Freedom Does Not Come Without Cost Analysis
Christopher Kruger
Mr. Williams
US History PBL
14 April 2017
Freedom Does Not Come Without Cost
During World War II, President Roosevelt gave a speech about the four freedoms that everyone worldwide should be able to live their life with. Freedom of speech, freedom of religion, freedom from want and freedom from fear. The U.S. did the best job possible during the war to try and uphold these freedoms and made decisions in the best interest of the world. The nature of war being brutal and violent provides that some freedoms were not possible to grant, however the actions of the U.S. were in order to protect our freedoms, as well as these freedoms abroad in the future. Cases such as the atomic bomb show how the U.S. had to make a decision that …show more content…
would interfere with others freedoms, but ultimately would protect the greater world. Actions such as the Japanese internment could be seen on the surface as denying certain freedoms, however this action was at the time, the best way to ensure there were no traitors supporting Japan that could cause harm to the U.S. There are numerous ways in which the U.S. supported the freedoms of Americans, as well as made sacrifices to support freedoms worldwide in the long run. Japanese American internment is an event that today would seem hard to justify.
That is because we are not currently in a war against a nation with a merciless leader. The intent of Japanese internment was to prevent any unloyal Japanese Americans taking orders from Japan’s emperor from turning on the government and disrupting military plans. Despite the internment denying freedom of speech and freedom from want to the Japanese Americans, ultimately this would support the freedom from fear for Americans who considered the possibility of hostility from Japanese Americans a large concern, as well as give the U.S. the best possible chance of winning the war, to protect the four freedoms for the world. Document two, an informative video from the U.S. Office of War Information states the ways that the Japanese were treated humanely in these camps, and that the government provided for basic needs in the best way that was possible under the circumstances. Some were even allowed some to go outside the camp to work during the day. In the case of Korematsu vs. the U.S. government (document 3), the Supreme Court decided that the need for protection against spies and espionage was a greater issue than the rights of Japanese Americans. The fact that the supreme court justified the internment by a vote of six to three shows the magnitude of the concern, and shows how the interment was believed to ultimately support the freedoms at risk in the war. Cases such as the SS St. Louis which …show more content…
denied refugees entry into the country are similar to this case. On the surface it may seem that the rights to freedom from fear, and freedom of worship are being denied to these European Jewish refugees, but the decision, was for the same reason as the internment. To protect against espionage, and ultimately allow the U.S. the best possible chance of winning the war not for the country, but to liberate the world. Winning the war would support upholding nation's freedoms from fear and want, freedom of speech, and freedom of religion especially for the countries affected by Hitler’s Nazi Regime. A topic of immense controversy, and a defining moment of the war on the Pacific was the atomic bomb dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki. This was the single largest decision made by the president of the U.S. (at this time was Harry S. Truman) in the best interest of upholding the four freedoms. The decision to drop the bomb was near the point when Operation Downfall was about to be commenced. This campaign would have resulted in millions of deaths across the one million troops that were set to be deployed. The atomic bomb dropped led to Emperor Hirohito’s unconditional surrender, which ended the war. The bomb ended the battles that each day resulted in countless deaths on both sides. This granted freedom from fear for our country as well as abroad, to other nations affected by Japan's ruthless persistence. One account of a soldier preparing for his death in Operation Downfall express his emotion. His emotion was unlike anything ever felt before, when he found out that the bomb had been dropped, and the war was near to end. He describes it as being given his life back. Document 14, an account from WWII soldier Paul Fussell, states “ A very powerful emotional feeling, to be redeemed from a certain death, and given life again.” This instance demonstrates the freedom from fear being upheld.This was one man out of millions prepared to fight in operation Downfall.
The economy of the U.S.
boomed during the war, which provided a great opportunity for job growth. President Roosevelt issued executive order 8803, which boosted job opportunities for African American who were previously greatly discriminated against when applying. This executive order was a way to uphold freedom from want, as it allowed black people in our country to support themselves, and face less discrimination in the jobforce. It was a long struggle to get to this point in history, but once this decision was made, it was another way the U.S. supported the freedoms during the
war.
The world faced many tragedies as a result from world War II. The U.S. being a country with the power needed to overcome the evil forces of Emperor Hirohito’s ruthless push for expansion, and Hitler’s Nazi party, used its power to end the war. If these forces were not defeated, and the U.S. had not fought as hard as we did to uphold the freedoms, then much of the world may not have the freedoms that we do today. From our actions in World War II we can learn as well as emphasise the importance of using the power of our country to continue to uphold the freedoms that we fought to keep, and model our actions after the freedoms that Roosevelt stated should exist worldwide.
Work Cited
"Japanese Relocation : U.S. Office of War Information : Free Download & Streaming." Internet Archive. U.S. Office of War Information, 1943. Web. 13 Apr. 2017. .
Blechner, Anthony. "SS St. Louis." The Voyage of the SS St. Louis. Blechner.com, 1999. Web. 13 Apr. 2017. .
PBS. Public Broadcasting Service, n.d. Web. 13 Apr. 2017. .
