Reference no: EM133490674

Questions

1. Why do the authors of Document 1 and Document 2 believe it is necessary to strictly define Americans, and promote efforts to assimilate, or "Americanize," immigrants in the United States? How do their arguments differ? Do you find either argument persuasive? Why or why not?

2. The turbulent 1960s saw numerous attempts to identify the root problems within American society and the role of citizens in resolving them. In examining Document 3, Document 4, Document 5, and Document 6, what common problems do the authors identify within American society? What role do each of these documents suggest Americans should play in achieving social justice? How do the racial, ethnic, and gender identities reflected in these documents relate to expanding notions of American identity?

3. How does Maya Angelou's inauguration poem (Document 7) reflect upon the identity of "hyphenated Americans" by the early 1990s? In reading Document 8, how does President-Elect Barack Obama define Americanism? Did his election, as the first person of color to become President of the United States, resolve the questions and crises surrounding the definition of an American citizen? Why or why not?

4. Looking back over documents 1-8, along with what you have learned in this course, how do you think the definition of an American citizen has changed? How have different groups within American society promoted, embraced, or resisted these changes? What do you think it means to be an American today? How do you think it will be defined in the future?