The New Deal at War
I’m behind, and it happens every semester. This week, we should be discussing the 1950s. I should be scarring them with a McCarthy-like “I know someone cheated on the exam, now everyone write down the name of someone who cheated or I’ll assume that you cheated; if you do not turn in a sheet with at least one name listed, you will flunk this class” game that terrifies the class. (students always hate me after it for about a week; one cried a few years back and so I now stop it before anyone actually writes anything down) But alas, we haven’t even ended the Great Depression. Franklin Roosevelt isn’t dead yet; he’s on his way to winning the presidential election not once, not twice, not thrice, but frice (sic!)!
| Portrait of Rockwell painting |
So how to catch up. In the past, I would kick the lecture into overdrive and talk like the old Fex-Ex or Micro Machine commercial guy. Instead, I’m going to make the books work for me and just chop out some material. The first 10 minutes of class will be working through the Hist chapter on World War II (where I highlight for them what to read) and the second part will be juxtaposing Norman Rockwell’s Freedom from Want with the discussion of a family during the Japanese American internment (both of which are in the chapter on World War II in Major Problems). The contrast is striking. Rockwell’s painting features a table with a beautiful turkey. Grandpa (looking awfully like an aged Roosevelt) wears a nice suit and is about to carve the bird. The white grandchildren and children have big smiles and the tabletop china is magnificent. The tale from the Japanese American internment camp is disgusting. It’s full of stories of “cramps and diarrhea” and latrines that hadn’t been cleaned in weeks. Looking at what the image and the stories include (and exclude), my students are prepared for the next discussion: the use of atomic weaponry.
By the end of class, we’ll be at 1945 and ready to kick into the Cold War and the new age of affluence. But the terrain will be set, I hope, that “freedom from want” was a racialized concept and that the nation’s new military might could be used for good (no doubt that defeating the Nazis was good), but that might could also be used in troubling ways and for uncertain causes.
Ed, I like this technique of catching up. It’s funny: I never used to get behind in lecture, but now I know so many more great stories that I’m always rushing at the end of the lecture. I realized it was getting back when I couldn’t get the CIO in the New Deal lecture.
Tomorrow my department is having a brown bag on an alternate the traditional survey course–the dialogue on “undercoverage.” I’ll let you know how it goes.
Kevin
I find myself doing the same thing – cutting non-essential content to make way for more meaningful learning experiences. Where can I get my hands on that account of Japanese internment?
I read portions of the account in my class, and it was amazing. The class seemed stunned by the juxtaposition of wealth with terrible bathrooms. The documents is in the World War II chapter of Major Problems in American History (volume 2 of the latest edition).
Melissa, email me your address and I’ll have the press send you a copy of the book.
I read the document on the Japanese American internment camps and a couple of questions came to my mind. I’m a quarter Japanese. My grandmother is Japanese, but my grandfather is white, so I’m not sure if my mom would be considered Nisei or not. I remember reading about the camps a long time ago and, from what I remember reading, I would’ve been put in a camp myself if I were living at that time. Like I mentioned before, I’m only a quarter Japanese, and I don’t look Japanese at all so that was surprising. I tried to find some information on it, but I could only find that Issei, Nisei, and Sansei (first, second and third generation) were put in the camps. I don’t know if that means only full Japanese. I’m sure there were people that were half, but maybe not many at that time. Did it matter if you were married to a white person?
The second question I had was what happened to their homes? I did some quick research and found that some of the Japanese had only 48 hours to evacuate their homes. The people that had more time were able to sell their homes and businesses but were really taken advantage of. They basically had to take whatever was offered. The whole time I was reading I kept thinking about my own family and what a horrible situation that would be. I know there was a formal apology later, but I don’t think I would feel any better.
Even though, if I were living at that time I don’t know what would be worse: living in Japan or living in the US! My grandma’s sister lives in Tokyo, and after the earthquake and tsunami this year there was no power at times and the shelves in the markets were empty. She said not to worry about her because she lived during the war, a quake was nothing. Their home burned down at one point during the war, and they lost everything. I guess either way my life wouldn’t have been great.
