Posted: May 19th, 2022

Cold War Conformity in American Society

AMH 2020: American History Since 1877 – Assessment 2: Analytical Essay

Write a 1,200-to-1,500-word essay that analyses the impact of the Cold War on American society, with particular attention to conformity as a response to fear, government authority, and shifting social norms. Draw on specific examples from The Catcher in the Rye, The Atomic Café, Howard Zinn’s Chapter 16, and the Baby Boom era.

Assessment Context

This task sits in Week 8 of AMH 2020 and builds directly on the unit’s coverage of post-1945 America. Students have already examined the Truman Doctrine, the Red Scare, suburbanisation, and cultural sources from the period. The essay requires you to connect government policies, popular culture, and everyday life to show how fear of communism shaped expectations of loyalty and normal behaviour.

Learning Outcomes

• Identify and evaluate the social, political, and cultural effects of the Cold War on American life between 1945 and 1960.
• Analyse primary and secondary sources to support a clear historical argument.
• Explain how fear and authority influenced individual and group behaviour in the early Cold War period.
• Communicate historical analysis in a well-structured essay that meets academic referencing standards.

Task Instructions

Produce a 1,200-to-1,500-word analytical essay that responds to the following question:

How did the Cold War encourage conformity in American society, and what tensions arose for those who resisted it?

Your essay must:

1. Include a clear thesis statement in the introduction that directly addresses the question.
2. Discuss conformity through government actions (Truman’s loyalty order and Zinn Chapter 16), cultural representations (The Atomic Café and Eisenhower/Johnson speeches), literary critique (The Catcher in the Rye), and demographic trends (the Baby Boom).
3. Use at least four specific examples or scenes from the set sources to support your points.
4. Explain the difference between compliance, identification, and internalisation where relevant, referencing psychologist Herbert Kelman’s framework.
5. Conclude by assessing whether conformity provided safety or limited personal freedom.
6. Reference all sources using APA 7th edition, including the four set texts and at least two additional scholarly sources.

Submission: Upload as a Word document (.docx) via the Canvas assignment link by 11:59 pm on Sunday of Week 8. Late submissions incur a 5% penalty per day.

Marking Criteria

Criterion	Excellent (80–100%)	Good (60–79%)	Satisfactory (40–59%)	Needs Improvement (0–39%)
Thesis and argument (25%)	Clear, insightful thesis that drives the entire essay	Clear thesis with mostly consistent argument	Thesis present but argument wanders	No clear thesis or argument
Use of evidence and sources (30%)	Detailed, accurate references to all four set sources plus additional scholarship	Good use of required sources with some additional support	Basic references to sources	Insufficient or inaccurate source use
Analysis and historical understanding (25%)	Sophisticated analysis of conformity, fear, and resistance	Solid analysis with some depth	Description outweighs analysis	Little or no analysis
Structure, writing, and referencing (20%)	Logical flow, clear paragraphs, accurate APA 7th	Mostly clear structure and referencing	Some organisational issues	Poor structure or frequent referencing errors

Example Student Response

American society during the Cold War turned to conformity to manage the fear created by government warnings and the threat of communism. In The Atomic Café, officials reassured citizens that following simple rules would keep them safe from the hydrogen bomb, encouraging people to accept official messages without question. Howard Zinn’s Chapter 16 shows how the Truman administration used Executive Order 9835 to pressure federal workers into proving their loyalty or face dismissal. Holden Caulfield in The Catcher in the Rye rejects this pressure yet ends up isolated because his refusal to conform leaves him without friends or support. The Baby Boom reflected the same pressure: young couples rushed into early marriage and large families to achieve the approved American dream and avoid being labelled un-American. Conformity therefore offered a sense of safety and approval while punishing those who chose independence (McLeod, 2007). Kazin (2024) notes that this climate of fear extended beyond politics into everyday cultural expectations.

Further analysis reveals that the same mechanisms of fear and reward operated across different areas of life. Elaine Tyler May’s study of postwar families shows how the nuclear family ideal became both a private refuge and a public statement of loyalty during the Cold War. Recent scholarship on cultural representations, such as the 2022 historiography by Johnson, confirms that media and government worked together to link personal behaviour with national security. These patterns did not disappear after the 1950s; they continued to shape public debates about loyalty and dissent well into the following decade.

References

Johnson, E. (2022). Historiography of the cultural Cold War. Ibid: A Student History Journal, 15. https://twu.edu/history/ibid/previous-ibid-issues/ibid-a-student-history-journal-volume-15-spring-2022/historiography-of-the-cultural-cold-war/

Kazin, M. (2024). The impact of the early Cold War on American society. National Humanities Center. https://nationalhumanitiescenter.org/education-material/the-impact-of-the-early-cold-war-on-american-society/

McLeod, S. (2007). Conformity. Simply Psychology. https://www.simplypsychology.org/conformity.html

Whitfield, S. J. (2020). The culture of the Cold War (2nd ed.). Johns Hopkins University Press.

Zinn, H. (2015). A people’s history of the United States (updated ed.). Harper Perennial. (Chapter 16)

1. Write a 1,200-to-1,500-word essay on the impact of the Cold War on American society and the rise of conformity. Assessment 2 for AMH 2020 includes full instructions, rubric, example response and references.
2. Write a 4-to-5-page essay examining Cold War conformity through The Catcher in the Rye, The Atomic Café, Zinn Chapter 16 and the Baby Boom. Complete assessment brief with marking criteria and sample answer.
3. Analyse how fear and government pressure created conformity in Cold War America using key texts and historical examples.

Assignment / discussion post (next week) AMH 2020: American History Since 1877 – Assessment 3: Discussion Board Post – Nonconformity and the 1960s Social Movements (300–400 words initial post + two replies of 100–150 words each).

In 300–400 words, evaluate how the conformity pressures of the 1950s Cold War era contributed to the rise of nonconformist movements in the 1960s. Reference at least one example from the previous essay (such as Holden’s isolation or Baby Boom expectations) and connect it to either the civil rights movement, the counterculture, or the anti-Vietnam War protests. Post your response by Wednesday 11:59 pm and reply to at least two classmates by Sunday 11:59 pm, identifying one strength and one area for further development in their analysis. This task builds directly on Assessment 2 by shifting from description of conformity to explanation of resistance and change.

 

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