Wait a second!
More handpicked essays just for you.
More handpicked essays just for you.
Declaration of Independence Document
Commentary on the declaration of independence
Declaration of Independence Document
Don’t take our word for it - see why 10 million students trust us with their essay needs.
Recommended: Declaration of Independence Document
When the founding fathers created the Declaration of Independence in 1776, they stated that all Americans, every single citizen of the United States would be created equal, and their unalienable rights of life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness would be protected by the government. However, in times of desperate measure, like war, in this case World War II, the words of this Declaration are often twisted. The large population of Japanese in California was making the american government nervous, who was debating whether or not to relocate this large and concentrated population of Japanese from California. In order to make this decision, the government had to evaluate two present issues if the time period: racism against Japanese and uncertainty of the Japaneses’ loyalty to the United States. First of all, many nativist, anti-immigrant feelings, were present in the United States during this time period. White Americans believed that the Japanese in California were taking over their possible jobs, and maybe even going to take of the entire United states. As Austin Anson explains, the Japanese “came to this …show more content…
valley to work, and they stayed to take over” (Source 1, Anson).
These nativist white Americans do indeed want to get rid of the Japanese for ‘selfish reasons”, they want to reclaim their land and their jobs. This is just like the Wilmont Proviso Bill passed by Congress, also called the Whites Man’s Proviso of 1846, that called for limiting the expansion of slavery westward in order to guarantee more opportunities for white farmers moving west. Exactly as in 1846, the government was faced with having to deal with the issue of slavery before taking a decision on the regulation of non white Americans. In this case, this racism issue was a deciding factor. O. l. Scott argued that “we must do everything we can to stop them [Japanese]”(Source 2, Scott). The government listened to scott’s argument by allowing the relocation act to pass and in so, ignoring the civil rights of these Japanese American
citizens. Secondly, the government had to evaluate the issue concerning winning the war before relocating the Japanese. Some said that this group in California was not assimilated into American culture, while others stated that the Japanese could not be any more loyal to the United States. For example, J. L. DeWitt points out that “the continued presence of a large, unassimilated, tightly knit and racial group, bound to an enemy nation by strong ties of race, culture, custom and religion along a frontier vulnerable to attack constituted a menace”(Source 3, DeWitt). Here, the military general explains that the uncertainty of the Japanese’ loyalty to the American government could be a threat to this country in time of war. His argument understandable because having a large population of the “enemy” on American land, who could turn against the United States at any given moment, can be very scary to the public. On the other hand, most these immigrants living in California are American citizens who have completely integrated American culture. Ferguson describes that the Japanese “...hoist american flags, put up pictures of George Washington and pray to the Christian God for the defeat of Japan’s armed forces” (Source 4, Ferguson).
During the Revolutionary War, at Valley Forge, which is Washington’s winter camp, 18 miles outside Pennsylvania, soldiers went through a very rough time during the tough and hard winter months of 1777 and 1778. Many soldiers didn’t have shoes, jackets, blankets, and proper warm clothing. Also, there was barely enough food for everyone. For example, in Document C, Dr. Albigence Waldo, (a doctor/surgeon at Valley Forge) , states, “No meat! No meat!” Without meat, the Patriots wouldn’t the proper protein they need, especially since they are fighting in a war! The question is, Would I have quit and left Valley Forge? After some lengthy thinking, my answer is, ‘no,’ I would not have quit and left. This is because, the Patriots had a great and caring
Valley Forge, was the toughest obstacle the Continental Army had to face during the Revolutionary War. For about nine months in the cold winter, these soldiers stayed in this area for them to"... be close enough to Philadelphia to keep an eye on the British"(Background). By the end of the war, the colonists were victorious in gaining their independence. Regardless, I would abandon my position as a soldier at Valley Forge. My reasoning are due to the multiple hardship they endure such as living in a harsh environment, sickness that lead to death and lacked numerous resources.
