Personal Narrative: The Transformation Of America
What happened? Well, that’s really not difficult to explain. America once was the most respected, and admired, nation in the world. But then, suddenly, things began to change quite radically and, over a period of several decades, America went from being the most respected nation in the world to the most feared. Going from the most respected to the most feared is quite a feat, so how did such a transformation evolve?
We might call what happened to America “the good cop, bad cop” syndrome. After World War II, the U.S. was highly respected and thought of as that good cop that had led the efforts to defeat the primary Axis powers of Germany and Japan. After that war, it had, more or less, assumed the role of protector of the world.
America is no longer viewed as a protector of the world but, rather, a mighty military force that is protecting its own national interests. Quite a reversal of roles, is it not? The skies are full of our air power; the seas teeming with our fleets; and a
…show more content…
When did all this unrestrained militarism really take shape? We could say it began when, in 1950, U.S. forces were deployed in South Korea to help that nation fend off the threats of invasion by North Korea’s armies. The stated reason for our involvement in that war that ended in 1953 was, supposedly, to stop the spread of communism. So let’s call that the beginning.
However, I believe that the large growth of U.S. militarism began after several hundred thousand of our troops were deployed in Vietnam, beginning in 1965 during the era of the Cold War. That horrific military conflict lasted until the U.S. was forced to exit that country in 1975, but not before we had lost the astounding number of 58,000 troops and more than 2 million Vietnamese had been killed. During that war the U.S. used napalm, white phosphorus, and Agent Orange toxic chemicals to subdue the enemy and that country; it didn’t
Anti Imperialism Dbq Essay
1007 Words | 5 PagesWhen America, as we know it today, was created, it had just freed itself from an unwanted, suffocating European power. The people wanted nothing to do with foreign affairs and their presidents’ policies reflected that. As America moved forward and established themselves as a world power, they began to want more. At the turn of the twentieth century, this want for more hit its peak and because of other circumstances, more was just within reach. America had always prided themselves in staying out of foreign problems and focusing inward, but now a new age was dawning.
Summary Of Unmaking Men By Kathleen Barry
1798 Words | 8 PagesUnmaking War, Remaking Men by Kathleen Barry Submitted by: ARPIT SAGAR (OT Code-B51) Kathleen Barry is a feminist activist and a sociologist. Her first book launched an international movement against human trafficking. In this book namely Unmaking War Remaking Men; she has examined the experiences of the soldiers during their training and combat as well as that of their victims using the concept of empathy. She explains how the lives of these men are made expendable for combat.
Cold War DBQ
1189 Words | 5 PagesThe Cold War caused people to question the United States’ government’s reliability and strength, which negatively affected America’s domestic affairs and foreign policies. Citizens lost respect and trust in the government and other civilians, due to several threats within the country and worldwide. People were left questioning their rights and safety due to the second Red Scare, which threatened the coming of power of communism within America. Various forms of propaganda advertised fears, causing panic to spread throughout the country. Russia’s gain of power throughout Eurasia showed off the USSR’s strength and abilities, threatening the Western Powers.
US Foreign Policy Dbq Essay
1031 Words | 5 PagesEntering WWII brought America out of its depression and into the complicated world of political affairs. The change of U.S. foreign policy from the end of the First World War to the end of the Korean War changed drastically as the U.S. became a stronger world power. From isolationism to encouragement of interventions, it can be said that the U.S. reversed its policy within a few decades. The shift in its policy can be attributed to the international wars that got the U.S. involved with world politics, involvement of U.S. presidents in the world affairs, and the growing power of other foreign powers, such as the Soviet Union. Wars are the one of the central factors in international affairs.
Essay On Imperialism
802 Words | 4 PagesAmerican leadership has fallen and just like the Roman Empire fell America’s time is very soon. The U.S still pushes for the best of the best in technology, man power, wealth and security of its nation but has found themselves on a fast moving downward fall to catastrophic disaster. The Roman Empire, Spanish-American War, and the men and regions who had the desire to spread their own influences to other people and places were all classified under the same movement. This influential movement throughout the course of history is known as Imperialism which is still in a growing process in modern day
Reasons For American Imperialism In The Early 20th Century
744 Words | 3 PagesBefore the 20th century the United States was an isolationist nation but around the late 19th century America decided to convert into an imperialist power. They had numerous reasons to shift into being an imperialist nation. America didn’t want to begin imperializing to settle and live in the nations they were taking over, they already had America for that reason, they wanted to adopt these nations for what they had to offer, which was many things. America saw an opportunity to improving their nation and took it. Even if there were many causes for America to imperialize, three of them stood out the most.
