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Mass Hysteria Project

Japanese Internment McCarthyism

Camps

English 10

Mr. Prueter

Fall Semester 2011

2

Table of Contents Division of Labor…………………………………………………………………………………………….………………….…………. 3

McCarthyism ………………………………………………………………………………………………….……………………………. 4

Guided Handouts…………………………………………………………………………………………….……………………………. 5-‐6

Source Notes ……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….. 7-‐9

Research Paper …………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………. 10-‐12

Internment Camps ………………………………………………………………………………………………….…………………………. 13

Guided Handouts………………………………………………………………………………………….……………….…………. 14-‐15

Source Notes …………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….. 16-‐18

Research Paper …………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………. 19-‐22

Plan of Action……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….. 23

3

Division of Labor

Work Ivana Anita Table of Contents J

Guided Handout – McCarthy J

Guided Handout – Internment J Source Notes J J Research Paper – McCarthy J

Research Paper – Internment J Title Page J Letter to Principal J J

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McCarthyism

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Guided Handout: McCarthyism, “Red Scare”

Your task is to do further research on the “Red Scare,” or McCarthyism, of the 1950s and hysteria. This “Red Scare” prompted Arthur Miller to write The Crucible.

• Document any important information that you encounter during your research.

• Analyze the reasons for the hysteria behind McCarthyism and how community leaders responded to it.

• Answer the questions listed below to help you explain this hysteria to your group members.

• Prepare to meet with your fellow group members in order to propose an appropriate course of actions for the administration.

Questions to consider:

What events and accusations started the hysteria that led up to McCarthyism in the 1950s?

What are some examples of discrimination during the accusations, and to what degree do you think discrimination was a cause of the hysteria?

Answers to this question have been removed for the sake of this sample project


6

How did the federal government leaders respond to the accusations and proceedings?

How did the general public react to accusations of communism?

What elements of these trials in the 1950s remind you of the Salem Witch Trials from the 1690s?




7

Source Notes #1 - McCarthyism

Article Title: “United States History – Red Scare”

________________________________________________________________

Author and Date of Publication

Author(s): Collin, Deborah

Published on: November 21, 2011

_______________________

Website / Database

Website and/or database used:

Iws.collin.edu/kwilkinson/resources

Key Facts (use specific sentences, statistics, etc.)

The more specific you are, the more it will help you write this paper.

This article provided a timeline of events, chronically McCarthy’s rise to power, as well as all of those

who were blacklisted (and when)

• (example 1 from timeline)

• (example 2) from timeline


Also, I thought it was interesting that Arthur Miller, who wrote The Crucible, was on the list. This

clearly played a role in his writing of the play.

8


Article Title: “United States History – Red Scare”

________________________________________________________________


Author(s): Hollands, Jessica


_______________________

Website / Database


<http://www.history.com/topics/joseph-‐

mccarthy>.



This article gives a lot of information about how the Joseph McCarthy used fear and propaganda to

help his cause. Examples include

• (example 1)

• (example 2)

• (example 3)

This information is going to be useful because it includes personal accounts that I can use to

strengthen my arguments.

9


Article Title: "American President: Harry S. Truman: The American Franchise."


Author(s):

Published on: January 19, 2006

_______________________

Website / Database


<http://millercenter.org/president/truman/essays/biography/8>.



This article provided a timeline of events, chronically McCarthy’s rise to power, as well as all of those

who were blacklisted (and when)


• (example 2) from timeline


Also, I thought it was interesting that Arthur Miller, who wrote The Crucible, was on the list. This

clearly played a role in his writing of the play.

10

McCarthyism and the Red Scare

After World War II, the Cold War between The Soviet Union and The United States

kicked off, spurred on by the competition between the two great world powers. There was a fear

in America that communists would infiltrate the government and challenge our democratic

values. There was also a fear of the communists creating nuclear weapons and using them

against the United States. Committees were formed, people were blacklisted, and there was panic

among the people; all of this culminated into the hysteria that became the Red Scare.

