Cindy I-Fen Cheng
- Published in print:
- 2013
- Published Online:
- March 2016
- ISBN:
- 9780814759356
- eISBN:
- 9780814770849
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- NYU Press
- DOI:
- 10.18574/nyu/9780814759356.001.0001
- Subject:
- History, Social History
During the Cold War, Soviet propaganda highlighted U.S. racism in order to undermine the credibility of U.S. democracy. In response, incorporating racial and ethnic minorities in order to affirm that ...
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During the Cold War, Soviet propaganda highlighted U.S. racism in order to undermine the credibility of U.S. democracy. In response, incorporating racial and ethnic minorities in order to affirm that America worked to ensure the rights of all and was superior to communist countries became a national imperative. This book explores how Asian Americans figured in this effort to shape the credibility of U.S. democracy, even while the perceived “foreignness” of Asian Americans cast them as likely alien subversives whose activities needed monitoring following the communist revolution in China and the outbreak of the Korean War. While histories of international politics and U.S. race relations during the Cold War have largely overlooked the significance of Asian Americans, the book challenges the black-white focus of the existing historiography. It highlights how Asian Americans made use of the government's desire to be leader of the “free world” by advocating for civil rights reforms, such as housing integration, increased professional opportunities, and freedom from political persecution. It examines the liberalization of immigration policies, which worked not only to increase the civil rights of Asian Americans but also to improve the nation's ties with Asian countries, providing an opportunity for the U.S. government to broadcast, on a global scale, the freedom and opportunity that American society could offer.Less
During the Cold War, Soviet propaganda highlighted U.S. racism in order to undermine the credibility of U.S. democracy. In response, incorporating racial and ethnic minorities in order to affirm that America worked to ensure the rights of all and was superior to communist countries became a national imperative. This book explores how Asian Americans figured in this effort to shape the credibility of U.S. democracy, even while the perceived “foreignness” of Asian Americans cast them as likely alien subversives whose activities needed monitoring following the communist revolution in China and the outbreak of the Korean War. While histories of international politics and U.S. race relations during the Cold War have largely overlooked the significance of Asian Americans, the book challenges the black-white focus of the existing historiography. It highlights how Asian Americans made use of the government's desire to be leader of the “free world” by advocating for civil rights reforms, such as housing integration, increased professional opportunities, and freedom from political persecution. It examines the liberalization of immigration policies, which worked not only to increase the civil rights of Asian Americans but also to improve the nation's ties with Asian countries, providing an opportunity for the U.S. government to broadcast, on a global scale, the freedom and opportunity that American society could offer.
Anne Fountain
- Published in print:
- 2014
- Published Online:
- January 2015
- ISBN:
- 9780813049748
- eISBN:
- 9780813050447
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- University Press of Florida
- DOI:
- 10.5744/florida/9780813049748.003.0008
- Subject:
- Literature, Criticism/Theory
This chapter depicts the racial climate of Martí’s time and how it affected his writing and his plans for a Cuban republic that would be free of both Spain and the United States. It provides ...
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This chapter depicts the racial climate of Martí’s time and how it affected his writing and his plans for a Cuban republic that would be free of both Spain and the United States. It provides historical background on Cuba/U.S. relations over slavery, including information about the 1839 Amistad slave revolt that was made famous by a 1998 Steven Spielberg film. The chapter describes the importance of travel literature in conveying impressions about Cuba to the U.S. public and tells of Frederic Remington’s negative characterizations of Cuba. It reveals how U.S. racism was countered by Martí’s 1889 editorial, “Vindication of Cuba,” sent to the New York Evening Post. The chapter concludes by illustrating the ways in which Martí’s works are important even today in confronting U.S. racism.Less
This chapter depicts the racial climate of Martí’s time and how it affected his writing and his plans for a Cuban republic that would be free of both Spain and the United States. It provides historical background on Cuba/U.S. relations over slavery, including information about the 1839 Amistad slave revolt that was made famous by a 1998 Steven Spielberg film. The chapter describes the importance of travel literature in conveying impressions about Cuba to the U.S. public and tells of Frederic Remington’s negative characterizations of Cuba. It reveals how U.S. racism was countered by Martí’s 1889 editorial, “Vindication of Cuba,” sent to the New York Evening Post. The chapter concludes by illustrating the ways in which Martí’s works are important even today in confronting U.S. racism.
