Throughout this class we have stressed how Americans have, in every period, debated and contested issues

Throughout this class we have stressed how Americans have, in every period, debated and contested issues

of who "Americans" should be, how they should live, and what the role of government at home and in foreign policy should be. Consider how current debates in your own time echo some of the debates we have studied in the past. In this essay, identify one current debate and explain its historical context, using specific examples. Do not detail your opinions on this current debate but rather discuss the history behind it.