Using previously unavailable documents from the National Archives of the USA, this article throws new light on relations between the USA and the White-dominated Federation of Rhodesia and Nyasaland in the 1950s. It looks at evolving state policy and the influence of various state officials in this evolution. This article also considers relations between Black Americans and nationalist leaders from Africa, and the influence Black Americans were able to exert on formal US policy. The article argues that relations between the Federation and the United States established precedents regarding the centrality of race in international relations.
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