It was a period of great tension between the U.S. and the Soviet Union. I hope this helped.
Historians work to methodically dissect the past to help us understand the present and avoid making similar mistakes in the future.
The base job of a Historian is to break down a historical events into parts to understand how the historical event or historical arc could have occurred as it did. This could range from "Why did the Japanese bomb Pearl Harbor" to "Why did the Union win the Civil War"
Each question has answers that can help future generations understand the implications of their actions.
It reinforced segregation and discrimination.
Booker T. Washington (1856-1915) advocated gradualism. That meant being patient and doing what white society would allow, which meant changes and better times for blacks would come slowly.
A different point of view was taken by W.E.B. Du Bois (1868-1963). Du Bois noted that Washington's approach was not accomplishing any real gains for blacks. He also felt that Washington's point of view showed acceptance of the racial inferiority of blacks. Plus he saw that institutions in the black community were being dominated by persons like Washington, rather than really empowering all individuals for themselves. Du Bois argued that all black citizens should have the right to vote, equality as citizens, and access to education according to their abilities, and his approach was more confrontational, attacking segregation using protests, lawsuits, and publications. Du Bois was strongly active in the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP).
The importance is that for the first time in history, a national constitution explicitly stated that it had been drafted not by a monarch or a group of barons but by representatives of ordinary citizens. It expressed the fact that such government had been instituted by the democratic will of the people and not by the “divine right” of a monarch or ruler.
It is definitely a collective term; it puts forward the right of self-government of the national community. It does not express the ruling will of an individual person but the collective will of an entire nation.
