treaty takes effect.

1963, Civil rights

• August 28 - Martin Luther King delivers “I have a dream” speech for the freedom of civil rights. H declares that every human, ignorant of the race, has a dream and has to achieve it.

1963, Cold War

• August 30 - Washington-to-Moscow “hot line” communications link opens, designed to reduce risk of accidental war.

1963, Political murder

• November 22 – President Kennedy is assassinated in Dallas, Texas by Lee Harvey Oswald.
• Lyndon B. Johnson is sworn in as President on Air Force One with First Lady Jackie Kennedy present.

1963, US foreign policy

• November 24 – President Johnson escalates American’s military involvement in the Vietnam War. There are 15,000 U.S. military advisers in South Vietnam.

1964, Civil Rights

• January 8 – President Johnson declares a “War on Poverty” in the State of the Union address thus initiating plans for his Great Society. July 23 – Senate passes $947 million antipoverty bill as part of the Great Society

1964, Civil Rights (2)

• July 2 – President Johnson signs the Civil Rights Act of 1964, making segregation in public facilities and discrimination in employment illegal.

1964, US foreign policy

• The Gulf of Tonkin Resolution gives President Johnson authority to prosecute an unlimited war in Vietnam unchecked by Congress.

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