The Declaration of Independence, which is the foundation of our country of supposed freedom clearly states that, “all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their creator with certain unalienable rights, that among these are life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness.” After the tragic event of the bombing at Pearl Harbor, where the Japanese committed an act of terror on American soil, I began to doubt, if that first clause of the Declaration of Independence, a document which should protect the citizens of the United States is actually true. A short while after this horrific act, the United States government, made it clear, that they would take extreme measures and precautions, so a tragedy like the one that occurred on December 7, 1941 at Pearl Harbor, would never happen again. The United States government set up camps and detention centers for Japanese Americans, because they believed it was possible for any Japanese American to have ties with their native country of Japan and assist in any type of espionage or future attacks on American land. I find it to be quite ironic, that in a similar case, such as the attacks of September 11, 2001, that none of these measure

The stories in the book are told by the Japanese Americans themselves, as they dealt with the hardships that were placed on them by the United States government after the attack on Pearl Harbor. The government put a curfew and a five mile radius on the Japanese Americans. If for some reason they needed to go beyond five miles from their permanent residence, they had to receive authorized permission. Instead of enjoying their freedoms of their every day life at home, they now tried to muster up whatever freedom they can possible have at the detention camps that the government situated them in. While in the camps, they tried to make the best of the situation. They even made a talent show, planted vegetables, played baseball and Chinese checkers. I believe that these activities should have been taking place in their home, where they belonged, like every other regular citizen. On the fourth of July, they still celebrated the independence of their nation. Even though they were persecuted, and stripped from their rights as citizens of the United States, they knew at heart that they were right, and that their freedoms as citizens should be restored. Regardless of the situation they were placed in, they still remained patriotic not only by celebrating the fourth of July, but they also took first-aid classes, and wrapped red-cross bandages.

If there was one thing that disturbed me the most, it had to have been the simple fact that the United States government detained the whole entire Japanese American race based on the assumption that they had some sort of connection with Japan. I feel very strongly, that the actions taken by the government to protect its country were completely out of line and irrational. I can understand the steps they to

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