StudentShare
Contact Us
Sign In / Sign Up for FREE
Search
Go to advanced search...
Free

The Cold War and the Civil Rights Movement - Assignment Example

Cite this document
Summary
In the paper “The Cold War and the Civil Rights Movement” the author describes atomic diplomacy, which was used in the Korean War, the first confrontation between the two super-powers, during which the US deployed B-29 bombers as a signal of its resolve, although by 1953, this idea was rejected…
Download full paper File format: .doc, available for editing
GRAB THE BEST PAPER95.8% of users find it useful
The Cold War and the Civil Rights Movement
Read Text Preview

Extract of sample "The Cold War and the Civil Rights Movement"

The Cold War and the Civil Rights Movement Causes of the Cold War While it is arguable that there was no single reason for the Cold War, it evolved from the international power vacuum that resulted from the decline of European global power in WWII, leaving the USSR and the USA as the dominant global super-powers (Ross 31). However, their conflicting economic interests and political ideologies led to a tense relationship between the two super-powers referred to as the Cold War because the two super-powers never clashed in battle directly.

The USSR helped Communists seize power in Eastern Europe, sealing off its occupation zones in Germany and Austria and creating the ‘Iron Curtain’. US officials, on the other hand, viewed nuclear energy as having potential non-military benefits, thus giving rise to atomic diplomacy, in which the US sought to prove to the USSR that it was capable and willing to execute a nuclear attack (Ross 33). Atomic diplomacy was used in the Korean War, the first confrontation between the two super-powers, during which the US deployed B-29 bombers as a signal of its resolve, although by 1953, this idea was rejected as a means of coercion to further a cease-fire agreement in the conflict (Arnold & Wiener 21).

When the USSR acquired capabilities to deliver nuclear war-heads on Western European and US territories in the late 50s, atomic diplomacy gave way to mutual deterrence, in which the two super-powers refrained from attacking each other due to the certainty of mutually assured destruction. During this period in which the USSR, the US, and its allies were separated by the ‘Iron Curtain’, the West’s general policy was to contain Communist states by keeping them within their present borders and hoping for internal failure and division that would end their threat (Arnold & Wiener 22).

Martin Luther King’s Role in the Civil Rights Movement Although Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. (MLK) was not the founder of the Civil Rights Movement, he can be considered its formative figure and its de facto leader due to his sacrifices and the influence he had on some of its most seminal milestones (Ward & Badger 18). MLK was one of the first African American leaders to advocate for a social movement against racial segregation that used non-violent means, which was a hallmark of the Civil Rights Movement.

He provided leadership for the Civil Rights Movement, which sought to end racial discrimination and segregation against blacks, while also securing federal protection and legal recognition for them as enumerated in federal and constitutional law. He was a major contributor to the Second Reconstruction, which was a bi-partisan collaboration with US political leaders that gained the people’s consent through sweeping electoral victories (Ward & Badger 18). MLK dismissed violence as immoral and impractical, essentially endorsing the use of non-violent direct action that became the movement’s major characteristic.

Although he was not directly involved in the Brown v. Board of Education decision, he later used the decision to champion the efficacy of non-violent resistance (Kirk 35). He also led a boycott against Montgomery city buses that prohibited African Americans from sitting at the front of the bus, which succeeded and allowed for the desegregation of buses. In addition, despite not having a major role in the lunch sit-ins in North Carolina, his non-violence strategy was the main weapon for the students who, despite intimidation and threats, waited quietly to be served at an all-white lunch counter.. However, his warnings against proceeding with the Freedom Ride campaign and his comments that the Freedom Summer Movement should compromise, disappointed many young Civil Rights Activists.

Still, his actions as part of the movement were hugely responsible for the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and the National Voting Rights Act of 1965, achieving his stated goal to ensure desegregation and legal rights for African Americans (Kirk 39). Works Cited Arnold, James. and Wiener, Roberta. Cold War: The Essential Reference Guide. Santa Barbara: ABC-CLIO, 2012. Print. Kirk, John A. Martin Luther King, Jr. and the Civil Rights Movement: Controversies and Debates. Basingstoke: Palgrave Macmillan, 2011. Print. Ross, Stewart.

The Causes of the Cold War. Milwaukee, WI: World Almanac Library, 2012. Print. Ward, Brian. and Badger, Anthony. Badger. The Making of Martin Luther King and the Civil Rights Movement. Washington Square, N.Y: New York University Press, 2014. Print.

