Final Collective Statement, December 13, 2016
Total Page：16
File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb
Collective Statement by Scholars in U.S. History and Related Fields on Civil Rights and Liberties in Dangerous Times December 13, 2016 As scholars of United States history and related fields, we have experienced concern and alarm as we went from a divisive campaign season to the election of Donald Trump as our president-elect. On the eve of a new administration whose key players have traded in hateful rhetoric and emboldened the harassment of various targets, we urge Americans to be vigilant against a mass violation of civil rights and liberties that could result if such troubling developments continue unchecked. Looking back on World War II and the Cold War, we recognize how easily the rights of people have been suspended during times of great uncertainty. A key lesson of such ordeals has been to never again repeat these mistakes, and so we issue a call to recognize and act upon the critical links between historical knowledge, informed citizenship, and the protection of civil and human rights. During World War II, in the wake of Japan’s attack on Pearl Harbor, U.S. officials justified the imprisonment of 120,000 Japanese Americans--U.S. and foreign born, most of whom were U.S. citizens--with the argument of “military necessity.” In the ensuing early Cold War era, the McCarthyist “witch hunts,” House Un-American Activities Committee (HUAC) investigations, and registry of communists and their sympathizers destroyed the lives of countless teachers, artists, politicians, and others. These historical persecutions have since been widely repudiated by scholars and elected leaders. For instance, the 1988 Civil Liberties Act signed by President Reagan and passed by a bipartisan Congress acknowledged internment as a mistake fueled by racism. It stated, “The internment of the individuals of Japanese ancestry was caused by racial prejudice, war hysteria, and a failure of political leadership.” The Cold War witch hunts associated with Joseph McCarthy were roundly denounced by Republicans and Democrats during the 1954 Army-McCarthy Senate hearings. Decades of research, debate, and analysis have brought historians to a consensus that episodes like internment and McCarthyism were misguided and immoral, and should never be repeated. Internationally the United States has been engaged in a war on terror, and domestically the election made clear that we are in an ideological “culture war.” And while we find ourselves in a distinct moment compared to World War II and the Cold War, we are seeing the return of familiar calls against perceived enemies. Alarmingly, justifications for a Muslim registry have cited Japanese American imprisonment during World War II 1 as a credible precedent, and the Professor Watchlist—which speciously identifies “un- patriotic professors”--is eerily similar to the communist registry of the McCarthy era. Looking back to history provides copious lessons on what is at stake when we allow hysteria and untruths to trample people’s rights. We know the consequences, and it is possible, with vigilance and a clear eye on history, to prevent tragedy before it is too late. It is not just that we are at the cusp of what may be a massive rollback of civil rights and liberties, but our culture is also mired in confusion about facts vs. misinformation and a rebellion against knowledge and critical thinking. This makes our present moment doubly dangerous. Though we cannot know for certain what is ahead, we urge all Americans to enter the coming months with lessons of the past in mind, and to draw upon them to stand up for the protection of all people’s civil rights and liberties. We sign this statement as individual scholars. Institutions are listed for identification purposes only. Shana Bernstein Northwestern University Shelley Lee Oberlin College Kim Cary Warren University of Kansas Susan Abram Western Carolina University Martin Adamian California State University, Los Angeles Gretchen A. Adams Texas Tech University John Lewis Adams Bard High School Early College-Cleveland Kevin Adams Kent State University Cameron Addis Austin Community College Paul Adler Harvard University Peter-Christian Aigner The Graduate Center, CUNY Naila Al Hasan University of Maryland, College Park Jose M. Alamillo California State University Channel Islands Crystal Alegria The Extreme History Project Shawn Leigh Alexander University of Kansas Keli Allen Historian Henry Allen Jr Bunker Hill Community College Yvonne Almore St. Louis University Benjamin L. Alpers University of Oklahoma Rebecca Amato New York University Edith Ambrose Southeastern Louisiana University 2 Lisa Andersen The Juilliard School David M. Anderson Louisiana Tech University Electa Anderson El Toro High School