During 1941 many Americans were on edge as they became increasingly more involved in WWII. On December 7, 1941 the Japanese decided to take matters to their own hands. They attacked the naval base Pearl Harbor and killed 68 Americans in order to prevent the U.S. Pacific Fleet from interfering with their military. After this surprise attack, the Americans officially entered the war, which caused many people to become paranoid (Baughman). Many people feared the Japanese because they thought they were spies for Japan, and because of this the Executive Order 9066 was signed and issued by FDR which sent many Japanese Americans to live in internment camps (Roosevelt). This caused the Japanese to become a scapegoat of America’s fear and anger. The Issei and Nisei who once moved to this country to find new opportunities and
For example, in Dr. Seuss’ political cartoon many Japanese Americans are lined up to get TNT and waiting for a signal from Japan to attack (Seuss). This shows how unlikely it was for them to actually attack us and how trying to protect us from them isn’t really the strongest motivation for Japanese American internment. Also, many other countries decided not to make Japanese internment camps to protect their citizens as it was unneeded (WiA). This also shows that Japanese American internment camps were unnecessary for our protection. Some people may say that internment camps were justified because many American citizens were fearful for themselves and their country. While this is correct, there could have been a better way to protect us other than forcing an entire race into internment camps. Because of this, it's obvious that the main motivation for Japanese American internment was racial attitudes towards Japanese
After being assured that “a Japanese attack on Hawaii is regarded as the most unlikely thing in the world”(1), the sudden mass destruction of the U.S. Navy’s Pacific fleet and deaths of roughly 2400 U.S. soldiers and civilians as a result of such an attack undoubtedly lead to confusion and racial hatred amongst many U.S. citizens. The assumption on the War Department’s behalf that Japan’s Navy was incapable of launching a full scale assault on the US Navy’s chief Pacific base was more than inaccurate. As a result, the US Naval base was unprepared and was quickly taken out. A hidden bias would soon become evident in both average civilians and higher-positioned government officials. This bias against Japan aided in the formation of the Executive Order 9066, signed by President Franklin Delano Roosevelt (FDR) on February 19, 1942.
Fear is the typical human emotion. Some people live their lives full of satisfaction, hope, happiness, but no one escapes the struggle of fear and fears torture. After the Pearl Harbor bombing, President Roosevelt declared war on Japan. He then signed the Executive Order 9066 on February 19, 1942, and called for the removal and incarceration of all Japanese Americans. The way people were treated in Japanese Internment Camps and in the Salem Witch Trials are similar because of the conditions they were put through, persecution of numerous innocent people, and outbreak of hysteria. The way people were treated in Japanese Internment Camps and in Salem Witch Trials are similar because of the conditions they were put through, persecution of numerous
I wish I could say that I would have been against the internment camps, but had I lived during that time frame, I probably would have agreed with society’s fear of Japanese-Americans. Currently working in an assisted living facility, I spoke with many of my residents about this subject. Although they are somewhat ashamed of their actions made by the government, they reminded me that they all had anxiety and concern about immanent invasion of the Imperial Japanese Army attacking the west coast of the United States.
You may think that the Constitution is your security - it is nothing but a piece of paper. You may think that the statutes are your security - they are nothing but words in a book. You may think that elaborate mechanism of government is your security - it is nothing at all, unless you have sound and uncorrupted public opinion to give life to your Constitution, to give vitality to your statutes, to make efficient your government machinery. (Brown)
One example is that many Americans believed that if the Japanese were kicked out of America, it would give more job opportunities to them (Source 1). Since the boom of immigration and cheap labor caused the increase of jobs taken by the Japanese, there wasn’t enough jobs for Americans. After the attack on Pearl Harbor, many saw Japanese American internment as a good idea because it would make more jobs available for Americans. This led to many unemployed Americans to take sides with those who wanted the Japanese gone. Another example is that Americans would form anti-Asian associations to fight against cheap Japanese labor (Gale). With the shortage of jobs for Americans, many began to form associations that fought against cheap Asian labor so that they could get more jobs for Americans. This stemmed from the belief that cheap labor prevented American men to find work. Like most Americans, they believed that they could completely replace the Japanese in the economy. Even though some may think that kicking out the Japanese Americans to increase the amount of jobs for Americans is a good thing, the Americans relied on the Japanese Americans so much for their labor market that it severely suffered because of it. The need for more jobs greatly influenced the internment of Japanese
What were the Japanese internment camps some might ask. The camps were caused by the attack of Pearl Harbor in 1942 by Japan. President Roosevelt signed a form to send all the Japanese into internment camps.(1) All the Japanese living along the coast were moved to other states like California, Idaho, Utah, Arkansas, Colorado, Wyoming and Arizona. The camps were located away from Japan and isolated so if a spy tried to communicate, word wouldn't get out. The camps were unfair to the Japanese but the US were trying to be cautious. Many even more than 66% or 2/3 of the Japanese-Americans sent to the internment camps in April of 1942 were born in the United States and many had never been to Japan. Their only crime was that they had Japanese ancestors and they were suspected of being spies to their homeland of Japan. Japanese-American World War I veterans that served for the United States were also sent to the internment camps.(2)
The Japanese internment camps were wrong because the Japanese were accused as spies, it was racism, and it was a violation to the United States constitution laws. One of the reason Japanese were send to camps was because president FDR issue an executive order 9066. He believed it would prevent the J...
