Race relations is an issue that has littered American history with examples of discrimination, alienation, and unjust treatment of minorities. Before World War II, there was arguably more discrimination and racial tension in the U.S. than today but that is not to say that the issues have vanished. Even in post-WWII America, racial distrust ran amuck with the installation of internment camps and growing racial discrimination against blacks in the South during the mid-20th century. Mistreatment of minority groups sparking racial distrust in society are evident in BARTOLOMEO VANZETTI, Last Statement to the Court of Massachusetts (1927) and GORDON HIRABAYASHI, Why I Refused to Register for Evacuation (1942). These documents entail statements from …show more content…
Mr. Vanzetti being an Italian immigrant in the early 20th century, was unable to receive an entirely fair trial due to the biases of his jurors. Vanzetti explained to Frederick Katzmann, the district attorney prosecuting him, that he purposely used the jury’s bias against Vanzetti to succeed with the indictment. Bartolomeo accused Katzmann when he said “both you and Mr. Katzmann has done all what it were in your power in order to work out, in order to agitate still more the passion of the juror, the prejudice of the juror, against us.” On the other hand, the rights of several thousand Asian-Americans were violated when the United States imposed the evacuation of all Japanese descendants into internment camps. In his letter, Hirabayashi declared that “fundamental moral rights and civil liberties are included in the Bill of Rights, U.S. Constitution and other legal records. They guarantee that these fundamental rights shall not be denied without due process of law.” Without a doubt, throughout American history the constitutional rights of minority groups have been unjustly violated time and time …show more content…
During his last statement, Vanzetti stressed that “I am not only innocent of these two crimes, but in all my life I have never stole and I have never killed and I have never spilled blood”, further pleading his innocence of the crimes he was accused of. Similarly, Hirabayashi expressed that “The very qualities which are essential to a peaceful, creative community are being thrown out and abused. Over 60 percent are American citizens, yet they are denied on a wholesale scale without due process of law the civil liberties which are theirs.” Through their written expressions, Vanzetti and Hirabayashi effectively reached out to the public and got society to see past their status as minorities and the stereotypes that were attributed to them. As a result, the header in Vanzetti’s statement explains that “Vanzetti’s defiant final statement failed to move the court, but it did provoke a public outcry as well as national and worldwide demonstrations condemning the verdict.” The reaction of the public in response to Vanzetti’s statement shows that even though individuals may have prejudices against certain groups, when they begin to think about how misconceptions of those groups severely affect their treatment, there is an overwhelming sense of guilt throughout
The autobiography illustrates personal experiences of discrimination and prejudice while also reporting the political occurrences during the United States’ involvement in World War II. After the Japanese bombed Pearl Harbor, the United States government unleashed unrestrained contempt for the Japanese residing in the nation. The general public followed this train of thought, distrusting the Japanese and treating them like something less than human. In a country of freedom and justice, no coalition stepped up to defend the people who had lived there most of or all of their lives; rather, people took advantage of the Japanese evacuation to take their property and belongings. The government released demeaning propaganda displaying comical Japanese men as monsters and rats, encouraging the public to be vigilant and wary toward anyone of Japanese descent. The abuse of the Japanese during this period was taken a little too lightly, the government apologizing too late and now minor education of the real cruelty expressed toward the nation’s own citizens. Now we see history repeating itself in society, and if we don’t catch the warning signs today, history may just come full
Roger Daniels’ book Prisoners without Trial is another book that describes the internment of Japanese-Americans during World War II. This piece discusses about the background that led up to the internment, the internment itself, and what happened afterwards. The internment and relocation of Japanese-Americans during World War II was an injustice prompted by political and racial motivations. The author’s purpose of this volume is to discuss the story in light of the redress and reparation legislation enacted in 1988. Even though Daniels gives first hand accounts of the internment of Japanese Americans in his book, the author is lacking adequate citations and provocative quotations. It’s
Throughout American history, relationships between racial and ethnic groups have been marked by antagonism, inequality, and violence. In today’s complex and fast-paced society, historians, social theorists and anthropologists have been known to devote significant amounts of time examining and interrogating not only the interior climate of the institutions that shape human behavior and personalities, but also relations between race and culture. It is difficult to tolerate the notion; America has won its victory over racism. Even though many maintain America is a “color blind nation,” racism and racial conflict remain to be prevalent in the social fabric of American institutions. As a result, one may question if issues and challenges
The book written by Joel Spring was based on the constant derogation and the oppression of the people that were not considered “white”. The constant segregation between races caused many fights for equal rights among Native Americans, African American, Asian and Hispanic people. The conflict was never easy because the United States demonstrated an ethnocentric attitude, which caused the idea of deculturalization for many of the incoming immigrant races. The book demonstrates accuracy in many of the historical struggles between education, language, culture lands, and equal rights for a voice among the people in the United States.
