Pros And Cons Of War By John Dewey

Social and Domestic Reforms Throughout Wartimes In John Dewey’s essay, The Social Possibilities of War, he argues that war in fact offers valuable opportunities to promote domestic and social reform. This is seen to be true in many of the Wars, America has taken part in; these wars include, the Spanish-American War, World War I, as well as World War II. In the Spanish American-War, anti-imperialism was a domestic and social reform that was promoted. World War I, was a time where many social reforms were promoted, these being vigilance, African American rights and woman’s suffrage. In World War II, the American’s used the war to promote their Japanese Relocation centers and to assure safe keeping for Americans in other countries. All

This war took place from July, 1937 to September, 1939. America did not enter World War II, until after the Japanese bombed the United States, militant group in Pearl Harbor. In fact, America had no intention on entering the War until this bombing occurred. After the United States of America, entered World War II, the Americans moved all Japanese Americans from California and all around the country, to Japanese Relocation Camps. These Japanese Relocation camps were part of Executive Order 9066 signed into effect by President Franklin D. Roosevelt. The Relocation camps were heavily promoted by the Anti-Asian groups, in America. In the message given by Milton S. Eisenhower, the Director of War Relocation Authority, he stated that Japanese American families were being moved out of California in order to assure safety to the country and the Japanese families. He stated that after the bombing of Pearl Harbor, that the West Coast would have the possibility of becoming a war zone. A majority of the citizens in California were of Japanese dissent, therefore the U.S. defense made it a requirement for them to leave and move

To the American’s it seemed as though, the government was helping the Japanese Americans by relocating them inland, as if they were not forced to leave their own homes and it also appeared as though they were locking up any potential threats to the country. At the end of the statement made by Eisenhower, he said,

…when the disloyal have left the country, in the meantime we’re setting a standard for the rest of the world and the treatment of people who may have loyalties to the enemy country, we’re protecting ourselves without violating the principles of Christian decency, we won’t change this fundamental decency no matter what our enemies do, but of course, we hope most earnestly that our example will influence the axis power in the influence of Americans that fall into their hands. (Japanese Relocation).

This statement made by Eisenhower, was used as a threat to those who were disloyal in America, the Japanese Relocation camps were used to protect the country from disloyal Japanese-Americans who might have connections to the enemy. The Relocation camps were also used as statement to show that the Japanese were not being treated unfairly, they were being kept in areas and everything being done by the Americans was in line with Christian decency. Americans hoped that by showing this and stating that they were safe, this would lead to captured Americans being treated with the same decency