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What was the relationship between the Cold War and the US Civil Rights Movement?

The major relationship between the Cold War and the Civil Rights Movement was that the Cold War caused American leaders to support civil rights more than they might otherwise have done.


The Cold War was, of course, a struggle between the US and the Soviet Union.  Both sides wanted to dominate the world and spread their ideology as widely as possible.  What this meant was that the two sides had to compete to gain the favor of various countries around the world.  Civil rights was one issue that affected, or could affect, the way the other countries viewed the US.  The Soviet Union was able to criticize the US for talking about democracy and human rights while mistreating racial minorities at home.  This made the US look bad to other countries.  It was particularly problematic when the US and the Soviets were competing for the loyalty of non-white countries.  The Soviets could point out to the people of those countries that American democracy did not include rights and respect for people like them.  This was a strong argument against the US and American leaders naturally wanted to make it impossible for the Soviets to use it against them.


Because the US wanted to look better in the eyes of the international community, many American leaders supported the Civil Rights Movement more than they might have done if it had been purely a domestic issue.

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