# What, if any, civil rights did we lose during WWII? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [June 4, 2006, 12:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-if-any-civil-rights-did-we-lose-during-wwii/359334 "2006-06-04T00:43:50Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 10\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Exapno\_Mapcase](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/exapno_mapcase/32/1051_2.png) [@Exapno\_Mapcase](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Exapno_Mapcase)\ **Post date:** [June 5, 2006, 4:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-if-any-civil-rights-did-we-lose-during-wwii/359334/21 "2006-06-05T04:13:07Z")
> [@Diceman](#): > > It’s even more basic than that. The federal income tax was supposed to be a _temporary_ measure, to fund WW1. Basically, this is ridiculous. The 16th Amendment was proposed on July 12, 1909, and declared ratified on February 25, 1913. It was to be as permanent as any other amendment. Nor was it proposed by a band of clairvoyants. ---
**Author:** ![NinjaChick](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/71c47a/32.png) [@NinjaChick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/NinjaChick)\ **Post date:** [June 5, 2006, 11:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-if-any-civil-rights-did-we-lose-during-wwii/359334/22 "2006-06-05T11:23:29Z")
> [@Sam Stone](#): > > Are you saying that this war DIDN’T start with a surprise attack on U.S. soil? I’m sure the residents of Manhattan and Washington will be surprised to hear that. Yes, remember that part where the Iraqi and Afghani air forces flew planes into buildings. I don’t think **kanicbird** is saying we weren’t attacked, I think he’s suggesting that there’s a difference between freelance terrorists attacking us and an organized military attack like Pearl Harbor. > [@](#): > > And war rationing was a huge curtailment of civil rights. It was the government injecting itself into the economy and telling people exactly how many various goods they could buy, and when. I’m not trying to start a fight, but I don’t think that rationing counts. I’d agree readily if you said that it was the government getting involved in the day-to-day lives of Americans who’d done nothing wrong. However, I don’t recall the Constitution outlining the right for an American to go out and buy twenty gallons of gasoline (or whatever) whenever they want. It’s a luxury, not a basic civil right such as freedom of the press. ---
**Author:** ![Diceman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/22d042/32.png) [@Diceman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Diceman)\ **Post date:** [June 5, 2006, 11:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-if-any-civil-rights-did-we-lose-during-wwii/359334/23 "2006-06-05T11:40:30Z")
> [@Exapno Mapcase](#): > > Basically, this is ridiculous. The 16th Amendment was proposed on July 12, 1909, and declared ratified on February 25, 1913. It was to be as permanent as any other amendment. Nor was it proposed by a band of clairvoyants. Ah, but the first income tax that affected any significant portion of the population was enacted for WW1. Google “income tax world war,” to learn the history of the income tax in the US. Prior to WW1, the top income tax bracket was 1%, and only about 3% of the population was rich enough to have to pay it. It was more of a luxury tax than anything else. For WW1, the top bracket was bumped up to 77%, supposedly as a temporary measure. They did lower it after the war – to 25% :dubious: For WW2, the top tax bracket was 91% (!!!) These days, the top tax bracket (as near as I can tell from some more quick Googling) is 35%. ---
**Author:** ![MsRobyn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/90ced4/32.png) [@MsRobyn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MsRobyn)\ **Post date:** [June 5, 2006, 11:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-if-any-civil-rights-did-we-lose-during-wwii/359334/24 "2006-06-05T11:49:07Z")
> [@alphaboi867](#): > > German-Amricans and Italian-Americans were intered, but only those with direct connections to Germany & Italy. Everyone with any Japanese ancestry was intered. If they applied this to German-Americans a very large portion of the white population (including the Amish) would have been intered. At least some American peace church members were conscripted, then interned when they refused to cooperate with the military. During WWII, conscientious objectors (COs) were interned in work camps, where they were forced to do manual labor for little, if any, wages. In 1947, this was scrapped in favor of working in the national interest, which paid wages. Until 1970, COs had to have a religious basis for their pacifism. It’s important to note that these people weren’t interned because of their ethnicity. During WWII, the government thought that their pacifism would spread, so COs were to be kept isolated to keep that from happening. (Obligatory [Wikipedia](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Conscientious_objector) link.) Robin ---