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1RCg5Q0VnQs
Mr. Williams
US History PBL
14 April 2017
Freedom Does Not Come Without Cost
During World War II, President Roosevelt gave a speech about the four freedoms that everyone worldwide should be able to live their life with. Freedom of speech, freedom of religion, freedom from want and freedom from fear. The U.S. did the best job possible during the war to try and uphold these freedoms and made decisions in the best interest of the world. The nature of war being brutal and violent provides that some freedoms were not possible to grant, however the actions of the U.S. were in order to protect our freedoms, as well as these freedoms abroad in the future. Cases such as the atomic bomb show how the U.S. had to make a decision that …show more content…
would interfere with others freedoms, but ultimately would protect the greater world. Actions such as the Japanese internment could be seen on the surface as denying certain freedoms, however this action was at the time, the best way to ensure there were no traitors supporting Japan that could cause harm to the U.S. There are numerous ways in which the U.S. supported the freedoms of Americans, as well as made sacrifices to support freedoms worldwide in the long run. Japanese American internment is an event that today would seem hard to justify.
That is because we are not currently in a war against a nation with a merciless leader. The intent of Japanese internment was to prevent any unloyal Japanese Americans taking orders from Japan’s emperor from turning on the government and disrupting military plans. Despite the internment denying freedom of speech and freedom from want to the Japanese Americans, ultimately this would support the freedom from fear for Americans who considered the possibility of hostility from Japanese Americans a large concern, as well as give the U.S. the best possible chance of winning the war, to protect the four freedoms for the world. Document two, an informative video from the U.S. Office of War Information states the ways that the Japanese were treated humanely in these camps, and that the government provided for basic needs in the best way that was possible under the circumstances. Some were even allowed some to go outside the camp to work during the day. In the case of Korematsu vs. the U.S. government (document 3), the Supreme Court decided that the need for protection against spies and espionage was a greater issue than the rights of Japanese Americans. The fact that the supreme court justified the internment by a vote of six to three shows the magnitude of the concern, and shows how the interment was believed to ultimately support the freedoms at risk in the war. Cases such as the SS St. Louis which …show more content…
denied refugees entry into the country are similar to this case. On the surface it may seem that the rights to freedom from fear, and freedom of worship are being denied to these European Jewish refugees, but the decision, was for the same reason as the internment. To protect against espionage, and ultimately allow the U.S. the best possible chance of winning the war not for the country, but to liberate the world. Winning the war would support upholding nation's freedoms from fear and want, freedom of speech, and freedom of religion especially for the countries affected by Hitler’s Nazi Regime. A topic of immense controversy, and a defining moment of the war on the Pacific was the atomic bomb dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki. This was the single largest decision made by the president of the U.S. (at this time was Harry S. Truman) in the best interest of upholding the four freedoms. The decision to drop the bomb was near the point when Operation Downfall was about to be commenced. This campaign would have resulted in millions of deaths across the one million troops that were set to be deployed. The atomic bomb dropped led to Emperor Hirohito’s unconditional surrender, which ended the war. The bomb ended the battles that each day resulted in countless deaths on both sides. This granted freedom from fear for our country as well as abroad, to other nations affected by Japan's ruthless persistence. One account of a soldier preparing for his death in Operation Downfall express his emotion. His emotion was unlike anything ever felt before, when he found out that the bomb had been dropped, and the war was near to end. He describes it as being given his life back. Document 14, an account from WWII soldier Paul Fussell, states “ A very powerful emotional feeling, to be redeemed from a certain death, and given life again.” This instance demonstrates the freedom from fear being upheld.This was one man out of millions prepared to fight in operation Downfall.
The economy of the U.S.
boomed during the war, which provided a great opportunity for job growth. President Roosevelt issued executive order 8803, which boosted job opportunities for African American who were previously greatly discriminated against when applying. This executive order was a way to uphold freedom from want, as it allowed black people in our country to support themselves, and face less discrimination in the jobforce. It was a long struggle to get to this point in history, but once this decision was made, it was another way the U.S. supported the freedoms during the
war.
The world faced many tragedies as a result from world War II. The U.S. being a country with the power needed to overcome the evil forces of Emperor Hirohito’s ruthless push for expansion, and Hitler’s Nazi party, used its power to end the war. If these forces were not defeated, and the U.S. had not fought as hard as we did to uphold the freedoms, then much of the world may not have the freedoms that we do today. From our actions in World War II we can learn as well as emphasise the importance of using the power of our country to continue to uphold the freedoms that we fought to keep, and model our actions after the freedoms that Roosevelt stated should exist worldwide.
Work Cited
"Japanese Relocation : U.S. Office of War Information : Free Download & Streaming." Internet Archive. U.S. Office of War Information, 1943. Web. 13 Apr. 2017. .
Blechner, Anthony. "SS St. Louis." The Voyage of the SS St. Louis. Blechner.com, 1999. Web. 13 Apr. 2017. .
PBS. Public Broadcasting Service, n.d. Web. 13 Apr. 2017. .
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1RCg5Q0VnQs