1953: Julius and Ethel Rosenberg are executed for passing secrets about U.S. atomic weapons to the soviets. The Rosenbergs
1954: The U.S. Supreme Court decides that racial segregation is unconstitutional.
1957: President Eisenhower sends federal troops to Little Rock, Arkansas to enforce integration.
1959: Alaska becomes the 49 th state and Hawaii the 50 th.
1961: Bay of Pigs invasion of Cuba fails.
1962: In the Cuban Missile Crisis the U.S. and the Soviets have a showdown over Soviet missiles in Cuba. World destruction is averted.
1963: President Kennedy is assassinated in Dallas.
1964:President Johnson signs Civil Rights Act.
1966: In Miranda v. Arizona, U.S. Supreme Court rules that accused persons must be informed of their rights.
1968: Vietnam War takes turn for the worse as North Vietnamese launch Tet Offensive. U.S. Troops kill 300 villagers in My Lai Massacre.