- The Supreme Court rules in Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka that racial segregation of public schools is unconstitutional.
- The Geneva Accords divide Vietnam into two countries, North Vietnam and South Vietnam.
- The French defeat at Dien Bien Phu leads to the Geneva Accords and the end of French colonial rule in Vietnam.
- The United States begins bombing Vietnam.
1955
- Rosa Parks refuses to give up her seat to a white man on a bus in Montgomery, Alabama, sparking the Montgomery bus boycott.
- Emmett Till, a 14-year-old African American boy, is brutally murdered in Mississippi. His death galvanizes the civil rights movement.
1956
- The Suez Crisis erupts when Egypt nationalizes the Suez Canal. Israel, France, and Britain invade Egypt, but are forced to withdraw under pressure from the United States and the Soviet Union.
- The Hungarian Revolution is crushed by Soviet troops.
- The Civil Rights Act of 1957 is passed, outlawing discrimination in voting, public accommodations, and employment.
1958
- The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) is created.
- The first American artificial satellite, Explorer 1, is launched into orbit.
- The Cuban Revolution overthrows the government of Fulgencio Batista and installs Fidel Castro as leader.
1959
- Alaska and Hawaii become the 49th and 50th states of the United States.
- The United States and the Soviet Union sign the Strategic Arms Limitation Treaty (SALT I), limiting the number of strategic nuclear weapons each country can possess.
- The Vietnam War escalates as the United States increases its military presence in South Vietnam.
1960
- John F. Kennedy is elected president of the United States.
- The Congo gains independence from Belgium, but soon descends into civil war.
- The United Nations Security Council authorizes the use of force to prevent the secession of Katanga from the Congo.
1961
- The Bay of Pigs Invasion, a CIA-backed attempt to overthrow Fidel Castro, fails.
- The Berlin Wall is built to divide East and West Berlin.
- The Soviet Union launches the first man into space, Yuri Gagarin.
1962
- The Cuban Missile Crisis brings the world to the brink of nuclear war as the United States and the Soviet Union confront each other over the Soviet Union's installation of nuclear missiles in Cuba.
- The United States and the Soviet Union sign the Nuclear Test Ban Treaty, banning all nuclear weapons tests in the atmosphere, in space, and under water.
1963
- President John F. Kennedy is assassinated in Dallas, Texas.
- The Civil Rights Act of 1964 is passed, outlawing discrimination in employment, public accommodations, and government programs.
- The Voting Rights Act of 1965 is passed, prohibiting racial discrimination in voting and establishing federal oversight of voter registration and elections in certain areas of the United States.
1966
- The Cultural Revolution begins in China.
- The Six-Day War between Israel and its Arab neighbors ends with an Israeli victory.
- The United Nations Security Council passes Resolution 242, calling for a just and lasting peace in the Middle East.
1967
- The United States begins bombing North Vietnam.
- The Tet Offensive, a major North Vietnamese offensive, fails but turns public opinion against the Vietnam War in the United States.
1968
- Martin Luther King Jr. is assassinated in Memphis, Tennessee.
- Robert F. Kennedy is assassinated in Los Angeles, California.
- The Democratic National Convention in Chicago is marred by violence between police and anti-war protesters.
- Richard Nixon is elected president of the United States.
1969
- The Apollo 11 mission lands the first humans on the moon.
- The Vietnam War ends with the signing of the Paris Peace Accords.
- The United States withdraws from Vietnam.
1970
- The United Nations General Assembly passes Resolution 2758, declaring that the People's Republic of China is the sole legitimate representative of China in the United Nations.
- The United States and China establish diplomatic relations.
- The Equal Rights Amendment (ERA), which would guarantee equal rights for women, is passed by Congress and sent to the states for ratification.
1971
- The United States dollar is devalued.
- The United States imposes import surcharges on goods from Japan and Europe.
- The United Nations Security Council passes Resolution 2758, declaring that the People's Republic of China is the sole legitimate representative of China in the United Nations.
1972
- President Nixon visits China.
- The United States and the Soviet Union sign the SALT I treaty, limiting the number of strategic nuclear weapons each country can possess.
- Richard Nixon wins re-election in a landslide victory over Democratic challenger George McGovern.
1973
- The Watergate scandal erupts as the White House is implicated in a cover-