Read More
Cite this document
  • APA
  • MLA
  • CHICAGO
(“Essay questions Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words - 23”, n.d.)
Retrieved from https://studentshare.org/history/1694203-essay-questions
(Essay Questions Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 Words - 23)
https://studentshare.org/history/1694203-essay-questions.
“Essay Questions Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 Words - 23”, n.d. https://studentshare.org/history/1694203-essay-questions.
  • Cited: 0 times

CHECK THESE SAMPLES OF The Cold War and the Civil Rights Movement

A Time of Reflection

the civil rights movement In 1961 I joined college and like many other young people at the time, I had great expectations for my future.... The 60s were tumultuous years, especially in regards to the civil rights Movements and the conflicts that came with it.... The tension created by the cold war affected day to day lives of Americans.... This is the generation that grew up during the tension filled years of the cold war.... It is also the generation that witnessed the civil Movement....
5 Pages (1250 words) Essay

The End of the American Civil War

There were numerous reasons why the civil rights movement came into being at this spot in American history.... Another principal reason for the development of the civil rights movement towards the end of World War II was the G.... resurfaced as a significant leader of the civil rights movement.... King expected that thousands of American Citizens demanding serenely and politely for equivalent rights would rally support to the civil rights movement (Jackson 40-45)....
3 Pages (750 words) Essay

Thousand Pieces of Gold

Forward movement and lateral movement.... Forward movement is that movement over which an individual does not own control.... For example, petrol/gas in a motor vehicle is an example of forward movement.... The chauffeur driving the vehicle is the example of the lateral movement.... That she made efforts to escape, that she learnt the working knowledge of English, that she decided to marry the man who freed her from the bondage of slavery and ultimately she chose to take care of her man and the community to which she belonged were the examples of lateral movement of the fate....
5 Pages (1250 words) Essay

Discovery of a Time Capsule

King was a vocal civil rights activist and leader.... During the archeological study of the events of the 1960s, we discovered a capsule that highlights the following events: assassinations, feminist movement, Vietnam War, Los Angeles Riots, and March on Washington.... Feminist movement History tells us that American women in the 1960s were limited in almost everything.... This is because this is the period in which America faced both the good and the ugly in the form of many political assassinations, riots, anti war movements, psychedic music, the Vietnam war, and women's movements among other events....
6 Pages (1500 words) Research Paper

German Student Movement of the Late 1960s

Movements like the African-American civil rights movement had strategies that advocated denunciation of a system and civil disobedience in order to attain equal rights for everyone.... This generated a part of the population that had more awareness of their rights and increased civil rights actions.... Therefore, America through its social and cultural relation and activities with West Germany facilitated the arising of the German student movement as it resulted in creating intellectuals with more liberal views and civil rights awareness....
3 Pages (750 words) Essay

The Cold War and Civil Rights

Name Instructor Course Date The Cold War and Civil Rights Activities of the civil rights movement between 1940s and 1960s had a lot of connections to the cold war that was going on between the United States and the Soviet Union.... The 1950s was a decisive period for the civil rights movement given that it is the time many African Americans people won their antidiscrimination cases in the court.... became the face of the civil rights movement with his call for peaceful demonstrations against racial discrimination....
4 Pages (1000 words) Essay

Major Social Changes in America Which Led to the Civil Rights Movement

The paper "Major Social Changes in America Which Led to the civil rights movement" states that the minority black population of America was being treated unfairly in the 20th century whilst there were greater freedom, justice and equality in other countries around the world.... the civil rights movement was a reaction to a history of growing unease, inconvenience in public places, helplessness before the judicial system, racial tension, and above all discrimination....
9 Pages (2250 words) Research Paper

Strategies and Actions of African American Women to Overcome Race-Based or Gender-Based Discrimination

When it comes to the fight against race-based inequality, it is plausible that women formed a crucial segment of the civil rights movement, with their contribution seen in their volunteering to organizational and grassroots leaders.... While the legislative and legal victories of the civil rights era performed a fundamental role in these struggles.... For instance, the New Negro radicalism during the 1920s and the subsequent freedom protests that preceded the Great Depression, and the Second World War era precipitated an enlarged vision of citizenship, democracy, and civil rights....
4 Pages (1000 words) Essay
sponsored ads
We use cookies to create the best experience for you. Keep on browsing if you are OK with that, or find out how to manage cookies.
Contact Us