Propaganda played a huge part in the hysteria that led up to The Red Scare. Newspapers,

television, radio, and movies all furthered along the anti-Communist message that sent America

into a Communist witch hunt. Flyers and comics depicted communists as a major threat, seeking

only to destroy America. Hundreds of movies spoke against communism, including “The Red

Menace”, “I Was a Communist for the FBI”, and “I Married a Communist”. The education

system also suffered as a result of the red scare. The loyalty of educators, at all levels, came

under scrutiny as people expressed their fears that subversive forces were seeking control of

schools (The “Red Scare” in Education). Teachers who taught using alternative teaching

methods were accused of communism, and some were fired. Professors were especially

suspected. Many professors were forced to give oaths against Communism or were questioned

about their political beliefs.

In addition to using propaganda and targeting certain groups, the government tried to

eliminate communism legislatively. In 1940, the Alien Registration Act was passed in Congress,

essentially making communism illegal. The act was passed to help remove communist influence,

but it also went against the Constitution by preventing citizens from becoming Communists. In

addition, the Congress’s House on Un-American Activities Committee (HUAC) was set up to

investigate claims of communism. The HUAC investigated many supposed Communists, the

majority made up of Hollywood actors, directors, and musicians. According to Wikipedia, Aaron

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Copland, Langston Hughes, Charlie Chapman, Arthur Miller, and many other people were all

blacklisted by the HUAC. The hysteria was not limited to the federal government, “Thirteen

states established their own versions of House Committee on Un-American Activities, and many

more states passed ordinances that either made communist organizations illegal or forced them to

register with the appropriate authorities” (American President). Because of these committees,

people lived in the fear that they might be falsely accused of communism.

Anti-Communist Senator James McCarthy became one of the most influential people in

all the Red Scare. While giving a speech in 1950 at a country club in West Virginia, McCarthy

announced that he had a list of 205 people within the government who were members of the

communist party. It turned out that he only had fifty-seven names and all the claims were false,

but McCarthy had already made his mark on America. “Despite a lack of any proof of

subversion, more than 2,000 government employees lost their jobs as a result of McCarthy’s

investigations” (Hollands). In a few years time, McCarthy became so involved in the communist

hunt that the term ‘McCarthyism’ was created by a journalist, and is now also a name for the Red

Scare. McCarthy’s most outrageous claim of communism was against the US Army, resulting in

his downfall from power. McCarthy was denounced by the government, and, though he kept his

position as senator, he lost all power.

In conclusion, the Red Scare was fueled by paranoia, propaganda, and the work of

characters like Senator McCarthy. Though most of the accusations of communism made across

the United States were false, the hysteria brought on by the Red Scare has made a lasting impact

on America’s history. Just like the witch trials in Salem, Massachusetts over 250 years

previously, it was fear and hysteria, not fact, that drove the courts to dismantle careers and lives,

as well as disregard Americans’ rights in the name of “national protection.”

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Works Cited

"American President: Harry S. Truman: The American Franchise." Miller Center. Web. 18 Nov.

2011.

<http://millercenter.org/president/truman/essays/biography/8>.

Hollands, Jessica. "Joseph R. McCarthy — History.com Articles, Video, Pictures and Facts."

History.com — History Made Every Day — American & World History. Web. 18 Nov. 2011.

<http://www.history.com/topics/joseph-mccarthy>.

"Red Scare." Wikipedia, the Free Encyclopedia. Web. 18 Nov. 2011.

<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Red_Scare>.

"The "Red Scare" in Education - 1950's Education." ENotes - Literature Study Guides, Lesson

Plans, and More. Web. 18 Nov. 2011.

<http://www.enotes.com/1950-education-american-decades/red-scare-education>.

