In the 2005 Eleventh Annual TWI Ethics Essay Contest, students were provided with a series of actions throughout our country's history that have caused us to ask "How could they have tolerated that?" Examples included such actions as the Salem witch trials, slavery, employment of children in sweatshops, the Trail of Tears, and Japanese-American internment during WWII. The question students were asked to respond to was "What is there about the current period that will prompt people 100 years from now to inquire about us, 'How could they have tolerated that?'"

This book includes a summary and analysis of the 1,784 student responses to the essay question from high school juniors and seniors in eight Arizona schools, including large and small public schools, a charter school and a private school. The analysis categorizes student topic selections by age, gender and school. In addition, this volume contains the essays of the 45 student finalists printed in their entirety, as well as three poetry selections from students in response to a pilot art and poetry project.