Japanese Internment Camps: PHOTOGRAPHS OF THE INTERNMENT EXPERIENCE

Tuesday, December 1, 2009

PHOTOGRAPHS OF THE INTERNMENT EXPERIENCE

Please feel free to respond to the questions below or make your own observations in the comments section so we can start a dialogue on the story that these pictures tell.

PHOTOGRAPH #1:
http://dickiebo.files.wordpress.com/2009/06/ph-1.jpg

1. What do you see in this picture?

2. What do you think this is a picture of? Any particular event in history? Why?

3. This is actually a picture of Pearl Harbor after it was attacked. How do you think the people on the dock are feeling right now?

4. Who attacked Pearl Harbor? If you were one of the attackers, how do you think you would feel at this point in time?

5. If you were one of the sailors on the dock, how would you feel at this point in time?

6. If you were the United States government, what would be some of your options for how to respond to this attack? Which option would you pick and why?

PHOTOGRAPH #2:
http://education.eastwestcenter.org/asiapacificed/ph2006/PH2006projects/7_clip_image001.jpg

1. What is this picture showing?

2. Does this picture remind you of any other events in history? Why?

3. Who do you think this woman is? Why?

4. How would you describe this woman's emotions or how she's feeling based on this picture?

5. What's happening in her life to make her feel this way?

6. Based on your evaluation of her emotions and the events in her life, do you think she's right or wrong to feel the way she does? Why?

PHOTOGRAPH #3:
http://www.library.wwu.edu/ref/images/japanese-evacuation.jpg

1. What do you see in this picture? What different groups of people are involved?

2. What time period is this? What major events are happning in America at this time?

3. What do you think is happening here? Where are these people going?

4. Why are these people lined up? Do they have anything in common with each other? Any differences? Are they here by choice?

5. If you were an American during this time period, how would you feel if you saw this picture in a newspaper?

6. If you were an American during this time period, would you agree with what's happening in this picture or not? Why do you feel this way?

PHOTOGRAPH #4:
http://ikilled007.files.wordpress.com/2009/08/japanese-internment.jpg

1. Who are the people on both sides of this fence?

2. Where are these people? How do you know?

3. What are the emotions of the people on both sides of the fence? Why do they feel the way they do?

4. Why are these people here? Where did they come from?

5. Under what circumstances do you think these people came here? What lives were they leading a few months ago?

6. If you don't believe these people are here by choice, who do you think ordered them to this place and why? Do you think those people in charge had good reasons or not? Why?

PHOTOGRAPH #5:
http://z.hubpages.com/u/96793_f520.jpg

1. What's happening in this picture?

2. Who are the people in this picture, and where are they?

3. Why are they at this place? Did they choose to be here?

4. Who is the boy looking at the camera, and how do you think he feels?

5. Tell me the story of this boy's life. Where did he come from? Who is his family? What was he doing a year ago? What will he do and where will he go when he finishes playing?

6. Do you think this boy should be in this place? Why or why not?

PHOTOGRAPH #6:

http://library.thinkquest.org/04apr/00065/graphics/Camp3.jpg

1. What's happening in this picture?

2. Who are these children? Where are they?

3. What ethnicities do you see represented in this picture?

4. Do you think these children are American citizens? Why or why not?

5. During wartime, do you think these children would be on America's side or another country's side? Which country do you think the different children in this picture would support? Why?

6. In the world we live in today, do you think people associate different ethnicities or races with certain countries, even if the people of these different backgrounds were born and raised in America? Why?

No comments:

Post a Comment

Narrative Summary

As you look through the blog postings, you'll find a collection of primary source documents detailing the Japanese-American internment by the U.S. government following the attack on Pearl Harbor during WWII. The first set of documents that you'll see is a group of documents and editorial cartoons that give some context into what the Japanese Internment Camps were, and why they existed. My hope is that this section will provide both historical background, and a peek into the emotional toll it took on all Americans. The second set of documents that you'll find is a collection of pictures that capture some powerful moments in the Japanese Internment Camp process. I hope these picturs allow more insight into the plight of Japanese Americans during this time, and the lifestyles they were forced to become accustomed to. Finally, the last set of documents is a collection of personal accounts from the time spent in the internment camps. Some of the accounts are from Japanese-Americans reflecting back on their childhood in an internment camp, and some are letters written by a Japanese-American while in her camp. These letters are powerful, and I hope the context gained from the first two sections of documents helps further inform the feelings, tone of voice, and stories related in these personal accounts.

The Value of Primary Source Documents and DBQs

I hope this collection of primary source documents and DBQs helps you consider the cause and emotions associated with Japanese Internment Camps from a variety of perspectives. I think primary source documents are vital for historical understanding and reasoning becuase they offer an unanalyzed view of what the world was doing and thought as the event transpired. This allows us, as knowledge seekers, to analyze the documents ourselves to come to our own conclusions on the event. I hope the DBQs help guide thinking without forcibly offering an opinion on the subject either way. These DBQs are meant to help the reader avoid simply dismissing the time of internment camps as a time of incompetance or evil, but instead attempt to understand how a very competant and well-meaning society can fall prey to bad decisions. It's easy to look back and say we'd never engage in something like this, but unfortunately, history tells us otherwise. I hope these documents and questions engage your thinking and encourage you to honestly consider how you would have responded to the attack on Pearl Harbor.

Questions to Consider When Exploring the Blog

While I already knew a fair amount about Japanese Internment Cmaps and why they were created, I found that creating this blog opened my eyes to so much of the personal hurt, pain, and misconceptions that existed behind the historical facts. Unfortunately, the internment of Japanese-Americans by the U.S. government tends to be overlooked in school, or only mentioned in passing. After putting together this blog, I believe even more firmly, that this topic deserves more time in the classroom. There is so much to be learned from this event, not just in terms of personal freedoms and constitutional rights, but also in terms of racial and ethnic prejudices, and our innate tendencies to react swiftly and harshly to fear. The attack on Pearl Harbor was sudden and terrifying for all Americans regardless of race or ethnic background, but Japanese-Americans were the ones who were quickly stripped of their constitutional rights because of the way they looked.

When the U.S. suffered another sudden, terrifying attack on September 11, 2009, Americans reacted very similarly in terms of suddently assosicating all Middle Eastern-Americans with possible terrorism or countries in the Middle East. Would more emphaiss on learning about the internment camps have caused people to think twice about the stereotypes and prejudices they developed? Would studying the internment camps have helped all Americans better understand their own reactions to fear, and their susceptibility to fear-based retaliation strategies? As we all know, history as a tendency to repeat itself, and I think learning about our mistakes and miscalculations are necessary for hopefully avoiding similar mistakes in the future.

Japanese Internment Camps