**Author:** ![Bongmaster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/6a8cbe/32.png) [@Bongmaster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bongmaster)\ **Post date:** [June 7, 2006, 7:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-if-any-civil-rights-did-we-lose-during-wwii/359334/25 "2006-06-07T19:16:34Z")
It astounds me to this day that the people of Japanese ancestory were basically put in a prizon of sorts during the war. I’m married to a Japanese woman and if the government came knocking to lock her up based solely on her race they would have to do it over my dead body. And I mean that sincerely. ---
**Author:** ![Spezza](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a698b9/32.png) [@Spezza](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spezza)\ **Post date:** [June 7, 2006, 8:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-if-any-civil-rights-did-we-lose-during-wwii/359334/26 "2006-06-07T20:20:00Z")
> [@Sam Stone](#): > > Are you saying that this war DIDN’T start with a surprise attack on U.S. soil? I’m sure the residents of Manhattan and Washington will be surprised to hear that. As surprised as those residents would be to hear that the United States has _declared_ war. Rhetoric aside, this “war” is unwinnable simply because it isn’t a war. ---
**Author:** ![saoirse](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/5daacb/32.png) [@saoirse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/saoirse)\ **Post date:** [June 7, 2006, 8:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-if-any-civil-rights-did-we-lose-during-wwii/359334/27 "2006-06-07T20:43:01Z")
> [@wissdok](#): > > WWII > Italian- American associations in the 1990s( after the Japanese internment settlement) claimed that if you were of Italian descent on the East Coast during WWII, that neither the Federal nor the local law enforcement recognized your civil rights. Warrantless searches, detainment without a criminal charge, and confiscation of property at the whim of the police were just a few of the problems you faced. I’ve heard that Italian-Americans were treated pretty bad by the police before during and after the war, especially in the big eastern cities. ---
**Author:** ![Ethilrist](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ethilrist/32/4604_2.png) [@Ethilrist](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ethilrist)\ **Post date:** [June 7, 2006, 9:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-if-any-civil-rights-did-we-lose-during-wwii/359334/28 "2006-06-07T21:07:04Z")
I was going to suggest the Draft, but it turns out that was started in 1940, before we got involved in the war. However, it wasn’t ended until 1973, so it did continue after the war was over. ---
**Author:** ![Merijeek](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f05b48/32.png) [@Merijeek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Merijeek)\ **Post date:** [June 7, 2006, 11:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-if-any-civil-rights-did-we-lose-during-wwii/359334/29 "2006-06-07T23:18:30Z")
> [@NinjaChick](#): > > Yes, remember that part where the Iraqi and Afghani air forces flew planes into buildings. I don’t think **kanicbird** is saying we weren’t attacked, I think he’s suggesting that there’s a difference between freelance terrorists attacking us and an organized military attack like Pearl Harbor. Considering this is **kanicbird** you’re talking about, I very much doubt it. Either **Sam** is being whooshed or he’s just accepting the setup. -Joe ---
**Author:** ![lizardling](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/f4b2a3/32.png) [@lizardling](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lizardling)\ **Post date:** [June 7, 2006, 11:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-if-any-civil-rights-did-we-lose-during-wwii/359334/30 "2006-06-07T23:49:02Z")
It wasn’t just Japanese/Italian/etc folks in WWII who got short shrift. Up here in the PNW and Alaska, a lot of Native Americans also got interned. There was a documentary going the rounds recently, and the Seattle P-I did a whole article about it, I believe. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-if-any-civil-rights-did-we-lose-during-wwii/359334.md?page=1)