The document I will be discussing is from chapter 9 “Nurses Rush to Aid the Wounded on the U.S. Naval Base in Hawaii, 1941.”
I was very interested in the first hand accounts of the woman who worked to save the thousands of men wounded at Pearl Harbor. If it were me, when I heard all those bombs going off I would be hiding under my bed waiting for it to be over. Instead, these woman raced to the hospital to help those who needed it. Mildred Woodman said, “In one minute I dressed and ran to the hospital.” These woman had no fear. They knew what they were supposed to do and they got the job done. Even though there were only 7 nurses to the whole hospital, and they were surrounded by death, everyone worked together efficiently and moved on to the next patient as fast as they could. The one fear that was mentioned by these woman was the fear that the Japanese would come back and capture them. Since that never actually happened I had never heard of this scenario. I was interested in why the Japanese did not come back and capture people like they thought? The entire base was destroyed and they were helpless. And why was this fear never discussed in any other history books?
The document I will be discussing is from Chapter 9, document 7 entitled “An African American Soldier Notes the ‘Strange Paradox’ of the War, 1944.”
This document was interesting to me because I was able to see how an African American soldier felt about fighting in WWII. The soldier quotes President Roosevelt from one of his recent press conferences in which Roosevelt stated that he was fighting for “a world in which all persons, regardless of race, color and creed, may live in peace, honor and dignity….” The soldier definitely saw this as quite paradoxical because many African Americans were not treated this way on the home front. The soldier questioned, how can we fight for equality and freedom around the world, if we do not have equality and freedom in our own country for some races. The soldier goes on to explain “one of the strangest paradoxes in our whole fight against world fascism” saying that the United States Army fighting for world democracy “is within itself undemocratic.” The soldier goes on to make the point that its not just that Jim Crow segregation laws are being enforced at home against African Americans. He points out that Jim Crow segregation is practiced by the Army against its African American members. How are African American soldiers supposed to fight for the United States want for world democracy if there is segregation even present in the armed forces?
One question that I have is: were there many of these letters written to the President or were they pretty scarce? I also wonder what President Roosevelt would have done if he read one of these letters? Would he merely read the letter and set it aside as if it didn’t matter, or would he have tried to make a change in the fact that segregation was being practiced in the armed forces.
Devin W
The document that I have chosen to discuss is number nine from chapter nine entitled: “General Dwight Eisenhower Testifies to the German Concentration Camps, 1945.”
These letters written by Eisenhower, and sent to George Catlett Marshall were really fascinating to me. First off, I thought it was interesting that Eisenhower went to visit these internment camps in Germany. It is so evident in his letter that the conditions of these camps were intolerable for any human to survive in. For example, he wrote that he saw 20 to 30 naked men piled up in a room that had all died from starvation. Eisenhower also states that he wanted to go inside a camp himself to ensure that what the world was seeing was true. In the second letter to Marshall, he writes that the actual conditions of the camps are much worse than what is being passed along. He ends the second letter by offering to shuttle more influential leaders into these camps to see the harsh conditions.
The question that I have about this article is what happened to these letters? Did they ever make a difference in the concentration camps? Obviously they were all released when the war ended, but did General Eisenhower do anything to benefit the prisoners while they were still captive?
Hannah Bronson
The article I will be discussing is Chapter 9, “Norman Rockwell Depicts “freedom From Want for the Office of War Information, 1942.”
