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Prereading Quiz: Behind Barbed Wire
Before you read “Behind Barbed Wire,” take this five-question quiz to find out how much you already know.
Which of these countries did the United States fight against during World War II?
Japan
Great Britain
the Soviet Union
The United States fought against Japan and its allies Germany and Italy during World War II.
When did Japan bomb the U.S. naval base at Pearl Harbor in Hawaii?
December 7, 1941
February 19, 1942
September 2, 1945
On December 7, 1941, a surprise attack on Pearl Harbor killed more than 2,500 people. The next day, U.S. President Franklin D. Roosevelt described December 7 as “a date which will live in infamy.”
Which pair of words are most similar in meaning?
allegiance and disloyalty
desolate and welcoming
detention and incarceration
Detention means “the act of keeping someone in a prison or another confined space, or of being held in such a way.” Incarceration means “the state of being confined in a prison, jail, or another place.”
True or false: In 1942, the U.S. government ordered more than 120,000 people of Japanese origin into incarceration camps.
True
False
The attack on Pearl Harbor stirred up unjustified fears based on decades of anti-Asian discrimination. Within months, the U.S. government would begin to order more than 120,000 people of Japanese origin into incarceration camps.
When did the U.S. government formally try to right the wrong of imprisoning Japanese Americans during World War II?
1945
1988
2016
In 1988, Congress passed a law that apologized for the incarceration camps and gave each survivor $20,000 in reparations.