After the creation of the Constitution, in the late 1700s there were many individuals who had different opinions on how the Constitution should be practiced. A decent amount of the population believed in “loose construction”, while there were also many people who believed in “strict construction”. The Constitution has created internal problems, for example the Civil War, which had hundreds of thousands of casualties and also caused a split between the union. The factors that led to the failure of the union created by the Constitution were the rise of secession, the ratification of the Compromise of 1850, and the differentiating views on states’ rights.
Sparta was known for being strong, but was it really? In case you don’t know, Sparta was a Greek city-state. Sparta only focused on war. Spartans were only taught the basics of other topics. Spartans were trained for 13 years just to fight. Reading and writing were only taught in Sparta for practical reasons. The strengths didn’t outweigh the weaknesses. There were more weaknesses to Sparta than there were strengths. The strengths of Sparta didn’t outweigh the weaknesses for three reasons. The first reason is that the babies were killed just if they looked weak. The second reason is that the Spartans barely new anything about other topics (math, reading, writing, etc). The third and final reason is that the helots outnumbered the Spartans 50 to 1.
During the 1900’s, it was common for people to immigrate to America. They saw it as a land of freedom and opportunity. Some thought that this was a great way for the US’ economy to boom, but some thought otherwise. With the shortage of jobs, many believed that the immigrants were stealing their precious jobs. Because of the competition over jobs, immigrants became the new public enemy to many. Immigrants such as the Japanese. The Japanese had already been through some racial discrimination, but it wasn’t until World War II that it got much worse. During the war the US decided it was best to be neutral, but the longer the war went on for, The more the US’ neutrality was on the verge of breaking. It wasn’t until December 7, 1941, that the US
Ten weeks after the Japanese had bombed Pearl Harbor, President Franklin D. Roosevelt (FDR) singed an Executive Order of 9066 that authorized the removal of any people from military areas “as deemed necessary or desirable”(FDR). The west coast was home of majority of Japanese Americans was considered as military areas. More than 100,000 Japanese Americans was sent and were relocated to the internment camps that were built by the United States. Of the Japanese that were interned, 62 percent were Nisei (American born, second generation) or Sansei (third-generation Japanese) the rest of them were Issai Japanese immigrants. Americans of Japanese ancestry were far the most widely affected. The Japanese internment camps were wrong because the Japanese were accused as spies, it was racism, and it was a violation to the United States constitution laws.
Racism had been an ongoing problem in America during the time of WWII. The American citizens were not happy with the arriving of the Japanese immigrants and were not very keen in hiding it. The Japanese were titled with the degrading title of “Japs” and labeled as undesirables. Bombarding propaganda and social restrictions fueled the discrimination towards the Japanese. A depiction of a house owned by white residents shows a bold sign plastered on the roof, blaring “Japs keep moving - This is a white man’s neighborhood” ("Japs Keep Moving - This Is a White Man's Neighborhood"). The white man’s hatred and hostility towards the Japanese could not have been made any clearer. Another source intensifies the racism by representing the Japanese as a swarm of homogeneous Asians with uniform outfits, ...
...ilroad and mining companies had depended on cheap Chinese labor for the majority of their profits and were still unwilling to pay higher wages to white American workers. These businesses increasingly depended on Japanese immigrants to replace the prohibited Chinese workers. As the Japanese came, the Americans told the same story that they had with the Chinese. They were once again arguing that the Japanese were taking their jobs and not absorbing the American culture. The United States took action yet again, by creating an informal treaty with Japan, restricting Japanese immigration to the U.S.
Gold Rush 1849 was the reason for such a frenzy. It caused people to migrate to California from near and far too dig for gold from the river. According to the film, The Chinese Exclusion Act Explained: US History Review, “This attracted Chinese entrepreneurs to try to make it rich”. The Chinese was one of the cultures that was one of the cultures that left their home to find a better life for their families. However, after being greeted in the United States, they were discriminated against them since they were feared by the Europeans. Racism towards the Chinese immigrant caused a lot of hardship on them in the Western civilization, enabling them to enter or exit without returning to the States.
