Freedom For All ?

The United States Constitution guarantees “liberty and justice for all” Many Americans have fought and died for this principle.

Martin Luther King, Jr.:Martin Luther King, Jr. “True peace is not merely the absence of tension: it is the presence of justice” Clarence Darrow:Clarence Darrow: ”You can only protect your liberties in this world by protecting the other man's freedom. You can only be free if I am free.” Eleanor Roosevelt:Eleanor Roosevelt “When will our consciences grow so tender that we will act to prevent human misery rather than avenge it?” Many famous Americans expressed this view:

We have condemned those who sought to destroy freedom and justice for all. Holocaust Museum, Washington, DC:Holocaust Museum, Washington, DC Thou shalt not be a victim. Thou shalt not be a perpetrator. Above all, thou shalt not be a bystander. Friedrich Von Schiller :Friedrich Von Schiller The history of the world is the world’s court of justice.

But in a dark time for our nation, our fear led us to act like those we so easily condemned. Germany locked the Jews up in concentration camps. Millions of Jews were executed. Through fear stemming from Japan’s attack on Pearl Harbor, America locked the Japanese up in “relocation” camps. None of these people was executed, but many died there.

Jews were marched by German soldiers into ghettos, and later to concentration camps Personal belongings were stripped from Mothers watched their children suffer and die Many children were snatched from their parents Japanese-Americans were ordered to report relocation camps They were loaded onto trains and forced to make their homes there in crowded conditions.

Jews were forced to work to support the German government. Conditions in the camps were inhuman After the Allied troops liberated the Jews, many children were left with no family to care for them Japanese-Americans were allowed to work at the relocation camps The work in the camps helped them survive After World War II these Americans citizens were expected to return to lives and homes which no longer existed

The American government never executed or tortured the Japanese- Americans in these camps.  Families were provided basic housing and allowed to stay together.  Children continued their education in school.  There were even sports activities provided, which helped create a sense of everyday normalcy. But…

these were AMERICAN citizens ! Guilty only of being of Japanese ancestry, facing the fear and prejudice of a nation at war.

Will we make the same mistakes again? Have we failed to learn from our mistakes?

Essential Question- How does injustice against a specific group affect the freedoms of all people in a society? For more information/activities about the relocation experience, go to