Not everything that is faced can be changed, but nothing can be changed until it is faced (James Baldwin). From 1940 to 1960, there was a massive upsurge in racist activities in the United States. Various groups struggled with difficulties during this time. One minority group fought against the frenzy and hatred that resulted in their imprisonment in the country as a result of what their race did during World War II. Another minority group endured bigotry and hostility because they were perceived as being unhelpful in the war movement and dealt with ongoing prejudice inside the military as well as within the country with prejudice stemming from their history of immigration and stereotypes. Many groups in the United States from 1940 to 1960 …show more content…
During the 1940s, Latinos were treated unfairly in the military as they tried to fight for their country in World War II. The group was discriminated against long before the Second World War, either due to their immigration or how they were seen in society. Latinos enlisted in the US military to improve their futures, but they were not treated fairly or with the respect they deserved, and even when they participated in past conflicts, they were not acknowledged or addressed. Due to discrimination, Latinos struggled to join the military or advance through the ranks; some were even disqualified from the draft, and in the barracks, they endured insults and physical abuse. This illustrates the struggles Latinos faced while serving in the military; they wanted to help their country, but all they got in return was hostility and a lack of recognition for their heritage and language. After the Second World War, Latinos suffered greatly as well. In 1948, the denial of a funeral to a Mexican American war hero sparked controversy and the campaign for Mexican American civil rights. Felix Longoria, a veteran of World War II, put in a lot of effort, and it paid off when his valiant deeds earned him the Purple Heart and other military honors before his death. Tragically, he was shot by a sniper months before the War's end. However, the lone funeral parlor in his Texas hometown …show more content…
The United States developed a similar condition of hysteria for the Japanese as it did with the Germans during World War I as a result of their compatriots in Japan orchestrating the attack on Pearl Harbor, a US territory, on December 7, 1941. Americans started to believe that all Japanese citizens were spies sent by the Japanese Empire due to media propaganda and hysteria. Their possessions and enterprises were devastated as the aftermath of the Pearl Harbor attack raged on. The FBI had already previously identified German, Italian, and Japanese aliens who were thought to be possible enemy agents before the attack on Pearl Harbor and World War II, and they were kept under observation. This demonstrates how the racial rights of Japanese, German, and Italian citizens were not treated as threats to the US or as not being a part of the country. It also shows how the government, rather than considering people of Japanese heritage as citizens and allies, continued to oppress them in the wake of the assault on Pearl Harbor. After the attack on Pearl Harbor, 1,444 Japanese Americans were imprisoned in Hawaii. "The internment of Japanese Americans followed the issuance of Executive Order 9066 by President Franklin Delano Roosevelt… Nearly 70,000 of the 112,000 people transported to assembly centers between the end of March and the beginning of August were Americans"