Much controversy has been sparked due to the internment of the Japanese people. Many ask whether it was justified to internment them. It is a very delicate issue that has two sides, those who are against the internment of the Japanese-Americans and those who are for it. With World War II raging in the East, America was still, for the most part, very inactive in the war. When America took a stand against Japan by not shipping them supplies, Japan became very upset. Japan, being a big island that is very overpopulated with little natural resources, depended on America to provide them with an assortment of supplies including scrap metal and oil, vital items that are needed in a time of war. Japan retaliated by declaring war on America and attacking Pearl Harbor. This surprise act led to many soldiers deaths and millions of dollars of damaged army equipment, including air craft carriers and planes. As a result to Japan declaring war, the Japanese-Americans were asked to and eventually forced to do their duty to the country and report to internment camps until the war conflict was over. Many opposed this act for a couple of reasons. One reason was that people felt that it was a huge hypocrisy that the Japanese were being interned while the Italians and Germans, also our enemies, were still walking around free in America. Another reason why many were against the internment was because many of the Japanese had already been in America for some time now. The Issei, the first generation of Japanese people that immigrated from Japan, had immigrated many years ago. A whole another generation of Japanese children had already began growing up in America called the Nissei. They were automatically U.S. citizens for they were born in America and for the most part were like other American children. Anti-Internment activists also said that the Japanese were being robbed of their rights as U.S. citizens. However, there are two sides to everything.
Leaving the West coast was the only way Americans thought the Japanese could show their loyalty to the United States. With all this pressure to show their loyalty to the United States, they allowed themselves to be removed from their homes and forced into concentration camps. If any Japanese-American was to resist the relocation process, the government would force them to leave their home and label them as un-American. If the Japanese go without resisting, they were said to be loyal citizens, but they also lost their rights as citizens in the United States, which was the reason they had migrated to America. (Terry, 2012)
Japanese immigration created the same apprehension and intolerance in the mind of the Americans as was in the case of Chinese migration to the U.S at the turn of the 19th century. They developed a fear of being overwhelmed by a people having distinct ethnicity, skin color and language that made them “inassimilable.” Hence they wanted the government to restrict Asian migration. Japan’s military victories over Russia and China reinforced this feeling that the Western world was facing what came to be known as “yellow peril”. This was reflected in the media, movies and in literature and journalism.4 Anti-Oriental public opinion gave way to several declarations and laws to restrict Japanese prosperity on American land. Despite the prejudice and ineligibility to obtain citizenship the ...
After the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor in December 1941, the United States was filled with panic. Along the Pacific coast of the U.S., where residents feared more Japanese attacks on their cities, homes, and businesses, this feeling was especially great. During the time preceding World War II, there were approximately 112,000 persons of Japanese descent living in California, Arizona, and coastal Oregon and Washington. These immigrants traveled to American hoping to be free, acquire jobs, and for some a chance to start a new life. Some immigrants worked in mines, others helped to develop the United States Railroad, many were fishermen, farmers, and some agricultural laborers.
It all started with a surprise attack on Pearl Harbor. During the 1940s, United States placed an embargo on Japan’s access to war materials in an attempt to stop Japan from further invasion in Asia. However, the plan did not work out well. On December 7, 1941, the Japanese attacked the US’s Pacific Fleet at Pearl Harbor, and caused more than 2,400 deaths of Americans (Roark 671). This surprise attack not only pushed the United States into World War II, but also triggered the start of racial discrimination against Asians in America, specifically Japanese Americans, Chinese, and of course, the Japanese. In this essay, an excerpt taken from the Life Magazine will be analyzed and supported with The American Promise written by James Roark et al.
Racial conflict affected Japanese- Americans all over the US, especially in the North-West, where those of Japanese descent had lived for generations. Californian farmers began to lose trust in their Japanese employees, and many homes and businesses put up signs to discourage those of Japanese descent