In class today, we did a quick write and completed the DBQ packet on World War 2. In the quick write, the essential question was, "How do you see U.S. attitudes about the war changing?"- similar to another quick write we had. To sum up what I wrote, I said that at first, the U.S. wanted to stay isolated and away from European affairs. As dictators started rising- like Stalin, Hitler, and Mussolini- and other countries invaded/attacked other countries- like the Rape of Nanking, Italy taking over Russia, etc.- the U.S. had to help a brotha out and defend it's ally Great Britain. We passed several neutrality acts like the peace time draft to be prepared for the war. Once Japan attacked Pearl Harbor, the U.S. wanted in the war.
After we did the quick write, the whole class completed the DBQ packet. I stuck with my partner Jaynie and we rotated around the room to work with other people. One major thing I learned from one of the documents today was that the U.S. had (maybe even still has, yet not in use??) camps similar to concentration camps for the Japanese, called internment camps. These camps were for the Japanese after Japan attacked Pearl Harbor. Congress put Japanese into these camps perhaps because they were deemed of as a threat and perhaps spies. Also, America's uneasy feelings towards the Japanese due to Pearl Harbor probably helped the Japanese-American citizens get put into these camps, even though they weren't affiliated with the attack on Pearl Harbor. From the document, James Kajiwara describes her experience with the camps as follows, "Our bedroom was a horse stall with doors that were split where the horses would stick their heads out... that was our bedroom... I sat down with tears in my eyes because, here I am an American citizen being held a prisoner in my own native land... Topaz was located on a dry lake bed of the former Lake Seiver, full of alkaline dust... There were no partitions in the toilets and no toilet seats; the food was so-so, but anyway, we set up camp for the other groups that were coming up..." It is obvious how extruciating the conditions these Japanese internees had to endure.
After we did the quick write, the whole class completed the DBQ packet. I stuck with my partner Jaynie and we rotated around the room to work with other people. One major thing I learned from one of the documents today was that the U.S. had (maybe even still has, yet not in use??) camps similar to concentration camps for the Japanese, called internment camps. These camps were for the Japanese after Japan attacked Pearl Harbor. Congress put Japanese into these camps perhaps because they were deemed of as a threat and perhaps spies. Also, America's uneasy feelings towards the Japanese due to Pearl Harbor probably helped the Japanese-American citizens get put into these camps, even though they weren't affiliated with the attack on Pearl Harbor. From the document, James Kajiwara describes her experience with the camps as follows, "Our bedroom was a horse stall with doors that were split where the horses would stick their heads out... that was our bedroom... I sat down with tears in my eyes because, here I am an American citizen being held a prisoner in my own native land... Topaz was located on a dry lake bed of the former Lake Seiver, full of alkaline dust... There were no partitions in the toilets and no toilet seats; the food was so-so, but anyway, we set up camp for the other groups that were coming up..." It is obvious how extruciating the conditions these Japanese internees had to endure.