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Hearts and Minds Previous Next
Digital History ID 3423

 

The Cold War was a struggle for the hearts and minds of people across the globe. By the early 1960s, a third of the world's population lived under Communism and another third lived in non-aligned countries. Public service advertisements on television showed Soviet Premier Nikita Khrushchev warning Americans that their grandchildren will live under Communism.

During the Cold War, the Soviet Union exploited the glaring discrepancy between American ideals of liberty and equality and the harsh reality of racial discrimination. During the late 1940s and 1950s, there were strenuous efforts to bring American realities in line with the country's founding ideals. In May 1948, the Supreme Court ruled that restrictive covenants prohibiting the sale of homes to blacks and Jews are not legally enforceable. Two months later, President Truman issued Executive Order 9981, ending segregation in the U.S. armed forces.

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