Archives in Context: Teachable Topics from the CSU Japanese American Digitization Project

Loyalties: Activity 3

Introduce the lesson question to students: What did loyalty mean to the people of Japanese ancestry incarcerated during WWII?  Define and discuss the meaning of the words “loyalty” and “loyal.”

How might this definition change during times of war? Hint: see Service form the CSUJAD exhibit. Do you have to agree with all of the policies of the government at all times? How might you appropriately demonstrate your discontent? Discuss the complexity of how a government agency might determine a citizen’s loyalty? What did loyalty mean to the people of Japanese ancestry incarcerated during WWII? How did their views change over time? What caused or contributed to these changes? Can you identify specific incidents on the timeline? 

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