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Internment

Camps

14

Guided Handout: Japanese Internment Camps

Your task is do research with the links listed below in order to advise the principal on a course of action for responding to school violence hysteria. Your topic of research is the relocation of Japanese Americans to internment camps. During your research:

• Document any important information that you encounter during your research.

• Analyze the reasons for hysteria against Japanese Americans and how leaders in the United States government responded to it.

• Answer the questions listed below to help you explain this hysteria to your group members.

• Prepare to meet with your fellow group members in order to propose an appropriate course of actions for the administration.

Questions to consider:

Why were Japanese Americans discriminated during World War II?

What evidence do you see of hysteria based upon discrimination?



15

What was former President Franklin Delano Roosevelt's response to hysteria against Japanese Americans?

Was the response to hysteria against Japanese Americans appropriate? Why or why not?

What specific examples from these internment camps remind you of the Salem Witch Trials? Why?




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Focused on the relocation and internment of 11,000 Japanese Americans.

Sets the stage with President Roosevelt and Executive Order 9066.

Discusses key elements of the camp, such as living conditions. “Tar paper-‐covered barracks of simple

frame construction without plumbing or cooking facilities”

Source Notes # 1 - Internment Camps

Article Title: Causes of the Incarceration

________________________________________________________________


Author(s): none listed


_______________________

Website / Database


www.densho.org

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Timeline of events

Link to President Roosevelt’s speech about Executive Order 9066.

First-‐hand accounts


Article Title: "OurStory : Activities : Life in a WWII Japanese-American Internment Camp

________________________________________________________________




_______________________

Website / Database


<http://americanhistory.si.edu/ourstory/activities/internment/more.html>.

18



Timeline of events

Link to President Roosevelt’s speech about Executive Order 9066.

First-‐hand accounts


Article Title: "OurStory : Activities : Life in a WWII Japanese-American Internment Camp

________________________________________________________________




_______________________

Website / Database



19

Japanese Internment

“But I will never forget the shocking feeling that human beings were behind this fence

like animals [crying].” (Mary Tsukamoto) This recalls the cruel imprisonment of people, who

were cooped behind barbed wire, crying for their lost liberty and submission to a life forced upon

them by their own government. This quote might jolt the image of a German concentration

camp, and although this representation is from the right time frame, it is the wrong country.

Camps that unfairly housed citizens based on nothing but the spreading hysteria or racial

discrimination were built on American soil. These compounds were called relocation camps.

These camps held approximately 110,000-120,000 Japanese American citizens on the ground

they were loyal to Imperial Japan, an enemy of Allied forces in World War II, and therefore

aimed to spy for the Axis powers. After the horrible attack on the Hawaiian naval base Pearl

Harbor, discrimination against Japanese civilians reached its peak, hitting hysteria levels.

Although the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor left devastating effects, turning on American

citizens because of their ancestry was a violation of their Constitutional right of equality and the

unwarranted result of a violent onrush of discrimination.

December 7, 1941, 7:48 AM, Imperial Japan attacks the American naval base Pearl

Harbor, Hawaii. Pearl Harbor was attacked by 353 fighters, bomber and torpedo planes,

dispatched from six aircraft carriers. The Americans losses included 188 aircrafts, 2,402 citizens

and 1,282 injured. The Japanese intended to use this attack to prevent the US Pacific Fleet from

interfering with its plans against Southwestern Asia. The premeditated assault or better known as

the “date that will live in infamy” (as said by President FDR) prompted the land of the free into

an anti-Asian American hysteria. The anger and outrage at the Japanese Fleet’s strategic

crippling of the naval base sparked harsh discrimination against Asians across the country. The

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Japanese losses from the attack were considerably lighter than those of the Americans, which

added fuel to the flames.