The poster displays a happy family dinner, probably on a holiday such as Thanksgiving. Everyone is smiling as they gather around the table. “OURS… to fight for FREEDOM FROM WANT” gives me the impression that the freedom should be fought and the want within the poster should be set aside, until freedom is achieved. However, I see the image presents the idea of both freedom and want intertwining with each other. For example, freedom can be gain from wanting the family atmosphere where it’s complete with dinner on the table especially coming out of the Great Depression, which can encourage people to fight for that freedom. On the other hand, it can be view as one fights for freedom they can’t acquire the want they desire, such as a nice family gathering with a nice dinner on the table. Either way this poster encourages and motivates the intended American audience to fight for freedom is priority in order to have that display of a happy and warm atmosphere, especially after the attack on Pearl Harbor. Lastly by displaying a family this promotes the idea that everyone is part of the American Family, to bring unity in their nation, such as bolding the words “OURS”. However, why didn’t they bolded the word fight along with the rest of the other words that were?
The article I will be discussing is Chapter 9, “Norman Rockwell Depicts “freedom From Want for the Office of War Information, 1942.”
The poster displays a happy family dinner, probably on a holiday such as Thanksgiving. Everyone is smiling as they gather around the table. “OURS… to fight for FREEDOM FROM WANT” gives me the impression that the freedom should be fought and the want within the poster should be set aside, until freedom is achieved. However, I see the image presents the idea of both freedom and want intertwining with each other. For example, freedom can be gain from wanting the family atmosphere where it’s complete with dinner on the table especially coming out of the Great Depression, which can encourage people to fight for that freedom. On the other hand, it can be view as one fights for freedom they can’t acquire the want they desire, such as a nice family gathering with a nice dinner on the table. Either way this poster encourages and motivates the intended American audience to fight for freedom is priority in order to have that display of a happy and warm atmosphere, especially after the attack on Pearl Harbor. Lastly by displaying a family this promotes the idea that everyone is part of the American Family, to bring unity in their nation, such as bolding the words “OURS”. However, why didn’t they bolded the word fight along with the rest of the other words that were?
The article I will be discussing is Chapter 9, “Norman Rockwell Depicts “freedom From Want for the Office of War Information, 1942.”
The poster displays a happy family dinner, probably on a holiday such as Thanksgiving. Everyone is smiling as they gather around the table. “OURS… to fight for FREEDOM FROM WANT” gives me the impression that the freedom should be fought and the want within the poster should be set aside, until freedom is achieved. However, I see the image presents the idea of both freedom and want intertwining with each other. For example, freedom can be gain from wanting the family atmosphere where it’s complete with dinner on the table especially coming out of the Great Depression, which can encourage people to fight for that freedom. On the other hand, it can be view as one fights for freedom they can’t acquire the want they desire, such as a nice family gathering with a nice dinner on the table. Either way this poster encourages and motivates the intended American audience to fight for freedom is priority in order to have that display of a happy and warm atmosphere, especially after the attack on Pearl Harbor. Lastly by displaying a family this promotes the idea that everyone is part of the American Family, to bring unity in their nation, such as bolding the words “OURS”. However, why didn’t they bolded the word fight along with the rest of the other words that were?
The article I will be discussing is Chapter 9, “Norman Rockwell Depicts “freedom From Want for the Office of War Information, 1942.”The poster displays a happy family dinner, probably on a holiday such as Thanksgiving. Everyone is smiling as they gather around the table. “OURS… to fight for FREEDOM FROM WANT” gives me the impression that the freedom should be fought and the want within the poster should be set aside, until freedom is achieved. However, I see the image presents the idea of both freedom and want intertwining with each other. For example, freedom can be gain from wanting the family atmosphere where it’s complete with dinner on the table especially coming out of the Great Depression, which can encourage people to fight for that freedom. On the other hand, it can be view as one fights for freedom they can’t acquire the want they desire, such as a nice family gathering with a nice dinner on the table. Either way this poster encourages and motivates the intended American audience to fight for freedom is priority in order to have that display of a happy and warm atmosphere, especially after the attack on Pearl Harbor. Lastly by displaying a family this promotes the idea that everyone is part of the American Family, to bring unity in their nation, such as bolding the words “OURS”. However, why didn’t they bolded the word fight along with the rest of the other words that were?
