Causes of the radicalisation of the Civil Rights Movement
How far was Vietnam responsible for the radicalisation of the Civil Rights Movement?
There are many reasons for the radicalisation of the Civil Rights Movement among which the Vietnam War was undoubtedly a significant one.
Firstly, the campaign to such a small country, compared to US - a global superpower, as Vietnam was expected to end quickly by Americans overthrowing the communism. However, this proved not the case. The prolonging war, huge casualties on American side and no visible progress resulted in a massive resentment towards the government. It started the era of social resentment and Civil Rights Movement’s radicalisation was its obvious consequence. The activists knew they would be permitted to do more in those times because of the anti-government feelings throughout the society.
Moreover, some Americans realised that the war was impossible to win which caused anxiety in the society, additionally fueled by the awareness that Americans were intruding in domestic affairs of a foreign country. USA were interfering with a country’s freedom meanwhile stating in their constitution that all people should be free. This provoked anti-war marches to spread and, since Civil Rights activists frequently led them, the cooperation between the government and Civil Rights Movement decreased. As a result of not being able to negotiate reform with the government, the yet-non-violent Civil Rights Activists were being pushed towards Black Pride and militarization.