Since Imperial Japan was responsible for the attack on Pearl Harbor the anti-Japanese

wildfire spread to Japanese American citizens. Americans across the country and particularly

down the west coast called for the exclusion and relocation of many Japanese American citizens

on the grounds of suspected espionage. The supporters of the internment conveniently ignored

the fact that many of the relocated had never seen their ancestral home or that numerous of the

Japanese were born on American soil and were legal citizens of the United States. Most

generalized the Japanese Americans into a category that did not depict the citizens fairly. “A

Jap’s a Jap” (General DeWitt) was the motto used to identify this generalization. The pressing

hysteria and fear of spies on home soil encouraged President Franklin D. Roosevelt to resign to

the will of the pro-internment citizens and legalize the relocation of Japanese American populace

with the Executive Order 9066, issued in February 19, 1942. The Japanese were usually given 48

hours to gather their possessions. The lack of a punctual notice was most likely due to the

rushing demand to purge the America of free roaming Japanese, who were obviously pariahs of

society. The hurry to evacuate these noticeably twisted citizens and to rid society of them was an

additional form of the hysteria that ensued from the attack.

Life in the camps was nearly unbearable. “… we were going to also lose our freedom

and walk inside of that gate and find ourselves…cooped up there…when the gates were shut, we

knew that we had lost something that was very precious; that we were no longer free." (Mary

Tsukamoto) The camps were built on the interior of the country to prevent access to the coast

and Japan where the inmates were accused of sending information. The encampments were built

in arid climates were the worst summers were over 100 degrees and the worst winters getting to

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below 30 degrees. (www.wikipedia.com) The Japanese had to create agriculture in this climate

for their food and commercial consumption. The sites also raised livestock to help feed the

detainees. The unappetizing food was mass produced army slush, manufactured in huge

cafeterias. The cafeterias were in large compounds with school buildings, decent hospitals and

warehouse like places families had to live in. Actual housing residences were barrack inspired

lodges that housed the overcrowded families. These structures met international laws, but did not

have plumbing and left quite a bit to be desired. The children were allowed to go to school, but

the government looked to inmates to fill many occupations so the camps would become more

self-sufficient, therefore many received an education from ill-prepared teachers. Though many

lost professions in the internment process, there was hope that a select minority of the campers

could be approved to work outside exclusion zones or the designated areas to which the Japanese

were deposited, a small beacon of hope in a dire situation.

Frequently the “all men are created equal” is violated by an acceleration of heightened

discrimination, better known as hysteria. The Japanese Americans in the World War II period

were a subject to a colossal wave of Anti-Japanese hysteria. Though many justified the reaction

with the attack on Pearl Harbor, it is not an adequate excuse for the forced relocation of

approximately 110,000-120,000 innocent American citizens. They were taken away from friends

and their homes to desolate arid places that were not well equipped to the cramped living

conditions. The American government did not practice a crucial principle it celebrated, equality.

The targets of the Japanese internment will never be sufficiently reconciled for the mass hysteria

and hatred they had to cope with.

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Works Cited

"Densho - Causes of the Incarceration." Densho: The Japanese American Legacy Project,

Digital Archive of Video Oral Histories of Japanese-Americans Incarcerated or Interned

during World War II, Japanese-American Internment Stories. Web. 17 Nov. 2011.

<http://www.densho.org/causes/default.asp>.

Historic Era. "OurStory : Activities : Life in a WWII Japanese-American Internment Camp :

More Information." National Museum of American History. Web. 17 Nov. 2011.


"Japanese American Internment." Wikipedia, the Free Encyclopedia. Wikimedia Foundation,

Inc. Web. 17 Nov. 2011. <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Japanese_American_internment>.

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Plan of Action

Dear Principal Scaling,

I. introduction to problem

a. Thesis referencing your topics of mass hysteria (McCarthyism, Internment camps,

etc.) and the connection to the problem at our school

II. Connection to _____________________ (ex. McCarthyism)

III. Connection to _____________________ (ex. Internment Camps)

IV. Connection to _____________________ (ex. Post 9/11 hysteria)

*Body paragraph per topic

V. Conclusion

a. Recommendation for our school based on warning signs relatable to your topics of

study

Sincerely,

Anita and Ivana

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