By: Christopher Bell, Sajem Brown and Bryan Caridad
Senior Division
Group Website
Senior Division
Group Website
"Americanism is a matter of the mind and heart; Americanism is not, and never was, a matter of race or ancestry."
-President Roosevelt, February 1, 1943
-President Roosevelt, February 1, 1943
Thesis
For centuries, our nation's foundation has been the Constitution which we still live by today. During World War II when Japanese Americans were forced to relocate to internment camps, their basic specific rights in the Constitution were violated and disregarded. The United States government deemed all people of Japanese ancestry as "a threat to national security." They deemed the relocation of all Japanese Americans was necessary to keep the country and its people safe, even if it meant violating the general freedom and welfare of a minority. It was the responsibility of the U.S. to protect all of its people, but only abode to the demands of Caucasian Americans. People of Japanese ancestry were forced to abandon their homes and businesses, to separate from their loved ones, and to live behind wired fences with heavy guarding from the Army.
Terms to Know
Issei- first generation Japanese (citizen or non-citizen)
Nisei-second generation Japanese citizens born in the U.S. Sansei- third generation Japanese citizens born on in the U.S. Picture Bride- Japanese wives who came to the U.S. after being wed overseas to Japanese men in America; done to make them citizens of the U.S. "...We are all tied together by an idea, democracy...If we cannot stand before the law in equal liberty and freedom- to live our lives, regardless of race, creed or color- then What Price Democracy?"
-Marion R. Weddell to President Roosevelt |