How Did The Cold War Affect The Civil Rights Movement

The Cold War was nonviolent tensions between the United States and the Soviet Union. They were in a conflict about who would be the main world power. The war had many effects on American society. During the war, both sides had nuclear weapons ready to use if needed, however, these weapons were never used because it could have resulted in nuclear annihilation. The public perception was completely different during and after the war. Also, the Cold War had impacts on the Civil Rights Movement, the “Evil Empire” speech, and Watergate. The Cold War proved that both the Soviets and the Americans had nuclear weapons ready to use to destroy each other if needed. The atomic bomb created a lot of tension between the United States and the Soviet Union and became the focus of the Cold War. Due to this, Americans felt threatened that everyone would be killed and feared the world would end. After the Cold War the threat of nuclear warfare was much smaller and American people were less worried about the world ending from nuclear explosions. Nuclear weapons were not the only thing impacted by the Cold War, the Civil Rights Movement was as well. The Civil Rights Movement was greatly impacted by the Cold War. The Soviet Union was not filled with opportunities and did not have hopes of equality, the United

Before the speech, the United States was obviously losing the war, but not only the war. The Soviet Union was better at everything than the United States. Reagan’s speech was definitely a confidence booster for the country. It talked about how the United States was the best, while the Soviets were “evil”. The speech was definitely something the country needed to hear. Due the morality booster this speech gave, the United States pulled through and won the Cold War. Even though the “Evil Empire” speech helped the United States regain some confidence, the American people still had concerns involving the