The document I am going to discuss in Chapter 9 is document 4 “Roosevelt Identifies the “Four Freedoms” at stake in the War, 1941″. The reason I chose this article is because I like the way Roosevelt talks. He is very inspiring and persuasive.
In the document he is explaining to the nation what they and people abroad need to do in order to rise up and be better. Roosevelt has very high expectations for his country, but I believe this is why he was such a good president and served four terms. In the document he gives out expectations and if they are followed the economic and political system will be as strong as ever. I really like his calling for personal sacrifice he really believed in the “willingness of almost all Americans to respond to that call.” He is talking about taxes. He also speaks of the four freedoms which he believes if they are secured their will be peace and freedom among nations.
Sarah Halverson
The document I will be discussing in “Nurses Rush to Aid the Wounded on the U.S. Naval Base in Hawaii, 1941”
This document is very interesting. Throughout all four different accounts on the morning of the Pearl Harbor attacks, there’s one theme that really stands out to me. In each Women’s short article shows that the American’s involved in Pearl Harbor, and civilians living in Pearl Harbor all worked together, and did whatever it is they needed to do without fear. The nurses worked non stop, and did everything they could to help the injured patients. Civilians helped drive patients to the hospital because there weren’t nearly enough ambulances to take all the patients. I really liked this document because it shows American’s sticking together through a very hard time, without fear, helping one another.
Lorena Klopp
The article that I found to be the most interesting in chapter 9 is titled “The British Prime Minister Winston Churchill Reacts to Pearl Harbor.” It demonstrated the desires of Roosevelt and many americans who were tired of the practice of neutrality. The Lend-Lease Act showed that Americans were willing to help the Allied powers. However, an act of aggression was needed to solidify the American public opinion towards full fighting on the Allied side. Winston Churchill’s remarks about Pearl Harbor, and America’s subsequent reaction to it, “delivered (him) from a long pain.” He demonstrated the thoughts of many that with a now mobilized United States it would only be a matter of time before an Allied victory in the war. In fact, with America now at war, he remarked that “we had won the war. England would live,” and that, “Hitler’s fate was sealed.” Churchill’s study of American History had insured him that once at war, the American industrial and military might, now combined with the Soviet Union and the United Kingdom, would be no match for the Axis powers.
The document I chose to write about is “General Dwight Eisenhower testifies to the German Concentration Camps, 1945,” in Chapter 9, because it displays the first reactions of American commanders and servicemen to the atrocities of the German concentration camps. Eisenhower, in both letters to Marshall, describes the treatment of prisoners in these camps to be a kind of bestiality. He even remarks that General Patton, who’s reputation for guts and glory was known throughout the armies of the Allies, refused to enter areas of the camps because “he would get sick if he did so.” Not only were these camps atrocious to Eisenhower, but he also made it known that first hand accounts needed to be given so that those who had not seen them would not dismiss the accounts of the camp to be “propaganda.” This helped demonstrate that Eisenhower saw the necessity to let the outside world know about the atrocities of the Germans because it was so “indescribable,” that something needed to be done in response.
The documents I am writing about are “A Japanese American Recalls the Effect of Internment on Family Unity, 1942” and “Nisei Soldier Honored with the Gold Star–and by Jackie Robinson, 1944”. It seems strange to me that Japanese people were only interned on the West Coast. Was this because of its proximity to Japan? The 2nd source states that Esther Takel, who I presume was Japanese, was enrolled at Pasadena Junior College. Why was she not interned? How did the U.S. try to justify the interment of some Japanese and not others? Were there any Japanese Americans who spoke out against this or were they all to afraid for their own safety?
