Philosophy of Law B (A) Essay

Total Length: 1040 words ( 3 double-spaced pages)

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B (d)- the 1950s was an Era of dramatic change. America's victory in World War II pushed America into a predominant role politically and economically. America was "rich," and expected to help other countries, but was going through its own crises at home, and growing pains socially and economically. Several large trends occurred during the 1950s, the Cold War between the United States and the U.S.S.R. developed, Africa began to be decolonialized throwing the economic and political situation out of balance, the Korean War brought the United States into another global conflict, tensions heated up in Egypt (the Suez Canal Crisis) and Cuba (Castro and the Cuban Revolution), and America went through a turbulent time with Anti-Communist feelings and Senator Joseph McCarthy's accusations and focus on the purported threat of communist spies inside the State Department (Fitzgerald, 2007, pp. 40-5; Gold, 2008).

After the war years, the Civil Rights Movement gained a great deal of momentum. The gains were not really because of one group or another, or even one person or another. Instead, it was a change in attitude. Whites served with Blacks, Blacks even had their own military groups. More people enrolled in college with the GI bill and were thinking more about egalitarian rights; and used civil protests, legal challenges, and social change agents to further the cause. As America was obsessed with anti-communism, some of the issues of race moved into the new medium of television, and into the living rooms of many Americans.
Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. For instance, champion of civil rights and the voice of many, believed that it would be through peaceful change, dialog and using both Gandhi and Thoreau as templates, that would change society (Halberstram, 1993, Chapters ).

Further, what is not always generally remembered about the late 1940s and early 1950s is that status quo on race was accepted my many, even though societal attitudes were moving away from segregation. Once GIs returned and realized that the men they had fought side by side with during the war were just like themselves, other than the color of their skin, even President Truman decided to look into the Civil Rights issue. At this time, too, there was a fear of anything Soviet -- and the Soviets pointed out to the world that while the United States was criticizing its politics and regime, the U.S. was segregating water fountains, public pools, and schools. All this combined to form a new opinion that was more welcome by citizens and politicians alike -- American must become more egalitarian if it is to take the high-road in the Cold War and as the leading face and proponent of democracy in the world (Halberstram, 1993, pp. 420-36).

Works Consulted/Cited

Loving v. Virginia, 386 U.S. 1 (U.S. Supreme June 12, 1967).

Fitzgerald, B. (2007). McCarthyism: The Red Scare. Minneapolis, MN: Compass Point Books.

Gold, S. (2008). Loving v. Virginia - Lifting the ban Against Interracial Marriage. Tarrytown, NY: Marshall….....

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