America and Post World War II Era: New Left Versus Right Essay Example
America’s Post-World War II Era: New Left vs. Right
The challenge to a variety of political and social issues distinctly characterizes the post World War II (WWII) era, from the mid 1940’s through the 1970’s, in the United States. These issues included African-American civil rights, women’s rights, the threat of Communism, and America’s continuous war effort by entering the Cold War immediately after the end to WWII. These debated issues led to the birth of multiple social movements, collectively referred to as the New Left, rooted in liberalism. In response to the New Left, a strong brand of conservatism, collectively referred to as the Right, arose to counteract these movements. Despite opposing ideology and convictions, both the New Left and the Right interchangeably used righteous language of freedom, morality, Christianity, and human rights, particularly in the issues of African-American civil rights, women’s rights, Communism, and the U.S. war effort in the Cold War, to justify and promote each of their respective agendas. While the U.S. achieved victory during WWII in the name of democracy and equality, African-Americans continued to experience domestic segregation. This led to the emergence of a New Left movement fighting for African-American civil rights and a counteracting Right movement attempting to maintain racial segregation in America. Two of the most prominent figures in the struggle, Martin Luther King Jr. and Strom Thurmond, each justified and promoted their agenda through righteous language which appealed to their respective followers. After being arrested and imprisoned in Birmingham, Alabama in 1963 for leading a nonviolent protest in support of African-American civil rights, King delivered his famous open letter, known as the Letter from Birmingham Jail, to white clergymen who had asked him to shut down his campaign. The letter possesses numerous connections between morality, Christianity, and African-American civil
The challenge to a variety of political and social issues distinctly characterizes the post World War II (WWII) era, from the mid 1940’s through the 1970’s, in the United States. These issues included African-American civil rights, women’s rights, the threat of Communism, and America’s continuous war effort by entering the Cold War immediately after the end to WWII. These debated issues led to the birth of multiple social movements, collectively referred to as the New Left, rooted in liberalism. In response to the New Left, a strong brand of conservatism, collectively referred to as the Right, arose to counteract these movements. Despite opposing ideology and convictions, both the New Left and the Right interchangeably used righteous language of freedom, morality, Christianity, and human rights, particularly in the issues of African-American civil rights, women’s rights, Communism, and the U.S. war effort in the Cold War, to justify and promote each of their respective agendas. While the U.S. achieved victory during WWII in the name of democracy and equality, African-Americans continued to experience domestic segregation. This led to the emergence of a New Left movement fighting for African-American civil rights and a counteracting Right movement attempting to maintain racial segregation in America. Two of the most prominent figures in the struggle, Martin Luther King Jr. and Strom Thurmond, each justified and promoted their agenda through righteous language which appealed to their respective followers. After being arrested and imprisoned in Birmingham, Alabama in 1963 for leading a nonviolent protest in support of African-American civil rights, King delivered his famous open letter, known as the Letter from Birmingham Jail, to white clergymen who had asked him to shut down his campaign. The letter possesses numerous connections between morality, Christianity, and African-American civil