Last one didn’t take so i’ll try again…
The two documents I have questions about are “Nisei Soldier Honored with the Gold Star– and by Jackie Robinson, 1944” and “A Japanese American Recalls the effect of Internment on Family Unity, 1942”. My questions are: How come only Japanese Americans were interned on the West Coast? Was it because of the proximity to Japan? How did the U.S. justify this? And did any Japanese Americans speak out about this or were they too afraid for their own safety? Also in the 1st source it speaks of a woman named Esther Takel, who I presume is of Japanese dissent, who caused controversy with her enrollment at Pasadena Junior College. Why was she not interned? Were only some Japanese Americans interned on the West Coast?
The document i will be discussing is the sixth document in Chapter nine (The Ordeal of World War II) of Major Problems entitled “A Japanese American Recalls the Effect of Internment on Family Unity, 1942.”
I picked this document because I thought it was interesting how Japanese were treated in America. They were put into camps monitored by war departments. They were treated so poorly that it continually got kids sick from shots and food. The most intriguing part of this document is when the writer recalls how his family collapsed and separated from each other because of the camp. This was significant because it demonstrated the effect that war had on every individual, especially Japanese Americans.
The one question I have about this document is were every Japanese American forced to into camp? Even though Pearl Harbor was a dramatic attack, did everyone that was Japanese lay accountable for it?
Thanks,
Brian Lieu
The document I will be discussing is, “Nurses Rush to Aid the Wounded on the U.S. Naval Base in Hawaii, 1941.”
I chose this document to write about because it interest me to read about each women’s story, what they saw, and how they reacted to the bombing of Pearl Harbor. Pearl harbor was a very devastating time, that I believe brought the people living in Pear Harbor together. There were only seven nurses in the hospital at that time, they had to move from one injured to another, also having to contact relatives to let them know of the news and keep them updated. The nurses that worked in Pearl Harbor naval hospital were more then brave ” Everybody wants to know if we were afraid. Fear never entered into it.” The nurses were too busy to even know what was going on out side, all that mattered to them was helping the injured. I really liked this article because it shows how unified to nurses were when the bombing happened and how everyone was worrying about others not themselves.
I’d like to discuss “A Japanese American Recalls the Effect of Internment on Family Unity”. The Japanese internment camps are an important part of our history, and should be discussed so we can avoid this happening again in the future. It is scary that a country that prides itself on freedom can flip a switch so quickly when it panics. The Japanese-Americans in these camps not only had their freedom taken away, but their dignity too. They were forced to eat food that made them sick, and live in deplorable, unsanitary conditions. They lost their family unity when children would eat at different tables then adults. After September 11, 2011 we moved a little closer to reverting back to removing freedoms in a state of panic. I remember reading articles of Muslim immigrants claiming they were detained and tortured because they were “suspected” of relations with terrorists. The Patriot Act called for the “indefinite detention of immigrants”. I understand how easy it can be for people to give in to panic. This is why it is so important to recognize that even in our country we are not immune to the danger of fear, and we need to recognize the signs of removing freedoms due to panic to prevent it in the future.
I will be discussing the second article from chapter nine titled, “Nurses Rush to Aid the Wounded on the U.S. Naval Base in Hawaii, 1941”. This article presents four insights/experiences from nurses who were on duty and tending to patients at the time of the Pearl Harbor bombings. It was very interesting getting four different experiences, yet there seemed to be one thing in common. It seemed as though all four nurses acted out of instinct and I’m sure on pure adrenaline, tending to hundreds of wounded and dieing soldiers without a second thought. The first story states, “Everyone was worrying about others and not themselves”. Which after reading the four sides I believe to be a very true statement. I really got the feeling that everyone was putting as much effort into helping all of those around them. This article also made me wonder how nurses maintained composure in such a chaotic scene? I feel as though the focus and drive of the nurses really played a big role and saving many lives. Which also makes me wonder if they ever got any recognition for doing so?
