Close Reading

The last time there was a war between America and Canada, America invaded Canada in 1812 in order to get the gold mines. The war ended with the re-drawing of the American-Canadian border, giving America these gold mines. The area that America gave up has oil. Canada did OK out of it in the end.

1812 was the last time Canada was this mad at America.

The Alien Enemies Act Has a Sordid Past \nThroughout this country’s history, the Act has been used to target people merely on the basis of their ancestry or nationality. The act was first used during the War of 1812 against British nationals, and later used by President Woodrow Wilson during World War I against nationals of the German Empire, Austria-Hungary, and other foreign nations. The last time this wartime authority was invoked, during World War II, lead to the incarceration of noncitizens of primarily Japanese descent – the precursor to the internment program targeting Japanese Americans – that marked one of the most shameful moments in American history. In 1988, when Congress apologized and provided reparations for Japanese internment, it acknowledged the application of the law lead to fundamental violations of the civil liberties and constitutional rights of individuals of Japanese ancestry, and that the government’s actions were motivated largely by “racial prejudice” and “a failure of political leadership.”