America's Scars

I was recently sitting in my World History class at school. My professor asked to show by a raise of hands how many of us students had learned about the Holocaust in high school. Only about half of the class raised their hands. My professor then asked the students why they did not learn about it in high school. The most common answers were “it was too uncomfortable for some students” or “my teacher didn’t want to offend anyone.” This shocked me. Here were adults who had never learned about one of the biggest genocides in all of history.

            Chairman Mao burnt books in China on Hitler’s and Stalin’s genocides. He did not want the Chinese people to recognize that his regime was very similar to the regimes of those men. He was trying to repeat history undercover. Mao also destroyed any evidence of western government and culture. He did not want the ideas of enlightenment and self-government to spread to his people, causing a rebellion or overthrowing of the government. He did not want a history of freedom to the repeated. Not teaching parts of history because they are “uncomfortable” or can be potentially “offensive” only increases the chance that that uncomfortable or offensive history will be repeated.

            Not only do we see this on the world scale, but we also see it in American History classes. America is almost always painted as the good guy. Very rarely do teachers dive into the scars that mark our history. But learning about these scars helps us to understand how horrible events end up happening as well as how to prevent them.

            I have listed three events from American History that often go under covered, although they should be openly talked about in history classes to help students grow up to be independent adults who do not only know their history and take responsibility of it, but also understand how to prevent these atrocities in the future.

Example 1: The Dred Scott Decision

            Dred Scott was born into slavery in Virginia in 1799. He later moved with his owner to Illinois, a free state (History.com). And although he moved from free state to free state with his owner and family, he never was a free man. Their owner, Irene Sanford, would not allow Scott and his family to purchase their freedom.

            In 1846, Dred Scott and his wife Harriett sued Irene for their freedom. The Scotts believed that they had a persuasive and legitimate case since they had lived in free states and territories. The court ruled against the Scotts on a technicality (History.com). They then appealed to the Missouri Supreme Court where the decision by the lower court was reversed and they won their freedom. Their case, Dred Scott v. Sanford, went all the way to the U.S. Supreme Court in 1856, where they lost despite the infamy of the case and support from abolitionists (History.com).

            Chief Supreme Court Justice Roger Taney is known for writing the majority of the decision on Scott v. Sanford. Taney tried to protect the South against Northern political and legislative attacks. His ruling on Scott v. Sanford is a testament to that. The decision stated that a slave had to right to appeal to a federal court (“Roger”).

            Scott lost his case and subsequent freedom on a technicality. This history of corruption in the courts, illustrated by the Dred Scott decision, draws attention to an important issue in America’s past and present.

Example 2: Japanese Internment Camps

            Only two months after Pearl Harbor was attacked by the Japanese, President Franklin Delano Roosevelt signed Executive Order 9066, “Authorizing the Secretary of War to prescribe military areas” (“Transcript”). These “military areas” later became known as the Japanese Internment Camps and affected 117,000 Japanese-Americans; two-thirds of those affected were natural born U.S. citizens (“Japanese”). Camps were located in California, Idaho, Utah, Wyoming, Arkansas, Arizona, and Colorado.

            Four to five families shared a barrack. They ate in a common room. The children still had opportunities to go to school, and although there was some work for the adults to do, it was limited (“Japanese”). The most highly decorated American combat unit from World War II was the 442d Regimental Combat Team (“Japanese”). These young Japanese-Americans assembled at a time after Pearl Harbor when ethnic groups were banned from fighting in the war.

Example 3: The Eugenics Movement

Eugenics is “the set of beliefs and practices which aims at improving the genetic quality of the human population” (Evans). This belief is prevalent in upper class England, where it is believed that there are specific genes associated with sought after traits like intelligence (Bouche).

The eugenics movement began in the United States in the early 1900’s and was led by Charles Davenport and Harry Loughlin. The Eugenics Record Office was founded in 1910 to, “’improve the natural, physical, mental, and temperamental qualities of the human family’” (Bouche). The ERO focused on the attainment of undesirable traits. Later, the American Eugenics Society was founded, which spurred a social movement. Many members competed in “’better baby’” competitions (Bouche). Early funders of these organizations included, “[the] Carnegie Institution, Rockefeller Foundation, and the Harriman railroad fortune” (Evans).

