Writing Assignment – Americanism vs. Communism

Writing Assignment – Americanism vs. Communism

Directions:

Essays should be doubled-spaced, size 12 font, with one-inch margins all around.

Essays must be a minimum of 1 page and should be a maximum of 3 pages.

All references from the textbook must be cited parenthetically (Shi, pg).

All references to primary source videos must be cited parenthetically with an abbreviated title (Regan, Jokes).

You may NOT use any outside sources including open source websites.

No bibliography is needed for your essays.

The required heading is only your name and a page number in the top right hand corner of each page.

Writing Assignment:

From the ashes of the Second World War rose two giants to stand guard over a chaotic world rife with

violence, poverty, and destruction. Although the United States (US) and the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics

(USSR) were allies during the war, the ideological and philosophical differences between American Democracy

and Soviet Communism drove the superpowers into a "war" for influence and control which lasted much of

the latter half of the twentieth century. While the US and USSR did not openly fight on the battlefield, the fifty

years following WWII were filled with small moments (i.e. the 1980 Miracle on Ice) and colossal events (the

Vietnam War) in which democracy was pitted against communism.

The Cold War, as it is known, affected American society, culture, politics, and economics. From the specter of

nuclear war to the fear of subversive activity from within, the Cold War informed the lives of Americans and

shaped American society. This writing assignment will focus on the impact of Cold War tensions on the lives of

everyday Americans. The primary sources for this writing assignments are all in the form of videos and include

speeches and interviews, political shorts and news stories, and songs and movie trailers which range from the

1950s to the 1990s. Watch the videos and write a response paper based on the questions below!

Question:

Watch the various primary source videos and analyze what they reflect about the nature of life in America

during the Cold War. For your essay, examine and describe the impact(s) of the struggle between American

Democracy and Soviet Communism on the lives of individual Americans and on American society as a whole.

Use specific evidence and provide detailed analysis to support your assertions.

Some of the questions to consider when writing your response are: Who was speaking and who was their

audience? How did they view America's role in stopping Communism? What sort of changes did they think

were necessary to combat the spread of Communism? Why do they believe American Democracy is better

than Soviet Communism? What kind of response do they believe is likely from the USSR? Do you see anything

that foreshadowed changes or problems in the future of America?

You do not need to answer any or all of these specifically, but they might help give you ideas of what to

write. Your response should reference the videos, but not simply describe them to the reader. Your answer

should reflect that you examined all of the primary sources provided.