Necessary Trouble: Growing Up at Midcentury

Brown v. Board of Education was a 1954 Supreme Court case that ruled segregated schooling unconstitutional. As a result, integration was ordered for all public schools. This ruling was met with great resistance, particularly in some counties in Virginia, which launched a campaign called “Massive Resistance” and chose to close public schools for several years rather than integrate them.

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.