We refer to the Cold War as the period between the end of World War II and the fall of the USSR in 1990. That is when two powerful countries emerged, one being the United States of America and the other being the communist USSR. So, when the end of militarization was expected, the American government presented the people with a new threat, claiming for many decades that another war was imminent. The USSR was presented as a new Hitler with expansionistic tendencies. This helped to justify American intervention abroad, like for example in Greece right after World War II and in Korea in the 1950’s and 1960’s. At home, the United States witnessed the continuous expansion of armed forces and weapons. The anti-communist frenzy was extended to political persecutions of American citizens at first by McCarthy. These were later continued by both Republicans and Democrats. The Cold War culminated in 1961 with the invasion of Cuba and the events of the Bay of Pigs under the Presidency of John Kennedy. The American government said the events were necessary because of the Communist threat. But there are indications that the whole incident was created by the CIA and the American forces to serve their own purposes.
The Cold War mobilized a great war machine which successive governments expanded. While the White House focused on this militaristic policy, the needs of the ordinary Americans were not adequately addressed and the situation at home became worse with the political persecutions and the total destruction of the American Communist party. These make us question how democratic the American society really was during the period of the Cold War and how much the Constitution itself was respected.
Civil Rights
The Civil Rights movement refers to the revolt of Black Americans in the 1950’s and the 1960’s. This may have exploded in the late 1950’s, but it was always present in the arts and literature Black people produced. Many Blacks spoke of their situation, whether directly through explicit poetry or indirectly through music and some others aligned themselves with the Communist party that was more willing to support their rights. With the end of World War II and the beginning of Cold War, the government realized that it needed to act in order to calm the black population, but also to show the world that the US was not just anti-communist but also against racism. A Committee on Civil Rights appointed by Harry Truman in 1946 made a series of recommendations which resulted in small actions, like the desegregation of the military and a number of rulings by the Supreme Court. In practice, however, nothing really changed and in the 1960’s the Black population revolted. It all started in 1955, in Montgomery, Alabama, when Rosa Parks denied obeying the rules of bus segregation. Other Blacks followed her example by boycotting buses and the movement rose. The segregation in buses was officially outlawed in 1956, but still few things changed.
In the 1960’s there were two prevailing routes of action. One, was that of non-violence and peaceful demonstrations supported by Martin Luther King. The second, supported by black militants, like Malcolm X, suggested that Blacks should use violence if needed, in order to defend themselves.
Protests continued throughout the 1960’s and the answer of Whites was often violence and bloodshed. President Kennedy tried to incorporate the Black civil rights movement to a democratic coalition, but this did not work as violence against them continued. Malcom X was murdered in 1965 and militarism among the black population rose. In 1967, the United States witnessed the greatest urban riots in their history coming from the black ghettos. The murder of Martin Luther King a few years later brought a new wave of protests, many of which ended with violence.
It is interesting to note that Zinn suggests that throughout the Civil Rights movement, the American government failed to protect the Blacks and even tried in many cases to disperse them with violence using the FBI. While a number of things were achieved, Zinn argues that a great number of black people still live in great poverty and desperation.
It is this remark by Zinn that really makes us question how much our society has really become equal and anti-racist. How does the majority of Blacks actually live? Yes, there are many more who can reach high offices, including current President, Barack Obama. But what about those poor Blacks that still live in ghettos and are unable to even have access to basic education? Whether we want to admit it or not, there is still a great degree of racism in American society. Blacks are still often seen as more prone to crime and fall victims of white violence, like the recent example of the murder of Trayvon Martin showed. It seems that there is a lot that still needs to be done.
Vietnam War
After the World War II, the Vietnamese, declared their independence under the leadership of Ho Chi Minch. They had been under the rule of the French first and then the Japanese, during World War II. The French and the English reacted attacking Vietnam and by 1950 the United States started aiding the French. The official reason of the American intervention was that it was targeted against the spread of communism. Behind the scenes however, the richness of material resources in the area and its economic importance were equally crucial. After the French withdrawal, the United States tried to stop the unification of North and South Vietnam by establishing an American controlled regime in the South. From 1958 opposition against the regime was organized and in 1960 the National Liberation Front was formed with significant assistance from the communist North.
The rebels soon started winning. In this environment, the United States assisted in a coup to overthrow the person they themselves had appointed. The new leaders however, were not able to stop the rebels. In 1964 the United States started an attack in Vietnam under false pretenses, unleashing their war machinery. The toll on the Vietnamese was great, as they sustained continuous bombings, executions without trials, tortures of prisoners and major atrocities against civilians by the American troops, which became worse as the Vietnamese rebels did not lose support. Although the American government tried to conceal the truth, claiming that only “military targets” were bombed, the American public opinion turned against the war, inspired also by the contemporary civil rights movement. As the time passed without an American victory, activists and students started protesting, attracting the support of well-known figures from various fields. At the same time a great number of soldiers started deserting. In 1973 and after almost a decade of war against Vietnam, the United States was forced to withdraw, having lost the war. In 1975, Northern forces entered the Southern capital ending the division of the country.
It is interesting that Zinn firmly believes that it was the reaction of the people that actually ended the war in Vietnam. It was the protests that took the form of a rebellion that forced the political leaders to reconsider their policies, proving that the power of the people should never be underestimated. It is always impressive to look at the Vietnam War and this is probably why it is still closely examined whether in popular films or in books and articles. The atrocities committed still shock anyone who studies modern history and serve as a warning for the future.
