Discussion Paper on Post-War America

Answer the question in the form of a short paper: What did it mean to “be an American” in Post-War America and how did the United States government formulate these definitions? In the paper, bring in at least one specific example from Mae Ngai’s book. (Ngai Ch. 4, 6) Be sure cite references. Mae M. Ngai, Impossible Subjects: Illegal Aliens and the Making of Modern America(Princeton 2004). ISBN-13: 978-0691160825 There are three primary resources for the paper: “The Universal Declaration of Human Rights,” 1948 (Online) Testimony of Paul Robeson before the HUAC, 1956 (Online) “Port Huron Statement,” 1962 (Online) The Post-War period in the United States can be defined by a number of factors, including economic boom, the emergence of modern suburbia, and the Cold War. In the late 1940s and 1950s, the United States tried to define itself both on the domestic and global stage, often at the cost of ethnic, social, and political minorities in this country. While the rhetoric of the era was elevated by “The Universal Declaration of Human Rights,” the problems of the 1950s would lead to greater radicalization (like the Students for a Democratic Society/SDS declared by the “Port Huron Statement”) and the Civil Rights Movement.