There are several military and constitutional justifications the United States government had in placing the Japanese in internments after the attack on Pearl Harbor. These justifications can all be related to National Security, with fear of future attacks, sabotage and espionage, and doubt of Japanese American’s loyalty. The main purpose of the government is protection under the constitution. To ensure national security, the privacy of one maybe evaded to secure millions. Very few advocates of civil liberties stepped forward against the internments regardless of the constitutional rights being invaded of the American citizens and resident aliens.
Now their is always the no one died in internment camps. First off the government controlled the food and caused just the fear of death. Second off they gave them medicine, only if they passed the liberty test. While the internment camps did not force you to make items for war, it could have reflected badly and send you to a worse camp. So in the end, just because not alot of people died does not make it different.
...se inhabitants, the paranoia of the well being of the nation and the dramatized security threat of the white superior group made Japanese internment immediate and justifiable.
Much controversy has been sparked due to the internment of the Japanese people. Many ask whether it was justified to internment them. It is a very delicate issue that has two sides, those who are against the internment of the Japanese-Americans and those who are for it. With World War II raging in the East, America was still, for the most part, very inactive in the war. When America took a stand against Japan by not shipping them supplies, Japan became very upset. Japan, being a big island that is very overpopulated with little natural resources, depended on America to provide them with an assortment of supplies including scrap metal and oil, vital items that are needed in a time of war. Japan retaliated by declaring war on America and attacking Pearl Harbor. This surprise act led to many soldiers deaths and millions of dollars of damaged army equipment, including air craft carriers and planes. As a result to Japan declaring war, the Japanese-Americans were asked to and eventually forced to do their duty to the country and report to internment camps until the war conflict was over. Many opposed this act for a couple of reasons. One reason was that people felt that it was a huge hypocrisy that the Japanese were being interned while the Italians and Germans, also our enemies, were still walking around free in America. Another reason why many were against the internment was because many of the Japanese had already been in America for some time now. The Issei, the first generation of Japanese people that immigrated from Japan, had immigrated many years ago. A whole another generation of Japanese children had already began growing up in America called the Nissei. They were automatically U.S. citizens for they were born in America and for the most part were like other American children. Anti-Internment activists also said that the Japanese were being robbed of their rights as U.S. citizens. However, there are two sides to everything.
It was easy for the government to take advantage of the Japanese-Americans because they were already the target of aggression. Since the Japanese population was already in such a low position in society, taking advantage of their circumstances was easy for the government. The Japanese found themselves having to defend their presence in a country that was supposed to be accepting; this also happened to the Chinese before the Japanese. (Terry, 2012) The opinions of governors across nine western states pushed Japanese Americans into internment camps.
The Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941. Many Americans were afraid of another attack, so the state representatives pressured President Roosevelt to do something about the Japanese who were living in the United States at the time. President Roosevelt authorized the internment with Executive Order 9066 which allowed local military commanders to designate military areas as exclusion zones, from which any or all persons may be excluded. Twelve days later, this was used to declare that all people of Japanese ancestry were excluded from the entire Pacific coast. This included all of California and most of Oregon and Washington.
After the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor in December 1941, the United States was filled with panic. Along the Pacific coast of the U.S., where residents feared more Japanese attacks on their cities, homes, and businesses, this feeling was especially great. During the time preceding World War II, there were approximately 112,000 persons of Japanese descent living in California, Arizona, and coastal Oregon and Washington. These immigrants traveled to American hoping to be free, acquire jobs, and for some a chance to start a new life. Some immigrants worked in mines, others helped to develop the United States Railroad, many were fishermen, farmers, and some agricultural laborers.
... group of citizens was treated during this time. Unfortunately, this is most likely due to the fact that it exposes the worst of the United States government. This treatment is treated as a blemish in the history of the United States to the United States citizens who learn about it. This is not the case at all for the Japanese-American people who experienced this, as well as the relatives of these people. The management of these people was a cruel and unjust act that was never shown for the harshness that it truly is. In Germany, it was called concentration camps, and it is known around the world as the worst time in history. In the United States, people brush the subject away, not showing any concern. In any other country, the United States would have been horrified, but it happened in our country. Thus, since the country is always right, this cruelty is ignored.