Karen Anderson University of Arizona M. Christine Anderson Xavier University Anne-Marie Angelo University of Sussex Marcia Annisette York University , Toronto Joyce Antler Brandeis University Lauren Araiza Denison University Heidi Ardizzone Saint Louis University Michelle Armstrong-Partida University of Texas at El Paso Stanley Keith Arnold Northern Illinois University Silvia Arrom Brandeis University Susan Youngblood Ashmore Oxford College of Emory University Steven M. Avella Marquette University Jonathon Derek Awtrey Louisiana State University K. Kevyne Baar Independent Scholar Matthew Babcock University of North Texas at Dallas Matthew Backes Rutgers University Aaron Bae Arizona State University John Baesler Saginaw Valley State University Beth Bailey University of Kansas Tanya Bakhmetyeva University of Rochester Kathleen Balgley Cal Poly, San Luis Obispo (retired) Shelby M. Balik Metropolitan State University of Denver Sarah Ball Northwest Vista College Frank Barajas California State University Channel Islands Jenifer L. Barclay Washington State University Matthew Barlow University of Massachusetts, Amherst Laura Barraclough Yale University Dawson Barrett Del Mar College Kathryn Barrett-Gaines University of Maryland Eastern Shore Eliza Young Barstow Oregon State University - Corvallis Anne Clark Bartlett University of Washington Tacoma Amy Bass The College of New Rochelle Matthew Basso University of Utah Ray Batchelor Texas A&M University, College Station Jennifer Bates SUNY Stony Brook Katie Batza University of Kansas Jean Bauer Princeton University 3 Kabria Baumgartner The College of Wooster Ashley Johnson Bavery Northwestern University William Joseph Bean Kent State University at Kent James Bearden SUNY Geneseo (emeritus) Jim Beauchesne Bread & Roses Heritage Committee Steven Beda University of Oregon Brian D. Behnken Iowa State University Justin Behrend SUNY Geneseo Maziar Behrooz San Francisco State University Elizabeth Belanger Hobart and William Smith Colleges Kathleen Belew University of Chicago Daniel Bender University of Toronto Ira Lee Benjamins Independent Scholar Gavin Benke Boston University Evan P. Bennett Florida Atlantic University Mandy Bennett Claremont Grauate University, Martin J. Bennett Santa Rosa Junior College (emeritus) Rhianna Bennett Georgia Southern University Albert I. Berger University of North Dakota Dan Berger University of Washington Bothell Jane Berger Moravian College William Bergmann Slippery Rock University Carol Berkin CUNY Aaron Berman Hampshire College Iver Bernstein Washington University St. Louis Stephen Berrey University of Michigan Daina Ramey Berry University of Texas Jennifer L. Bertolet The George Washington University Jim Bertolini Public Historian Daniel Bessner University of Washington Barbara Betz The Ohio State University Salonee Bhaman Yale University Steven Biel Harvard University Kenneth J. Bindas Kent State University Donna Binkiewicz California State University, Long Beach Martha Biondi Northwestern University Elizabeth Bishop Texas State University - San Marcos Peter Blackmer University of Massachusetts, Amherst Deborah L. Blackwell Texas A&M International University Darren Blaney University of Miami 4 Kent Blansett University of Nebraska at Omaha John N. Blanton City College of New York, CUNY Jessica Blatt Marymount Manhattan College David W. Blight Yale University Sharon Block University of California, Irvine Ethan Blue University of Western Australia Eladio B. Bobadilla Duke University Charles C. Bolton University of North Carolina at Greensboro Janet Bordelon Kehillah Jewish High School Fergus M. Bordewich Independent Scholar Eileen Boris University of California, Santa Barbara Melissa Borja College of Staten Island, City University of New York Daniel Borses Riverside City College Heath Bowen St. Thomas Aquinas College Kevin Bower Nebraska Wesleyan University J. D. Bowers University of Missouri John P. Bowes Eastern Kentucky University Kevin Boyle Northwestern University Mark Philip Bradley University of Chicago Lisa M. Brady Boise State University Susan Bragg Georgia Southwestern State University Christopher Bram Gallatin School of New York University Allyson P. Brantley University of La Verne Tina Braxton Independent Historian and Activist Sheila A. Brennan George Mason University Sarah Bridger California Polytechnic State University Jennifer Brier University of Illinois at Chicago Stephen Brier CUNY Graduate Center Laura Briggs University of Massachusetts, Amherst Robert Brigham Vassar College Matthew M. Briones University of Chicago Nancy K. Bristow University of Puget Sound Kelly Britt Fordham University David Brodnax, Sr. Trinity Christian College David Brody University of California, Davis Charlotte Brooks Baruch College, CUNY James F. Brooks UC Santa Barbara Jennifer E. Brooks Auburn University Pam