Imagine you are living in the United States in 1899. William McKinley is in the White House. It’s a time of rapid expansion in population, geography, industry, and diversity, which present opportunities but aggravate tensions. Spurred by mechanization, the mass production of goods continues to change the lives of American workers—not always for the better. In cities around the nation, violence erupts in conflicts between police and federal troops and workers striking for improved conditions. Increasing numbers of immigrants arrive seeking refuge and opportunity.

This issue guide is focused on a decision taking place in the spring of 1908. The General Conference of the Methodist Episcopal Church is convening its 25th session in Baltimore, Maryland, on May 6. Modeled after the United States Congress, the General Conference is responsible for ecclesiastical policymaking. Its decisions become part of the official church doctrines and discipline for the denomination’s thousands of connected congregations.

The year is 1963. The place is Boston, Massachusetts. You are a visitor from today, joining an important conversation. The question under discussion: How can we provide a better education for young African American students in Boston?

On February 19, 1942, about two months after Japan bombed Pearl Harbor and brought the United States into World War II, President Franklin D. Roosevelt issued Executive Order 9066, which paved the way for the forced removal of over 120,000 people of Japanese ancestry living on the West Coast and in southern Arizona. They were made to leave their homes, job1s,9an6d3businesses and go to barbed-wire-encircled camps, where many would remain until the war’s end. Although Executive Order 9066 ceased to be enforced toward the end of World War II, it would not be terminated for decades to come.