Professor of History and Political Science at Louisiana State University of Alexandria Jerry P. Sanson spoke about equal rights during the world wars for the annual Constitution Day Lecture. Jonathan Rhodes/The Lion's Roar

Students gathered at the auditorium of the Pottle Hall to hear the annual Constitution Day Lecture this year being given by Professor of History and Political Science at Louisiana State University of Alexandria Jerry P. Sanson. The lecture was titled “Louisiana, the United States Constitution, and World War II: Civil Liberties and Equal Rights in a World at War.”

The lecture focused on the state of Louisiana during both world wars and how the constitution was enforced differently for citizens of color and for those that opposed the country’s involvement in the war or how decisions were being made. Sanson started his lecture with a quote from Eleanor Roosevelt in her address to the Chicago Civil Liberties Committee in March of 1940 when she said, “It is impossible to be at war and to keep freedom of the press and freedom of speech and freedom of assembly. They disappear automatically.”

Sanson agreed with her comment on what war does to civil liberties.

“Eleanor Roosevelt was correct that even though we claim to have all of these protections of civil rights and civil liberties, it is very easy to throw those aside if you believe that there is a major threat as they did in World War I and World War II,” said Sanson.

During the world wars, citizens were not allowed the free speech that is enjoyed now and were even punished if what they said was not favorable of the government’s decisions.

“In World War I all these people did was say things like ‘I think Woodrow Wilson is a bad president,’ ‘I think President Wilson made a mistake when he led us into this war,’” said Sanson. “That can land you in jail. You are supposed to be able to say that here in the United States.”

History and Political Science Department Head William Robison was glad that Sanson could do the lecture this year for Constitution Day.

“The logical place to start was with Louisiana and the constitution, and the logical person to ask to do that was Jerry because he wrote the book ‘Louisiana During World War II: Politics and Society, 1939-45,’ and it’s a good book,” said Robison.

Students enjoyed the lecture and got more than just bonus points but also got important history about their state.

“Enjoyable as always,” said senior history major Joesph Ricci. “I like the connection to World War II. Being a history major, it is part of the bundle, but it’s a specific interest of mine. It’s such an interesting topic.”

Sanson teaches about Louisiana history at LSU of Alexandria and also teaches a senior level class about World War II in which he brings up the topics he spoke on during his lecture. Sanson also wrote the script for a documentary called “Louisiana During World War II.”

“That was on the entire Louisiana homefront so we just touched on the constitutional issues there,” said Sanson. “It did not go into as much detail as this lecture did.”

Sanson believes the hardest challenge for people during World War II was the reality that the people close to them were dying for their country.

“Living with the fact that their loved ones were not only not here but in harm’s way,” said Sanson. “They were out fighting in these God forsaken places that they never even heard of before the war and suddenly this speck of land out in the pacific is worth my brother’s life, my cousin’s life or son’s life. That was a tough challenge for people to get through.”