Cold War Civil Rights

Chapter 1: Coming to Terms with Cold War Civil Rights

The image of America was slowly deteriorating by the sixties, its discrimination of blacks broadcasted to places overseas like third-world countries and Europe. With this sickening portrayal of lynching, segregation and racial superiority, Americas foreign relations were at a low. Although the United States tried to portray a happy image of equality and stressed that is was what Democracy was about, they began to seem more and more hypocritical. With the added stress of the Civil War between the Soviets, the pressure was doubled and Civil Rights activists were closing in on the idea of a Civil Rights Reform. Civil rights ties with the Cold War were of an upmost importance, along with maintaining the image of America, they also needed to maintain the important face of Democracy and how it was working well in the United States. Their objective was crucial: minimize racial criticism and give way to a more equal nation or be criticized of their very foundation and surrenders to the Soviets unjust power.

Chapter 2: Telling stories about race and democracy

In this chapter, one of the more important events was of the actions of people like Josephine Baker, Richard Wright and James Baldwin whose beliefs of the better treatment of blacks led them to relocate, some giving up their passports to many countries and even be put under surveillance by the FBI because of their widespread criticism of American racism. Like with Josephine Baker, who was unable to achieve shows for her acting/singing career, for people where in fear that she would use the opportunity to also voice her opinions about the racism in America and compromise some countries relations with the United States. And because of her refusal to keep herself quiet, she began to be diminished by the U.S., being accused of communism and other topics to discredit her in her speeches. The fact that America tried so hard to cover up the undeniable voices of people like Josephine Baker was that without their flawless example of Democracy, people might realize that the Soviet Union was right with their Totalitarianism and would ruin the image of superiority in the Cold War. Its connection with the Cold War was that of an important one, trying to demonstrate that their was not a problem between the country itself and that everyone was working together to stop the Soviet Union.

Chapter 3: Fighting the Cold War with Civil Rights Reform

President Truman had a very important idea, to achieve a better image for Democracy by creating a social modification for the United States. With the obvious mistreatment of blacks in America, their relationships were being hurt with other countries from it and without foreign support, their Cold War efforts might not be as strong. Although Truman tried to pass laws in the interests of blacks rights and create a Civil Rights appointment, they were in vain, for southerners in interests to the suggestions did not approve. The Cold Wars interests to this were from maintaining the equality of Democracy and America was losing followers with their continuance of their unjust practices on blacks, like lynching and indefensible voting rights. With the Cold War imperative connected to the fact that America must change itself in order to enact its survival it became an intense relationship of reliability and gave the United States a serious task to change and maintain their image in our to overcome the Soviets.