Analysis Of Lederer And Burdick's The Ugly American

Improved Essays
During the cold war tensions where high between governments with opposing theories or ideas. Communism was spreading into Asia and the USA did not want that to happen. Vietnam was one of the most controversial wars that America fought. There were protests and rallies against the Vietnam War put on by United States citizens themselves. Some people believed that we should be interfering with other countries’ governments and others did not. Authors Lederer and Burdick provide examples of both good and bad behavior that American citizens and politicians exemplify in their book, The Ugly American. The lessons and points provided by Lederer and Burdick are still relevant in today’s political world when vising other countries.
The Ugly American is
…show more content…
Both governments are battling each other through Political, military and social events. In Sarkhan the Russians are politically fighting over the country to bring it into communism while the United States is trying to patch the government back up to stay a democracy. A majority of the political figures on the American side don’t pay attention to the culture of the Sarkhan’s and can’t win over them. The Russians sabotage and provide false information to the people of Sarkhan to try to make the Americans look bad. The Russians also sabotage American aid by writing things like “Russian Rice” on American given aid to try to win over the Sarkhan’s.
The first chapter in the book exemplifies both the good and bad side of how Americans act in other countries. The American ambassador of Sarkhan, Louis Sears is upset about his public image after a comic published in a local newspaper portrays him negatively. The newspaper calls him “Lucky Sears” because when running for his positon all three of his opponents were kicked from the election for scandals or illness. While this is happening an American businessman by the name of John Colvin was left naked and beat up on the embassy’s steps. Sears just dismissed

Related Documents

  • Great Essays

    Nixon Containment Strategy

    • 1116 Words
    • 5 Pages

    In the period during and immediately after the Vietnam War, the United States’ government reached one of its lowest points in terms of popularity and trust amongst the American people. Outraged by the destruction, loss of life, and failure in Vietnam, this shocking defeat and widespread public backlash led U.S. policymakers to recognize that there had been a massive failure in our country’s foreign policy regarding containment. Realizing the U.S. had overextended itself in a country that our government had little knowledge of, policymakers understood the need to reexamine and revise the United States’ strategies of containment. This change would come in 1968 with the election of President Nixon and his subsequent appointment of Henry Kissinger…

    • 1116 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Great Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Cold War Dbq Analysis

    • 1044 Words
    • 5 Pages

    Following World War II, the United States and the Soviet Union emerged as the two superpowers. This created a rivalry between these two nations that became known as the Cold War. While the Cold War affected United States foreign policy, it also had a great effect on United States domestic policy and on American society. Such example existed between the spread of Communism, American fears and the efforts in the war. These various new policies created during the era of war crisis sets a framework on American’s way of living and their impact on home front.…

    • 1044 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Superior Essays

    The Ugly American is a novel by William J. Lederer and Eugene Burdick about a fictional country located in Southeast Asia named Sarkhan. Sarkhan is a rather young country and is in the midst of political turmoil. From the north, Sarkhan is receiving Communist influence from China and Russia, while the United States is providing Democratic influences from the south. The novel introduces many characters, none of which have a main role as the story’s lead protagonist. All the characters in the story play important roles in how their actions have a positive or negative impact on the people of Sarkhan.…

    • 2108 Words
    • 9 Pages
    Superior Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Spread Of Communism Dbq

    • 959 Words
    • 4 Pages

    The US went to war in Vietnam, to attempt to prevent communism from spreading into Southeast…

    • 959 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    A quarter of the way through the century the worst economic recession in history hit America. The populus of the United states lived through ten grueling years of hardship up until the year America entered the war. The entire country raised itself from the ground and stood proud not only against its enemies but for the ideals it stood for. World War Two brought on a new wave of American idealism and propelled the country into an age of world dominance. From there, their war changed to a fight for democracy in the west against the communists in the east.…

    • 1027 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Superior Essays

    Nixon Dbq Analysis

    • 1298 Words
    • 5 Pages

    ` The United States was on the verge of destruction starting from 1968 when Richard Nixon became president till 1974 when he resigned. American antiwar protests and economic decline were the least of the miseries; the Vietnam War and its threat of worldwide communism terrified Americans, people looked to their president and his administration to solve all of the looming dilemmas. The previous presidents left Nixon with a jumble of international problems. Starting with Truman, Americans were invested into the fight against communism, defending South Vietnam from their Northern communist counterparts, going into the Cold War to beat the USSR and refusing the acknowledge The People’s Republic of China as modern day China, through Nixon communism…

