44 pages • 1 hour read
Mary L. DudziakCold War Civil Rights: Race and the Image of American Democracy
Nonfiction | Book | Adult | Published in 2000A modern alternative to SparkNotes and CliffsNotes, SuperSummary offers high-quality Study Guides with detailed chapter summaries and analysis of major themes, characters, and more.
Essay Topics
Describe in your own words Mary Dudziak’s core argument. What are the strengths and weaknesses of her thesis? Overall, do you agree with her thesis? Why or why not?
Discuss the narrative that the United States was trying to promote during the Cold War. What was it? Why was civil rights both a problem and an opportunity for that narrative? What were the strengths and weaknesses of this narrative?
Why would the Soviet Union and China exploit racism in the United States? How did racism hurt the United States’ international image? List and discuss three specific cases.
What role did the United Nations play when it came to civil rights? Why might the United Nations be important for African American activists?
Find two examples of Dudziak quoting a primary source, such as the lengthy quote from an “Indian visitor” (42) or the excerpt from President Kennedy’s civil rights speech (179-80). How do such primary sources help Dudziak develop and illustrate her key themes and ideas? What do primary sources provide that secondary sources cannot?
Why do you think people from foreign countries became so interested in civil rights in the United States? What does this interest say about the Cold War or about other elements in US and world history?
Dudziak discusses at length four different presidential administrations: Truman, Eisenhower, Kennedy, and Johnson. Choose one of these presidents. How does Dudziak present their attitudes and actions toward civil rights? Were they effective on civil rights issues? Why or why not?
How was decolonization related to the US civil rights movement? Did you find Dudziak’s argument that these two movements were connected convincing?
How does a global perspective affect an understanding of the US civil rights movement? Is it important to consider the history of the United States within the context of world history?
Analyze a contemporary incident of racial discrimination or justice that has also attracted strong international attention, such as the Black Lives Matter movement. When compared to the activism documented in Cold War Civil Rights, what are the differences and similarities in terms of US self-image and international perception? In what ways, if any, do such incidents speak to continuing global contexts concerning race and racial justice?