The document I will be discussing is in Chapter 9 (The Ordeal of World War II) in Major Problems entitled “Nurses Rush to Aid the Wounded on the U.S. Naval Base in Hawaii, 1941”
This document really stuck out to me because it was interesting to me all of the stories of the nurses and wounded during the bombing of Pearl Harbor. In one of the first stories of Lenore Terrell Rickert, from the U.S. Navy she described how when the bombs started a man in one of the beds with both eyes bandaged up, got down with his blanket and laid on the floor to make room for the soldiers that would soon be funneling in. She stated, “Everyone was worrying about the others and not themselves.” It was just such a tragic time full of death and sadness. In the second story told by Helen Entrikin of the U.S. Navy, she states, “…when they died we received others right away in their place.” This is crazy to think of and try and picture. Everyone was beaten and broken and the urgency of this event did not allow for morning of a loss. Right when they lost one they had to immediately work on the next person in need of attention. Sara Entrikin of the U.S. Army shared that when the planes came, there was a an American flag flying not far from the hospital and they shot at the flag until it was ripped to shreds. War is a horrible thing and the heartless actions of those involved makes me sick. Our flag a sign of strength and unity and hope was now torn to pieces, and our men had to fight on. Such bravery needed to be apart of this and I personally know that I would not have been able to do it.
The document that I am discussing is “Roosevelt Identifies the ‘Four Freedoms’ at Stake in the War, 1941.”
President Roosevelt brought up many points that indicated for overall happiness in a nation. His second freedom lingered the most to me as he stated that, “The second is freedom of every person to worship God in his own way – everywhere in the world.” I believe that this is absolutely true. Each individual has their own religious faith so it is not right to force someone to think differently. Especially, religion is kind of an unknown topic in a sense that we do not know if God really does exist. Therefore, it is very difficult to debate on something that no one knows for sure. In addition, President Roosevelt saw a cause to many conflicts was because of religion. Therefore, it amazed me that he understood and indicated that world peace could be based upon respect for different religions. I thought that it was so true. This document definitely made me admire and respect President Roosevelt even more.
The document I am discussing is “A Japanese American Recalls the Effect of Internment on Family Unity, 1942.”
This document really touched me deeply. Because of the internment, the author’s family had separated mentally. The experiences they encountered made them to drift apart. Before the internment, the author’s family was very united and supportive of each other. However, the internment definitely brought emotional and psychological scars. The author’s family tried to survive with few resources, making them to rely on their own abilities to make friends with other people who were similar to them. Therefore, when being brought back again, they were not used to it anymore and were uncomfortable to have family dinner together. As I was born and raised to respect family values, I felt that it would be horrible to have family members drifted apart. Only such major event like the internment had enough power to make changes like that to many Japanese families. This document made me to look back to what I have currently and value my family even more.
I would like to discuss a document called “An African American Soldier Notes the ‘Strange Paradox’ of the War, 1944”
This African American Soldier wrote to President Roosevelt to state the paradox that even though the United States was fighting against fascism in another country, racist discrimination still existed in the United States. The Jim Crow Law was an example of such. After reading this document, it occurred to me that maybe this became the reason why the Civil Rights Movement became such a strong wave in the 1950s-1960s. Soldiers, after the war, came back to their homeland and still saw the same ghost of discrimination that they were fighting overseas. They decided to not sit still anymore and it was time to take action, then the Civil Rights Movement was introduced. Therefore, maybe the exposure to the bigger world had brought such a potent wave of demands for equality. This document probably noted the first wave of demands for equality, which later would lead to the Civil Rights Era in the 1950s-1960s
The document I found interesting in this section is document number 2: “Nurses Rush to Aid the Wounded on the U.S. Naval Base in Hawaii, 1941.” originally I was going to talk about the document about Churchill’s reaction but I found the personal accounts of the pearl harbor attacks much more interesting. The attack itself interesting because the 9-11 attacks were compared to the pearl harbor attack because it was the last time we were attacked on our land. in reading these first hand accounts of the attack that day I am strongly reminded of the first hand accounts I have read about the 9-11 attacks. In reading, I was moved by the nurses strong sense of unity and again, it reminded me of the unity I remember feeling shortly after the 9-11 attacks.
-G. Aldaba