Macro View; the world of G. R. Point

The following is a collection of events that took place in the year 1969 that has some sort of effect on society up to the month of November.

January 16 – Student Jan Palach sets himself on fire in Prague's Wenceslas Square to protest the Soviet invasion of Czechoslovakia; 3 days later he dies.
I feel that this is important to the world of 1969 because this is a byproduct of the Russian invasion after the attempted social liberalization of Czechoslovakian government. To me it seems that at a time when the U.S. was still riding the crest of free social change, it shows the world that not all was/is well in the U.S.S.R. To me it shows that all people want to be free. It shows that people are willing to give their lives in protest of outright opression.

January 20 – Richard Milhous Nixon succeeds Lyndon Baines Johnson as the 37th President of the United States of America.
This is very important due to the fact that Nixon campaigned under the banner of Peace with Honor. People wanted the war to end and their boys to come home. Nixon began the drawdown of U.S. troops, and pushing Vietnam troops to the front lines. Nixon will also begin the bombing of Cambodia, and will also become the first President to resign from his post.

May 10 – The Battle of Dong Ap Bia, also known as Hamburger Hill, begins
This is one of the bloodiest battles of Vietnam costing U.S. and South Vietnam 72 killed and 372 wounded. The battle of Hill 937 lasted from 10-20 May 1969, a fight for a hill with little tactical significant.

June 18–22 – The National Convention of the Students for a Democratic Society, held in Chicago, collapses, and the Weatherman faction seizes control of the SDS National Office. Thereafter, any activity run from the National Office or bearing the name of SDS is Weatherman-control
This is important because of the fact that people wanted “change” so bad that they brought chaos to the streets of Chicago. This being one of the most vicious outbreaks of violence due to politics in the history of the United States.

June 28 – the Stonewall riots in New York City mark the start of the modern gay rights movement in the U.S.
This is important due to the fact that Gays and Lesbians were the most “stonewalled”(I cannot think of a better term) groups of people in the U.S. Black Americans had been fighting for equality for decades, and this (in my studies) is the first time I have found that gays had stood up for themselves.

July 8 – Vietnam War: The very first U.S. troop withdrawals are made.
This is the beginning of the (long and too drawn out) end of the U.S. presents in Southeast Asia.

July 20 – Apollo program: The lunar module Eagle lands on the lunar surface. The world watches in awe as Neil Armstrong takes his historic first steps on the Moon.
This is a moment that transcends race, gender, and nations. This is one of the most important steps in all of mankind (no pun intended).

July 25 –President Richard Nixon declares the Nixon Doctrine, stating that the United States now expects its Asian allies to take care of their own military defense. This starts the "Vietnamization" of the war.
Pres. Nixon keeps gives shape to his campaign promise to end U.S. involvement in Vietnam. The way I see it, this would allow young men who would be coming of military service age a sigh of relief.

August 10 – the Manson Family kills Leno and Rosemary LaBianca, wealthy Los Angeles businesspeople.
This is the manifestation of what can happen when a person who is crazy/savvy enough can influence impressionable young people with the pleasure of the era; mind altering drugs, sex, and rock music.

August 15–18 – the Woodstock Festival is held in upstate New York, featuring some of the top rock musicians of the era.
Woodstock Festival is one of the greatest gatherings of members of the 1960 counter-culture. This is also the “last hurrah” for said counter-culture.