Civil Rights For All

The post World War II era was one of the most important in history. Not only because it took place after the greatest war of all, but because of the events that came upon us. This was a time of great change. The United States was coming into it's now great world power position and for many reasons. We had great leaders that enabled us to succeed in many areas and to build onto our society. The advent of the Cold War came upon us during this time as well. Our race for technological superiority was put on the forefront and many people saw it as our main focus. There were many events that were to come about with different international countries that would prove pivotal in our countries future, but there were also many concerns here at home. Right here in our backyard one of the greatest and most important movements was beginning. That was the Post WWII civil rights movement.

Richard Flack stated that this era after WWII was one that generated an "ethic of self-expression" and an "ethic of social responsibility." I believe that his statements are very true. During this time of great social differences many people were called upon to stand up for what they believed in. Many people were caused to feel conviction of not doing what they knew was right, and felt the social responsibility to do something about it. People such as Malcolm X, Rosa Parks, and Martin Luther King Jr. felt the responsibility to do something about what was going on in this country. They themselves began to display their own personal ethics of self-expression. Martin Luther King Jr with his peaceful protest and very touching and motivating speeches, Rosa Parks by not getting out of her seat, and of course Malcolm X with his more "in your face" way of protest. The fact of the matter is that all these people somehow exercised their civic responsibility to do something about the social status and views in this country. One great example of this would be when Martin Luther King went to jail in Birmingham. He was arrested for doing something that he believed in and wrote a letter explaining that he felt he was doing what was necessary to bring about change. This was his form of self-expression.

Now before the Civil Rights movement and even before World War II, there was a movement called the Progressive Movement. The Progressive Movement was an attempt to help cure many of the ailments that plagued the American society after the great spurt of industrial growth that had taken place in the last quarter of the 19th century. With the progressive movement came many types of reform. Two of the most important and known reforms were the 18th amendment which introduced prohibition, and the 19th amendment which gave women the right to vote. Now although prohibition was not successful, I believe it showed a lot about our society. When we compare it to the Civil Rights movement