American Imperialism In The 19th Century
718 Words | 3 PagesEconomically the U.S. had made advances in technology and began to get oversea territories. Culturally they had used the
The Pros And Cons Of American Imperialism
1764 Words | 8 PagesAs America became a great power, it has continued its legacy of territorial expansionism through neo-imperialist policies. Aside from acquiring land and expanding American territory, the United States has established policies that have allowed direct and often indirect military and political control, economic exploitation, and the introduction of American ideals. The U.S. has justified this form of colonialism by claiming that it is for mutual economic pursuits, the spreading of democracy, and the establishment of stable governments in developing countries. Despite America’s noble causes, American imperialism has caused many repercussions. The United States should cease to be an imperialist power as it is economically damaging to countries under its rule, costly to America, violates the fundamental American principle of self-governance, and exacerbates social and political situations in countries America has tampered with.
How Did Imperialism Affect World War 1
1039 Words | 5 PagesThe United States had for years been improving and growing rapidly. Away from the other world powers in Europe, they were able to avoid their conflicts for a long time, but that changed. America got involved in World War One and it affected some of their advancements. U.S imperialism was able to thrive in WWI, with America using the power to expand their empire. American progressivism however, fell between the cracks and disappeared for a long while during and after the war.
Argumentative Essay On The Korean War
1796 Words | 8 PagesIn retrospect, however, the United States should not have entered the war. Not being a part of the war would have saved American lives and money, potentially eliminated PTSD in a generation on soldiers, and would have prevented the animosity that exist between the United States and North Korea that dominates the headlines today. The Korean War was fought between two major wars, Word War II and the Vietnam War. Due to being fought between these major wars, the Korean War is known as “The Forgotten War.” The Korean War started on June 25, 1950 and ended July 23, 1953.
Imperialism Dbq Essay
1155 Words | 5 PagesIn the beginning of the 19th century, the United States had minimal interest in becoming an empire who controlled overseas countries. Instead, Americans decided to just use Manifest Destiny on their own continent as their form of expansion. In the late 1800s, the frontier was announced to be “closed”, so Americans were forced to look overseas in order to expand trade by looking for new markets. After America made the decision to support Cuba in its revolt against Spain during the Spanish-American war, the United States gained its own colonial empire when it defeated Spain in 1898. Once the war ended, Americans had to debate between becoming an imperialist empire or remaining in isolationism.
American Imperialism In The Late 1800s And Early 1900's
356 Words | 2 PagesAfter American’s expansion, Americans started realizing that the imperialism was wrong and eventually half of the smaller nations got the freedom back. America since then has been a safe place for people to have
Comparison Of The Four Presidents Roosevelt, Eisenhower, And Johnson's Presidency
859 Words | 4 PagesNext is the drawdown after the war President Bush decided to cut the military, but did not engage leaders of other countries to assist in filling the gaps that the drawdown created, essentially the military was still responsible for large mission but with less manpower. Reliance on technology, the technological advances from the previous decade gave Bush and his successors
Analysis Of The World-System, Hegemony, And Decline By Thomas Mccormick
482 Words | 2 PagesThomas McCormick’s essay titled The World-System, Hegemony, and Decline, presents some relevant questions that I am unable to answer by just reading his work. Firstly, alluding to economic freedom and freedom of the seas as main U.S. objectives with regards to foreign policy might not be entirely accurate. It is true that the United States have used and will continue to use its elements of national power to protect economic interests all around the world, but are these the only instances where the United States fight for other freedoms? Is Uncle Sam our capitalistic egomaniac above anything else? Additionally, McCormick seems to be disappointed when he writes about how labor compensation differs between core, semi periphery, and periphery countries (Merrill and Paterson, 2010, 4).
Argumentative Essay: The Future Of America
349 Words | 2 PagesNeedless to say, America no longer needs to be presented as the country that is filled with destruction, but viewed as a place of peace and freedom.
More about Personal Narrative: The Transformation Of America
Anti Imperialism Dbq Essay
1007 Words | 5 PagesSummary Of Unmaking Men By Kathleen Barry
1798 Words | 8 PagesCold War DBQ
1189 Words | 5 PagesUS Foreign Policy Dbq Essay
1031 Words | 5 PagesEssay On Imperialism
802 Words | 4 PagesReasons For American Imperialism In The Early 20th Century
744 Words | 3 PagesAmerican Imperialism In The 19th Century
718 Words | 3 PagesThe Pros And Cons Of American Imperialism
1764 Words | 8 PagesHow Did Imperialism Affect World War 1
1039 Words | 5 PagesArgumentative Essay On The Korean War
1796 Words | 8 PagesImperialism Dbq Essay
1155 Words | 5 PagesAmerican Imperialism In The Late 1800s And Early 1900's
356 Words | 2 PagesComparison Of The Four Presidents Roosevelt, Eisenhower, And Johnson's Presidency
859 Words | 4 PagesAnalysis Of The World-System, Hegemony, And Decline By Thomas Mccormick
482 Words | 2 PagesArgumentative Essay: The Future Of America
349 Words | 2 Pages