The Kennedy-Nixon debates cemented television's position as the essential new medium for American political discourse.
Kennedy Wins 1960 Presidential Election in Closest Race of the 20th Century

Soviet Premier Nikita Khrushchev publicly denounced U.S. policies at on several occasions in 1960, and his outbursts at the United Nations attracted notoriety.
Controversy Strong Over Aid

The presence of Soviet missiles in Cuba within striking distance of United States provoked an international crisis which briefly raised the prospect of nuclear war.
U.S. Forces Soviet Missiles Out of Cuba

The November assassination of President Kennedy shocked the American public. Vice president Lyndon Johnson was promptly sworn in as president aboard Air Force One.
President Kennedy Assassinated; President Johnson Takes Office

The landmark Civil Rights Act of 1964 passed, mandating desegregation in public places. Martin Luther King Jr. received the Nobel Peace Prize in the same year.
Civil Rights Act of 1964

President Johnson expanded and promoted Great Society programs, intended to reduce poverty following initiation of his "War on Poverty" in 1964.
Social Security Medicare Program Enacted 

The Vietnam War was one of the most divisive conflicts in American history. Political indecisiveness and loss of public support were key contributing factors to America's eventual withdrawal.
U.S. Viet Nam War Efforts

Thurgood Marshall became the first African American to be appointed to the Supreme Court.
Marshall Supreme Court Appointment

The presidential candidates debated the merits of the Vietnam War, and the Democratic convention in Chicago became a byword after violent clashes between protestors and police during anti-war riots.
Nixon Wins by Narrow Electoral

Neil Armstrong became the first man to walk on the moon.
NASA Authorization