    • 1298 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Superior Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Vietnam War Dbq Analysis

    • 639 Words
    • 3 Pages

    The Vietnam War was one of the most controversial wars of its time. Many americans opposed of the war because they thought it was highly unnecessary with all the trouble that appeared based around how the young felt and the use of brutal weaponry. Even though some government officials thought they were doing the right thing to protect southeast asia's freedom. It wasn’t worth giving up the many of our own people's freedom.…

    • 639 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    There is the old saying, “You do not know what someone else is going through, until you have walked in their shoes.” With Cristina Henriquez’s book, “The Book of Unknown Americans,” I felt I was as close to experiencing what the characters were going through without actually being in their shoes. Henriquez did a great job of adding details and twists while getting you emotionally attached to the characters. From the beginning I was drawn to the characters in “The Book of Unknown Americans.”…

    • 705 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    The Americans and Soviets experienced a “Cold War” from 1945-1991. Both countries never engaged in any direct war but focused on destroying the power and influence of one another. America’s involvement during Vietnam through 1955 was one instance that occurred where both the US and the USSR were both engaging in a Communist vs. Capitalist war. The Vietnam conflict created tension and fear between the US and the USSR. Even though the battle did not occur on US or USSR soil, the impact of both super powers were largely present during the Vietnam War.…

    • 1169 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Great Essays

    Fear Of Communism

    • 1559 Words
    • 7 Pages

    The United States went into the Cold War with good intentions, wanting to end the spread of communism. These efforts eventually led to better relations with the Soviet Union, now Russia, as well as China. However, most of these efforts were fueled by fear, especially following the second red scare. This fear led to democratic rights being infringed upon at home and abroad, and the tearing down of the governments of other nations in order to keep communism at bay, ruining the lives of millions. The actions taken by the United States for alleged protection from communism were far too extreme for the circumstances and challenged the values of democracy.…

    • 1559 Words
    • 7 Pages
    Great Essays
  • Improved Essays

    The cold war was a fierce war between two conflicting ideologies. On one side you had the US and its allies, and on the other side you had the Soviet Union and its allies. It seemed pretty straightforward until you realize there was a 3rd faction. These were the group of countries that were not close allies of either nation. Both sides tried their hardest to spread their ideology and systems throughout the world.…

    • 1035 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Many events ranging from wars to elections have influenced American history as the American public knows today. Even though these events have been set in stone and are in-erasable from America’s past, they can be interpreted in a vast multitude of ways. There are also always two sides of a story, and one cannot fully develop an opinion on a specific topic without having knowledge that pertains to each side. With this in mind, it is only logical to apply a comparison between Howard Zinn’s A People’s History of the United States and Larry Schweikart’s a Patriot’s History of the United States. More specifically, the difference in American foreign policy on the Vietnam War.…

    • 810 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Superior Essays

    Invasion Of Vietnam Essay

    • 1425 Words
    • 6 Pages

    The 1960’s through the 1970’s was a time filled with hardship for many Americans because of the unproductive invasion of Vietnam. In an attempt to contain and defeat communism, the United States, oblivious of the enemy capability and filled with pride, invaded Vietnam at a cost of large financial expense and human lives. The U.S. should not have invaded Vietnam until they were aware of the forces of the North Vietnamese. As with most other countries in the world, Vietnam has a history of being colonized by European powers.…

    • 1425 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Superior Essays
  • Superior Essays

    It also was the reason for the ongoing struggle within American culture and society over the morality and efficacy of the United States government and their handling on foreign policy. The Vietnam…

    • 1144 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Superior Essays
  • Improved Essays

    In “Be American,” Carlos Bulosan reveals the lack of choice a Filipino had at the time through the story of someone’s cousin, Consorcio, and his struggle to gain citizenship in America. Bulosan’s short story shares this idea of no choice with a political cartoon known as “What Will He Do,” which depicts President McKinley deciding whether or not to keep the Philippines or “send them to Spain” while the globe watches for his decision. Through the visual of President McKinley making a decision for the Philippines, the political cartoon “What Will He Do,” argues the Philippines are deprived of choice. “Be American” mirrors this argument by linking the Consorcio and his cousin to the idea of lack of choice.…

    • 1274 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Improved Essays