The Role Of Racial Tension And The Consequence Of Reconstruction And Military Policy During World War II

Throughout the course of history it is apparent that racism is present in most societies. During times of war people of a certain race may choose to segregate themselves in order to become the leading power in their society. In his book, War Without Mercy: Race and Power in the Pacific War published in New York by Pantheon books and copyrighted in 1986, John W. Dower presents arguments for both the United States and Japan which constitute similarities in the belief of a superior race as well as illustrates contradictions on how each side viewed the war.

Consistent with Japanese propaganda the nationalist leaders held belief that Japan was “the leader, protector and light of Asia”. However, this perception of liberation from colonial rule was a façade as the civilians of occupied nations experienced harsher treatment under the Japanese than they did under the colonial authorities.

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

This book according to Takaki clearly shows that, during the Second World War in 1940 America was a white man’s country. Responses on wartime to different ethnic and cultural communities are shown in this book. This ethnic group consists of the Mexicans, African Americans, Chinese, Philippines, Koreans, and Japanese Americans. Then finally analysis about the historic attack on Hiroshima is shown. This clearly shows the level of racism during that time. According to Takaki combined military services and war simultaneously opened the horizons while raising awareness. There was a racial slight gaining of economic independence when the black women left the whites kitchen for assembly lines.

While coming up with a topic for this paper, one of my questions dealt with war and cultural groups. I will be the first to admit, Racism was the last thing on my mind. The original question being, “How does war affect a Social Culture and how does it stand today?” When I started thinking about Cultures that had been so deeply affected by war, one of the first that came to mind were the Japanese in World War II. Then I recalled what one person had told me of their younger days at college, when they were attending school. Their name will remain anonymous; I do not want to make the victim’s name public as it has a very personal nature.

John Dower's War without Mercy describes the ugly racial issues, on both the Western Allies and Japanese sides of the conflict in the Pacific Theater as well as all of Asia before during and after World War II and the consequences of these issues on both military and reconstruction policy in the Pacific. In the United States as well as Great Britain, Dower dose a good job of proving that, "the Japanese were more hated than the Germans before as well as after Pearl Harbor." (8) On this issue, there was no dispute among contemporary observers including the respected scholars and writers as well as the media. During World War II the Japanese are perceived as a race apart, a species apart referred to as apes, but at

As we read further into the book, into Part II: “The War in Western Eyes”, it allows us to recognize the different types of natures. The kill or be killed, the down-home styled, and the different types of behaviors. It tells about the punishments through prisoners and the freed and even makes the reference of how “for many Japanese-Americans, the verbal stripping of their humanity was accompanied by humiliating treatment” These people were treated with disrespect and as if they were part of a cluster of cattle. Part three of the novel explains and explores the culture of the Japanese to determine racial outlook.

The Japanese empire was in great power by this time period, and they thought themselves as the king of the East Asian race. Japan, the “old order”, also believed that some day Europe and America would take over their power and become the “new orders”(Doc A). Japan was one

In the United States World War II has been one of the most remembered wars of all time. Acclaimed historian Ronald Takaki asserts that for many Americans, World War II was fought for a “double victory”: on the battlefront as well as on the home front. Takaki’s book Double Victory: A Multicultural History of America in World War II reminds the audience that there was much, much more happening at home and on the frontlines during World War II than in the battlefield. Takaki presents a strong central argument; it illuminates the incongruity of America's own oppressive behavior toward minorities at home, even while proclaiming the role in World War II as a fight against oppression abroad. It also pays tribute to the determination and perseverance of ethnically diverse Americans in their two-front war against prejudice and fascism. In addition Takaki tells the story through the lives of ethnically diverse Americans: Japanese Americans who felt betrayed by their own country when families were sent to internment camps; For African Americans, the war for freedom had to be fought in their country’s own backyard; a Navajo code talker who uses his complex native language to transmit secret battle messages and confound the Japanese, while his people are living in desperate poverty on a government reservation. Their dual struggle to defeat the enemy abroad and overcome racism at home gives the Double Victory its title and its texture.

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.

Inquiry Skills—You will develop questions and plan investigations, evaluate change and continuity over time, develop credible explanations of historical events and developments based on reasoned interpretation of evidence, gather evidence, evaluate and use evidence, develop explanations and make persuasive arguments in support of your conclusions, and communicate your conclusions.

In “War Without Mercy”, Dower’s principle is a surprising one: Though Western allies were clearly headed for victory, pure racism fueled the persistence and increase of hostilities in the Pacific setting during the final year of World War II, a period that saw as many casualties as in the first five years of the conflict combined. Dower does not reach this disturbing conclusion lightly. He combed through loads of propaganda films, news articles, military documents, and cartoons. Though his case is strong, Dower reduces other factors, such as the prolonged negotiations between the West and the Japanese.

→ The author shows the racism in American from a lot of sources; such as cartoons, official documents, advertisements, movies, and songs. The mass media drew Japanese people as an immature children (p.142) and animals. Especially, cartoons depicted the Japanese as monkeys, apes, rats, bugs, beetles, lice, and other kinds of creatures that had to be wiped out. (pp. 181-189) An example is that one restaurant sign on the West Coast said "This Restaurant Poisons Both Rats and Japs". (p. 92)

To the Americans, the Japanese, unlike the Germans, were all a race to be hated. Because the Germans

In unit three of Nation of Nations, there were many social/cultural and political issues that affected the Jews in Germany and the Japanese in America. The social/cultural groups were roused due to the conflicts arising over ethnic backgrounds, race, and class differences. The Jews and Japanese faced discrimination in both countries whether they were born there or not. (Davidson, 2008)