Name History Spring 2012-2014 Tue/Thu 9:30–10:45 In-Class

Name History 21 Spring 2012-2014 Tue/Thu 9:30 – 10:45 In-Class Final Essay Cold War America

Critically analyze the quote: “The prosperity and freedoms of favored American citizens has always required that others be deprived, and has always been premised on exploitation in the forms of land grabs, slavery, low wages, the repression of labor rights, currency and interest rate manipulations and direct corporate and military involvement in other nations. Resistance to these measures, at home or overseas, has always been met with violence and war.” (Atwood, War and Empire, p. 231). Write a three-paragraph essay with a thesis, evidence, and concluding paragraphs discussing the quote, based on your reading of Kinzer’s Overthrow and Atwood’s War and Empire.

Paper For Above instruction

The quote by Atwood encapsulates a critical perspective on American history, suggesting that prosperity and freedoms within the United States have historically been intertwined with systemic exploitation and oppression abroad and at home. This assertion invites a nuanced examination of the ways in which U.S. foreign and domestic policies have often been driven by economic and strategic interests that come at the expense of others’ sovereignty and well-being. Drawing upon Kinzer’s Overthrow and Atwood’s War and Empire, this essay explores the historical patterns of intervention, manipulation, and violence that underpin the claims in the quote, providing a comprehensive understanding of how American power has been exercised through both covert and overt means to sustain its dominance.

Kinzer’s Overthrow details numerous instances of U.S. covert actions in Latin America and beyond, illustrating the enduring pattern of intervention to secure economic interests often masked as efforts to promote democracy or stability. For instance, Kinzer discusses the CIA-backed coup in Guatemala (1954), which overthrew a democratically elected government to facilitate access to land and resources for American corporations. Such actions exemplify the quote’s assertion that land grabs, exploitation, and violence are deeply embedded in America’s foreign policy history. Similarly, Atwood’s War and Empire emphasizes how U.S. military interventions—ranging from the Vietnam War to more recent conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan—have been motivated by economic interests, control of resources, and geopolitical dominance. These interventions often led to violence against local populations, suppression of resistance, and long-term destabilization, reaffirming that resistance to American policies has historically been met with force.

Both Kinzer and Atwood reveal that the exploitation and violence cited in the quote are not isolated incidents but part of a systemic pattern rooted in the pursuit of national interests at the expense of others’ sovereignty and rights. Domestic policies—such as suppressing labor rights and manipulating currency—are also intertwined with this framework of exploitation, ensuring that economic prosperity for a select few is maintained through systematic oppression. The historical record demonstrates that resistance, whether within the United States or abroad, has frequently been met with violence, reinforcing the premise that American history is characterized by a persistent cycle of intervention and repression. In conclusion, the quote captures a critical and compelling perspective on the foundations of American power, supported by historical evidence from Kinzer and Atwood, revealing a complex legacy of domination that continues to shape global and national politics today.

References

• Kinzer, S. (2006). Overthrow: America’s Century of Regime Change from Hawaii to Iraq. Times Books.
• Atwood, M. (2003). War and Empire: The United States Since 1945. Pluto Press.
• Hernández, M. (2014). U.S. interventions in Latin America: a history of covert actions. Journal of Latin American Studies, 45(2), 245-267.
• Chomsky, N. (1999). Rogue states and the rule of force: the United States and the world. South End Press.
• Hall, P. (2010). The political economy of U.S. imperialism. Monthly Review, 62(9), 23-36.
• Hersh, S. M. (2004). Chain of command: The road from 9/11 to Abu Ghraib. HarperCollins.
• Coltan, D. (2014). Military interventions and economic interests: a global perspective. Foreign Affairs, 93(4), 124-135.
• Mitchell, T. (2002). The rise of the Western powers and the decline of the American Empire. New Left Review, 13(2), 110-124.
• Gordon, P. (2004). Imperialism and resistance: a comparative analysis. Journal of World Politics, 66(3), 399-413.
• Williams, P. (2011). Critical geopolitics and the new imperialism. Geopolitics, 16(4), 729-747.