1968: A Year of Turmoil and Change
1968 was a turning point in U.S. history, a year of triumphs and tragedies, social and political upheavals, that forever changed our country. In the air, America reached new heights with NASA’s Apollo 8 orbiting the moon and Boeing’s 747 jumbo jet’s first flight. However, all was not well on the ground: the country lost a Navy intelligence ship (USS Pueblo) and two proponents of peace—Martin Luther King, Jr., and Robert F. Kennedy. Other events that made history that year include the Vietnam War’s Tet Offensive, riots in Washington, DC, the landmark Civil Rights Act of 1968, and heightened social unrest over the Vietnam War, values, and race.
The National Archives holds records documenting the turbulent time during 1968. Explore the records in the National Archives Catalog related to all the triumphs and tragedies, social and political upheavals, that forever changed our country.
The crew of Apollo 8 was armed with still and movie cameras to photograph the Moon; but the most enduring image of their mission is this photograph of their own home, planet Earth. National Archives, Records of the U.S. Information Agency [306-PSD-68-4049c
Martin Luther King, Jr., and civil rights leaders with Attorney General Robert F. Kennedy and Vice President Lyndon B. Johnson. Photograph by Abbie Rowe, National Park Service, in the John F. Kennedy Presidential Library and Museum, Boston.
President Johnson and staff watch TV news about the assassination of Martn Luther King, Jr. LBJ Library photo by Mike Geissinger.
Map of Saigon defense of the U.S. Embassy. Department of Defense. Department of the Army. U.S. Army Pacific. U.S. Army Vietnam. 101st Airborne Division (Airmobile).