From desegregating the armed forces and Brown v. Board through Montgomery, Little Rock, the Civil Rights and Voting Rights Acts, Title IX, and Watergate.
Golden rules (General American pronunciation): vowels and silent or glide letters (w, h, y) carry no digit · silent letters are ignored (knife /naɪf/ → 28) · doubled letters count once (bell → 95, hammer → 34) · sound, never spelling, decides.
| Date | Event | Peg word | IPA | Digits |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1948 | President Harry Truman signs Executive Order 9981 desegregating the U.S. armed forces and wins upset reelection | arrow +wave /ˈæ.ɹoʊ/ + /weɪv/ | /ˈæ.ɹoʊ/ + /weɪv/ | 48 |
| 1954 | Brown v. Board of Education declares racial segregation in public schools unconstitutional | wheel +oar /ˈwiːl/ + /oɹ/ | /ˈwiːl/ + /oɹ/ | 54 |
| 1955 | Rosa Parks's arrest sparks the Montgomery Bus Boycott led by Martin Luther King Jr. | owl +wheel /aʊl/ + /ˈwiːl/ | /aʊl/ + /ˈwiːl/ | 55 |
| 1957 | Little Rock Nine integrate Central High School in Arkansas; Civil Rights Act of 1957 signed | log /lɔɡ/ | /lɔɡ/ | 57 |
| 1963 | March on Washington ("I Have a Dream"); Betty Friedan publishes The Feminine Mystique; assassination of JFK | shoe +ham /ʃu/ + /ˈhæm/ | /ʃu/ + /ˈhæm/ | 63 |
| 1964 | Civil Rights Act of 1964 outlaws public discrimination; Lyndon B. Johnson launches "Great Society" War on Poverty | chair /tʃɛɚ/ | /tʃɛɚ/ | 64 |
| 1965 | Selma marches and Voting Rights Act of 1965 outlaw literacy tests; Medicare, Medicaid, and Immigration Act enacted | shell /ʃɛl/ | /ʃɛl/ | 65 |
| 1969 | Stonewall uprising in New York City catalyzes the modern LGBTQ+ civil rights movement | shoe +pie /ʃu/ + /paɪ/ | /ʃu/ + /paɪ/ | 69 |
| 1972 | Title IX prohibits sex discrimination in federally funded education; Equal Rights Amendment clears Congress | wagon /ˈwæɡən/ | /ˈwæɡən/ | 72 |
| 1974 | Watergate scandal leads President Richard Nixon to resign | crow /kɹoʊ/ | /kɹoʊ/ | 74 |
1948 — At a 1948 parade ground, a crisp archery arrow points toward a rising ocean wave as President Harry Truman signs Executive Order 9981 desegregating the U.S. armed forces and wins an upset reelection. (ɹ → 4 · v → 8)
1954 — On the marble steps outside the Supreme Court in 1954, a wooden wheel rolls alongside a polished rowboat oar as Brown v. Board of Education declares racial segregation in public schools unconstitutional. (l → 5 · ɹ → 4)
1955 — In Montgomery in 1955, a watchful brown owl perches beside a standalone wooden wheel as Rosa Parks's arrest sparks the Montgomery Bus Boycott led by Martin Luther King Jr. (l → 5 · l → 5)
1957 — Across the green lawn of Central High School in Arkansas, a sturdy oak log rests beside the front walk as the Little Rock Nine integrate the school and Congress passes the Civil Rights Act of 1957. (l·ɡ → 57)
1963 — Beside the Reflecting Pool in 1963, a polished leather shoe marches past a glazed smoked ham in a turning-point year marked by the March on Washington, Betty Friedan's The Feminine Mystique, and the assassination of JFK. (ʃ → 6 · m → 3)
1964 — Inside the Capitol in 1964, a welcoming wooden chair stands open for every citizen as the Civil Rights Act outlaws public discrimination and Lyndon B. Johnson launches his Great Society War on Poverty. (tʃ·ɚ → 64)
1965 — Along the bridge out of Selma in 1965, a gleaming fluted shell marks the march toward the Voting Rights Act outlawing literacy tests alongside Medicare, Medicaid, and the Immigration Act. (ʃ·l → 65)
1969 — On a Greenwich Village cobblestone street in 1969, a black Oxford shoe steps beside a warm lattice pie as the Stonewall uprising in New York City catalyzes the modern LGBTQ+ civil rights movement. (ʃ → 6 · p → 9)
1972 — Across a sunlit college quad in 1972, a bright red pull wagon rolls beside the campus track as Title IX prohibits sex discrimination in federally funded education and the Equal Rights Amendment clears Congress. (ɡ·n → 72)
1974 — On a stone rail overlooking the South Lawn in 1974, a glossy black crow watches quietly as the Watergate scandal leads President Richard Nixon to resign. (k·ɹ → 74)