Stigmatization of Minorities in Times of Crisis: Governmental Action and Rhetoric in the Stigmatization of Minorities in WWI, WWII and the War on Terror

Abstract

The governmental action and rhetoric of the American government shows similarities in its stigmatization of minorities in World War I, World War II and the War on Terror. By comparing the letter of the law, the government's justification for its actions, and the relation between government action and public opinion or public mobilization in all three wars, this thesis argues that the stigmatization of minorities is used as a tool in times of crisis.