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Difficulty: MediumWorld War II: Mobilization and Social Impact

Read the excerpt below from a letter written by an interned Japanese American in 1943.

"We are citizens of this country, yet we are penned in behind barbed wire. Now, the government comes to us with a questionnaire. Question 27 asks if we are willing to serve in the armed forces of the United States on combat duty, wherever ordered. Question 28 asks us to swear unqualified allegiance to the United States and forswear any allegiance to the Japanese Emperor. How can they ask us to declare loyalty when they have stripped us of our rights?"

The dilemma described in the excerpt was a direct consequence of which of the following wartime policies?

  1. A
    The enforcement of neutrality laws designed to limit diplomatic involvement with European and Asian powers
  2. B
    The implementation of New Deal public works programs designed to relieve high unemployment rates
  3. The internment of Japanese Americans on the West Coast under Executive Order 9066Answer
  4. D
    The federal deregulation of private industrial defense contracts to promote corporate efficiency

Answer

The internment of Japanese Americans on the West Coast under Executive Order 9066
The correct option is correct because the dilemma over the loyalty questionnaire was a direct consequence of the forced internment of Japanese Americans under Executive Order 9066. In 1942, President Franklin D. Roosevelt signed Executive Order 9066, authorizing the military to exclude individuals of Japanese descent from the West Coast and relocate them to internment camps. In 1943, the War Relocation Authority administered a loyalty questionnaire containing questions 27 and 28 to determine the eligibility of internees for military service and release, creating a profound constitutional and ethical dilemma for those who had been deprived of their liberties.

Step-by-Step Solution

1
Analyze the historical context of the stimulus.
The stimulus describes individuals who are 'penned in behind barbed wire' and asked to answer a 'questionnaire' regarding their willingness to serve in the U.S. military (Question 27) and swear unqualified allegiance to the United States (Question 28).
This identifies the historical event as the loyalty questionnaire administered to Japanese Americans in internment camps during World War II.
2
Connect the identified event to the corresponding federal wartime policy.
The internment camps and subsequent loyalty questionnaires were a direct result of Executive Order 9066, signed by President Franklin D. Roosevelt in 1942, which authorized the relocation of over 110,000 Japanese Americans.
This determines the causal policy that created the dilemma described in the excerpt.
3
Evaluate the options to find the policy that matches the historical context.
The option identifying the internment of Japanese Americans under Executive Order 9066 is the only policy that directly caused the described situation.
This eliminates incorrect choices that describe unrelated economic or foreign policies from different eras or contexts.

Key Concept

World War II: Mobilization and Social Impact
Estimated Time:1m 30s
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Topics

World War II: Mobilization and Social Impact

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