ABSTRACT
Scholarly and political debates and worries on anti-Americanism are by no means a contemporary issue. 1 In the 1950s, US intellectuals, public figures, and diplomats worried profoundly over what they perceived as their worsening reputation in a world of new nations, new rulers, and new weapons. Academics in particular published an abundance of books and essays on how negatively people the world over regarded the United States and they wondered what could be done to change the situation. Intellectuals urged US leaders to apply corporate advertising methods to promote the American way of life (Grothe, 1958). Sociologists suggested familiarizing people the world over with American history, politics, and entertainment. If America – and the American government in particular – did a better job to explain US foreign policy to others or changed foreign policy altogether, critics would love Americans as much as Americans loved themselves (Gienow-Hecht, 2000).
