Description
Book SynopsisSarah B. Snyder shows how transnational connections and social movements spurred American activism that enshrined human rights in U.S. foreign policy making for years to come.
From Selma to Moscow reshapes our understanding of the role of human rights activism in transforming U.S. foreign policy in the 1960s and 1970s.
Trade ReviewIn this illuminating book Sarah Snyder explains the origins of the human rights movement in the 1960s and chronicles its evolution until the inauguration of Jimmy Carter. Linking the evolution of human rights to other social movements, she probes the motives, highlights the transnational connections, and analyzes the successes and failures of activists regarding human rights violations inside the Soviet Union, Southern Rhodesia, Greece, South Korea, and Chile. This book is an important contribution to the literature on human rights. -- Melvyn Leffler, Edward Stettinius Professor of American History, University of Virginia
In this impressive and deeply researched work, Sarah Snyder reveals the way global struggles over human rights became a feature of American politics and foreign policy in the 1960s and 70s as activists, journalists, and Congress members made the case that the United States was complicit if the country ignored brutal repression. An important contribution. -- Mary L. Dudziak, Emory University School of Law
Based on deep and thorough archival research, as well as an innovative and creative use of quantitative measures, Snyder’s book demonstrates that issues of human rights emerged as a significant priority for many Americans, both political leaders and activists, well before the Carter administration.
From Selma to Moscow is an extremely important contribution to what remains one of the most important challenges in American foreign policy. -- Thomas Schwartz, Vanderbilt University
Human rights is emerging as one of the central concerns of modern humanities and social science scholarship.
From Selma to Moscow illuminates the missing links between histories of the 1940s and the 1970s, the focus of previous studies. Sarah Snyder’s globe-spanning tale of activists and policy makers reveals the significance of the 1960s for bringing human rights to the forefront of U.S. foreign relations. An important book from an excellent historian. -- Tim Borstelmann, University of Nebraska–Lincoln
This well-written and persuasively argued book leaves me wanting even more, and it...will remain an important book for years to come. -- Kelly J. Shannon * American Historical Review *
Sarah Snyder's book illuminates the nuances and contradictions of American foreign policy in this era. * Diplomatic History *
Her argument, articulated with refreshing clarity early in her introduction, is that Americans engaged in transnational human rights campaigns much earlier than previously assumed, namely in the 1960s. * Journal of Contemporary History *
Table of ContentsAcknowledgments
Introduction
1. Human Rights Activism Directed Across the Iron Curtain
2. A Double Standard Abroad and at Home? Rhodesia’s Unilateral Declaration of Independence
3. Causing Us “Real Trouble”: The 1967 Coup in Greece
4. Does the United States Stand for Something? Human Rights in South Korea
5. Translating Human Rights into the Language of Washington: American Activism in the Wake of the Coup in Chile
6. “A Call for U.S. Leadership”: Congressional Activism on Human Rights
Conclusion
Notes
Bibliography
Index
