WWI: Schenck versus the United States
Can the United States federal government restrict the rights during times of war? Is it necessary to keep the country safe? Or, is it a blatant violation of the United States constitution? A first amendment issue during World War One brought these questions to light. Check out the resources on this monumental Supreme Court Case to make your decision.
First Amendment Wartime Propaganda
"A function of free speech under our system of government is to invite dispute. It may indeed best serve its high purpose when it induces a condition of unrest, creates dissatisfaction with conditions as they are, or even stirs people to anger."
- Justice William Douglas, in Terminiello v. City of Chicago, 1941
- Justice William Douglas, in Terminiello v. City of Chicago, 1941
WWII: Japanese Internment Camps
This is one of the darkest moments in the history of the United States. President Roosevelt himself referred to them as concentration camps. Those are not words any country would be proud to be associated with. Why were they setup? How did it affect the lives of those involved? Can this action be forgiven? It most certainly will not be forgotten.
Reaction to the attack on Pearl Harbor through the depiction of Dr. Seuss
Public Reaction to the attack on Pearl Harbor
"Evacuees must carry with them on departure for the Assembly Center, the following property: (a) Bedding and linens (no mattress) for each member of the family; (b) Toilet articles for each member of the family; (c) Extra clothing for each member of the family; (d) Essential personal effects for each member of the family.All items carried will be securely packaged, tied and plainly marked with the name of the owner and numbered in accordance with instructions obtained at the Civil Control Station. The size and number of packages is limited to that which can be carried by the individual or family group."
- Wartime Civil Control Administration, evacuation procedures for Japanese-American residents of Military Area No. 1 in California, 17 May 1942 |
"We came back to Los Angeles at the end of the war, believing that there was no other way but to be American. We were discouraged with our Japanese culture. My feeling at the time was, I had to prove myself. I don't know why I had to prove myself. Here I am, an ex-GI, born and raised here. Why do I have to prove myself? We all had this feeling. We had to prove that we were Americans."
- Peter Ota, a Japanese-American veteran whose family was interned during the war
- Peter Ota, a Japanese-American veteran whose family was interned during the war
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Life in the Japanese Internment Camps
"We saw all these people behind the fence, looking out, hanging onto the wire, and looking out because they were anxious to know who was coming in. But I will never forget the shocking feeling that human beings were behind this fence like animals [crying]. And we were going to also lose our freedom and walk inside of that gate and find ourselves…cooped up there…when the gates were shut, we knew that we had lost something that was very precious; that we were no longer free." -Mary Tsukamoto