Analytical Essay 2
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Feb 20, 2024
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Justice Robert A. Jackson, "Dissent in Korematsu v. United States'" in Eric Foner, ed. Voices of Freedom, Vol. 2, 6th Edition (New York: W.W. Norton, 2020), 204-207, page 204
Analytical Essay 2 During the time period between 1914 to 1945, America and its citizens faced many instances of freedom expansion for many separate groups. However, while moving towards this having this expansion of freedom, there have been several instances of intolerance among the country. Both freedom and intolerance played a noticeably vital role in the history of the United States, but I believe that the intolerance this country faced was the more central force behind it. One group that suffered from the intolerance during this time were Japanese-Americans. In December of 1941, the Imperial Japanese Navy Air services bombed the U.S. pacific fleet at Pearl Harbor. This is what drew the United States into World War II, causing President Roosevelt to ask for declaration of war against Japan. During Japan’s attack on Pearl Harbor, there was around 158,000 Japanese Americans living in Hawaii and about another 120,000 living on the West Coast. The war started a lot of fear in America, causing a lot of anti-Japanese sentiment to be displayed here. On February 19, 1941, President Roosevelt authorized the removal of Japanese and Japanese Americans from the West Coast. They were loaded on to trains and given numbers, not knowing where they were going and taken to internment camps. Justice Robert A. Jackson states, “they forbid such a one to remain, and they also forbid him to leav
e.”
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This quote explains how the United States did not want the Japanese to be in their home, but instead of even just sending them away, they kept them in this country and ultimately locked them up in these internment camps. The Japanese and Japanese Americans who resided on the West Coast were not guilty of any crimes or deserving of any punishment, all they did
Limerick 2 2 Lucien W. Parrish, "Congress Debates Immigration," in Eric Foner, ed. Voices of Freedom, Vol. 2, 6th Edition (New York: W.W. Norton, 2020), 145-148, page 146
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American Civil Liberties Union, "The Fight for Civil Liberties," in Eric Foner, ed. Voices of Freedom, Vol. 2, 6th Edition (New York: W.W. Norton, 2020), 138-142, page 142 was try to live their life in this country and ended up enduring one of the worse displays of intolerance. Another group that was a victim of intolerance in America during these times were immigrants. In 1924, Congress passed the Johnson-Reed Act, which was designed to limit the number of immigrants entering the United States. This law developed a “quota system,” which limited the annual immigration to 2% of the total immigrants from a certain country in 1890. This was so they could diminish the arrival of “new” immigrants, which is why they picked a year before immigrants from these countries had arrived in large numbers. Because of this, the number of new immigrants from southern and eastern Europe were limited, while more “desirable” groups
, like the British, were given higher quotas. However, this law completely prohibited the immigrants from Asia. During a debate in Congress, Congressman Lucien W. Parrish states, “
T
here can be nothing so dangerous as for us to allow the undesirable foreign element to poison our civilization and thereby threaten the safety of the institutions that our forefathers have established for us.
”
2 This shows how the United States discriminated against immigrants and anyone who was not born in the United States and viewed them as some sort of threat. America had such a negative view on everyone else, and they never failed to show it.
Limerick 3 2 Lucien W. Parrish, "Congress Debates Immigration," in Eric Foner, ed. Voices of Freedom, Vol. 2, 6th Edition (New York: W.W. Norton, 2020), 145-148, page 146
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American Civil Liberties Union, "The Fight for Civil Liberties," in Eric Foner, ed. Voices of Freedom, Vol. 2, 6th Edition (New York: W.W. Norton, 2020), 138-142, page 142 Another instance of intolerance in America can be seen during Prohibition. On January 1, 1920, the 18
th
amendment went into effect, which banned the production and sale of alcohol in the United States. In response to this, many American citizens went against this law, even creating speakeasies, which were illegal barrooms. Since these speakeasies were so popular around the country, they turned previously law-abiding citizens into lawbreakers. Unlike the previous examples, this was not a case of a certain group suffering from intolerance, but rather a group practicing it. Intolerance can be defined as the unwillingness to accept views or behavior that differ from your own. During this era, it is evident that the citizens of the United States were unwilling to accept the law that prohibited alcohol and continued to drink and distribute it. As stated by the American Civil Liberties Union, “
In the midst of any conflict they are not granted by the side holding the economic and political power, except as they may be forced by the strength of the opposition.”
3 This means that if certain rights are not granted to the American citizens by the government, they will get their rights on their own. Each of these examples show just how certain groups of the American society were affected and suffered from the intolerance that took place in this part of history. Freedom may
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Limerick 4 2 Lucien W. Parrish, "Congress Debates Immigration," in Eric Foner, ed. Voices of Freedom, Vol. 2, 6th Edition (New York: W.W. Norton, 2020), 145-148, page 146
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American Civil Liberties Union, "The Fight for Civil Liberties," in Eric Foner, ed. Voices of Freedom, Vol. 2, 6th Edition (New York: W.W. Norton, 2020), 138-142, page 142 have played a vital part during these times as well, but the overwhelming amount of prejudice that has been seen is what makes this force better understood.