Unlike the English eugenics movements who focused on breeding positive traits, movements in the United States focused on eliminating negative or undesirable traits (Bouche). Legislation was enacted that promoted sterilization. This legislation was acted to protect society against potentially harmful demographics. These programs were often federally funded and sought to control populations such as, “immigrants, people of color, poor people, unmarried mothers, the disabled, [and] the mentally ill” (Ko). Hitler even recognized these programs and remarked, “There is today one state, in which at least weak beginnings toward a better conception [of citizenship] are noticeable. Of course, it is not our model German Republic, but the United States” (Ko). Hitler, who was trying to turn Germany into an Aryan state through eugenics seems to have almost endorsed the actions of the United States. In the late 1940’s and in light of the horrors of Nazi Germany, the eugenics and sterilization movements began to slow down, and by the late 70’s most eugenics and sterilization programs had been shut down, although there is data on sterilization taking place in California women’s prisons as late as 2010 (Ko).

Eugenics was championed by many feminists. One of the most prominent was Margret Sanger, founder of Planned Parenthood. She distributed birth control and performed abortions as a means for making it so that children were not born into disadvantage. She used eugenics to support her agenda (Evans). She promoted sterilization when birth control was not able to be used.

This event in American history is looked upon by modern Americans with horror. Some may wonder how a movement this inhumane got public support in the early to mid twentieth century. Many saw it as being closely intertwined with science. Others believed that the eugenic agenda was progressive and would advance American society. Learning about this hidden episode of American history will ensure that it is not repeated.

Why do we shy away from these scars? Just like no person is perfect, no country is perfect. These horrible events in America’s history should be taught in schools and be brought to light as way to not repeat them again. We are constantly driven apart by politicians, groups claiming to be inclusive, and the differences among ourselves. These dark events in America’s past occur when we highlight our differences and not our similarities. The Dred Scott decision highlights the struggle between the free man and the slave; and illustrates racism. The Japanese Internment Camps highlight an irrational fear of one group of people; although the sons of the incarcerated became some of the most decorated World War II veterans. These boys fought for their country and although they were proud of their Japanese heritage, they recognized themselves as Americans and felt the urge to serve their country. The Eugenics movement targets individuals who are different from the norm. Our similarities drive us together instead of apart. Focusing on similarities, not differences drives a better America.

References

Axelrod, Joshua. "This Japanese-American Army unit is the reason we celebrate National 'Go For Broke' Day." Army Times, 5 Apr. 2019, www.armytimes.com/news/your-army/2019/04/05/this-japanese-american-army-unit-is-the-reason-we-celebrate-national-go-for-broke-day/. Accessed 9 Nov. 2019.

Bouche, Teryn, and Laura Rivard. “America’s Hidden History: The Eugenics Movement.” Nature News, Nature Publishing Group, 18 Sept. 2014, www.nature.com/scitable/forums/genetics-generation/america-s-hidden-history-the-eugenics-movement-123919444/.

Evans, Tracy, and Santa Ana College. “Cultural Anthropology.” Lumen, courses.lumenlearning.com/culturalanthropology/chapter/eugenics-in-the-united-states/.

History.com Editors. “Dred Scott Case.” History.com, A&E Television Networks, 27 Oct. 2009, www.history.com/topics/black-history/dred-scott-case.

"Japanese Relocation During World War II." United States National Archives, www.archives.gov/education/lessons/japanese-relocation. Accessed 9 Nov. 2019.

Ko, Lisa. “Unwanted Sterilization and Eugenics Programs in the United States.” PBS, Public Broadcasting Service, 29 Jan. 2016, www.pbs.org/independentlens/blog/unwanted-sterilization-and-eugenics-programs-in-the-united-states/.

"Roger B. Taney." United States Senate, www.senate.gov/artandhistory/art/artifact/

     Sculpture_21_00018.htm. Accessed 8 Nov. 2019.

"Transcript of Executive Order 9066: Resulting in the Relocation of Japanese (1942)." Our Documents, United States National Archives, www.ourdocuments.gov/doc.php?flash=false&doc=74&page=transcript. Accessed 9 Nov. 2019.

Laine McKay Norton is a sophomore at Arizona State University studying psychology. In high school, she participated in a prestigious youth ballet group, Ballet Etudes. In addition to her dedication to dance, Laine participated in debate club, the school scholarly journal, and was the president of the National Honor Society chapter at her high school. Laine is currently a building manager and works on the Self-Government Works team, developing self-governing minded curriculum for junior high and high school students. She has traveled speaking at various conferences around the country. Laine resides in Gilbert, Arizona.