America’s history is overrun with oppression and injustice based on race, ethnicity, and other traits that innocent victims have no control over. As a result, the reputation of the United States is forever tainted by it’s dark past, and still practices these surviving habits of hatred. Civil liberty issues faced since the establishment of the country have yet to be resolved because of the ever-present mistreatment, corruption in positions of authority, and the dehumanization of minorities.
In recent years, there has been increased discussion about the treatment of minorities in the U.S. While there have been numerous laws passed that protect their freedoms, many Americans maintain a negative mindset toward other ethnicities. Due to people’s reservations, our country has been unable to make substantial progress toward equality. In The Nation’s article, “The Truth About Race in America: It’s Getting Worse, Not Better,” by Gary Younge, the author utilizes factual information, historical allusions, and related quotes to effectively contend that race relations are worsening within the United States.
Located on the third floor of the National Museum of American History, "A More Perfect Union" documents the forced relocation of thousands of Japanese Americans during World War II. The exhibit focuses on the violation of constitutional rights that occurred during this process. The purposes of this review are as follows:
American minorities made up a significant amount of America’s population in the 1920s and 1930s, estimated to be around 11.9 million people, according to . However, even with all those people, there still was harsh segregation going on. Caucasians made African-Americans work for them as slaves, farmers, babysitters, and many other things in that line. Then when World War II came, “World War II required the reunification and mobilization of Americans as never before” (Module2). They needed to cooperate on many things, even if they didn’t want to. These minorities mainly refer to African, Asian, and Mexican-Americans. They all suffered much pain as they were treated as if they weren’t even human beings. They were separated, looked down upon,
Today racial inequality is ongoing whether you are aware of it or not. We have come a long way from segregated seats to public transportation. The issue of race and race relations has really scarred the history of this nation and has been a constant reminder of the horrors people endured as a result of race relations in this country. The ideas from both of the readings explain how black Americans faced hatred and violence because they were viewed as less then. The writings also include how each leader is trying to change the world’s view of
officials eventually began to recruit these internees into the American army. Not only was WWII a war about political alliances and geographical sovereignty, but it was also a war about race and racial superiority throughout the world. Propagating this idea, Dower (1986) argues, “World War Two contributed immeasurably not only to a sharpened awareness of racism within the United States, but also to more radical demands and militant tactics on the part of the victims of discrimination” (War Without Mercy: p.5). In elucidating the racial motivations and fallout from WWII, Dower helps one realize the critical role that race and racial politics played during the war and are still at play in our contemporary world. An analysis of this internment process reveals how the ultimate goal of the U.S. internment of Japanese Americans and the United States’ subsequent occupation of Japan was to essentially “brainwash” the Japanese race into demonstrating allegiance to America.
Like all issues involving race or war, the question of whether or not it was legal and ethical to make Japanese Americans move to relocation camps in early WWII is a difficult and controversial problem. The internment of around 50,000 Japanese citizens and approximately 70,000 Japanese-American people born in the U.S. living in the American West Coast has become known as a tragedy and mistake. The government even set up numerous projects to apologize to the American citizens who were wronged (Bosworth). Still, at the time that the decision to relocate was made, the actions were constitutionally legal and seen by many as necessary. The actions were not based on racist feelings. It was, however,
The topic I choose to right about is the internment of Japanese Americans during WWII. The question that I intend to answer today is: The Constitution guarantees American citizens no imprisonment without due process of law, yet has been violated by the federal government in at least two American wars. How did the government justify interning Japanese-American citizens in World War II? In order to understand why this happened we have to first look at what happened. We are going to look at a couple things in this paper: The Executive Order of 9066 and Korematsu v. United States (1944). As well as we are good to look at just why the U.S. decided to not give these people the basic
The internment of Japanese-Americans serves as an illustrious example to demonstrate the abysmal execution of this protection. By looking back at events such as this, the people of the United States can prevent acts of this nature from transpiring again. More specifically, it is the responsibility of the judicial branch to ensure the equal protection of the law. Judicial figures should aid in this cause by being more vigilant in assessing laws carried out by the Legislative and Judicial branches of
Japanese Americans filed lawsuits to stop the mass incarceration, but the wartime courts supported the hysteria. The U.S. Supreme Court ruled in Hirabayashi v U.S.,Yasui v U.S. , and Korematsu v U.S. that the denial of civil liberties based on race and national origin were legal. (momomedia.com)Through the relocation program the Japanese Americans suffered greatly. They first endured the shock of realizing they were not being sent to resettlement communities, as many had been led to believe, but to prison. They lost their homes and businesses. Their educations and careers were interrupted and their possessions lost. Many lost sons who fought for the country that imprisoned their parents. They suffered the loss of faith in the government and the humiliation of being confined as traitors in their own country (Michi Weglyn).Throughout the course of World War II, not a single incident of espionage or treason was found to be committed by
Welkos, R. W. (1998, October 21). The Tin Line Between Fear and Hate. [Online]. Available: http://www.geocities.com/sunsetstrip/club.3036/analysel.htm.