The Effect of the Cold War on the American Civil Rights Movement

In the aftermath of the Second World War, hundreds of thousands of African-Americans kicked off their combat boots only to find that the freedoms they fought for in Europe were now denied them at home, and thus the foundation was laid for the civil rights related upheavals that shook America in the 1950s and 60s. Internationally, the United States found itself competing against the Soviet Union for the hearts and minds of newly decolonized people across Africa and Asia. These nations watched as the United States denied basic civil liberties to its own minority citizens. This paper explores how the United States’ need to gain the favour of these nations played a role in shaping civil rights reform during the early years of the Cold War.