Necessary Trouble: Growing Up at Midcentury

The Cold War was a 40-year rivalry between the international superpowers of the United States and the Soviet Union and their respective allies. The hostilities revolved around the conflict between democracy and communism. Although there was no direct fighting between the United States and the Soviet Union, the threat of nuclear war greatly affected both nations and resulted in numerous proxy wars and regime changes in other countries, including the Vietnam War.

The Iron Curtain divided Europe’s Eastern and Western Blocs. The East side of the curtain was allied with the communist Soviet Union, and the West side was allied with the democratic United States. Initially, the barrier was a metaphorical political boundary, but during the Cold War, physical barriers, including the Berlin Wall, were constructed.

Jim Crow Laws were instated throughout the Southern United States after the Civil War and the abolition of enslavement. These laws enforced racial segregation by creating a supposedly “separate but equal” society that excluded Black people from white spaces. While options for Black people were meant to be “equal,” this was never the case, and the laws promoted significant discrimination and inequality.