Conscience and the Constitution

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• Learn more about American history, film, and photography.

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Conscience and Constitution is an educational website from PBS that parallels a documentary by the same name that looks at a group of young Japanese Americans refused to be drafted from an American concentration camp during WWII. “They were ready to fight for their country, but not before the government restored their rights as U.S. citizens and released their families from camp. It was a classic example of civil disobedience — but the government prosecuted them as criminals and Japanese American leaders and veterans ostracized them as traitors.”This website is divided into sections and subsections incorporating a variety of materials such as video and audio clips, primary sources, archival images, and more.

• The Story describes the Japanese American experience of going to a concentration camp and how none of them knew they were going to be prisoners or war heroes or resisters. A timeline tells the story of the largest organized resistance to incarceration was written out of history.
• Compliance explores the Japanese Americans Citizens’ League actions of informing on Issei leadership, urgeing compliance with expulsion, and advocation segregation as well as looking at the draft. “Many saw the reopening of Selective Service for the Nisei as the restoration of a civil right: if they could be drafted, then they must be equal Americans.”
• Resistance investigates protests against the draft, suppression of the resistance, the mass trial of 63, the conspiracy trial, and letters from prison.
• Who Writes History examines the ostracism the resisters experienced after being released from prison and how they were forgotten, a reconsideration of history, and the 12 year effort for a JACL apology.

The website also contains a forum for feedback and comments as well as teacher resources, links to related websites, and suggestions for further reading.