Japanese Internement Camps

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How would you feel as a child, having to be taken away to an internment camp? The Pearl Harbor bombing in 1941 was devastating. It brought pain to friends and families who lost loved ones. Not only them but the Japanese Americans who were placed in internment camps. They were considered “unfit” and dangerous to live in American communities. Due to the Pearl Harbor bombing, Executive order 9066 sent over 120,000 Japanese Americans to relocation centers, driving them through devastating afflictions just because of their Japanese ancestry. “The road to war between Japan and the United States began in the 1930’s when differences in China drove the two nations apart.” Interested in China’s economy and politics, the United States sent support to China during their constant war with Japan. Japan was interested in China’s land, more than economics or politics. The Japanese government was further outraged when the United States stopped all trade with Japan. Japan was naturally low on necessary resources like oil and coal, and they saw that move as a threat to the nation’s survival. Japan sought revenge on the United States and with great precision and care, they created a plan. General Yamamoto sent a surprise bombing on the United States fleet in Pearl Harbor December 7, 1941 at 8:00 AM. This bombing caused nearly 23 ships to be damaged or sunken. As soon as the news spread, hatred and assumptions towards the Japanese culture grew. West coast citizens soon began to worry that their homes, farms, and businesses would soon be bombed too. Under pressure, President Roosevelt signed the executive order that forced over 120,000 Japanese Americans into internment. “…One hundred other men had been arrested because they were leaders i... ... middle of paper ... ...re still hated, but slowly accepted back. Farmers found that Japanese Americans were better at farming and allowed them to work in the farms. These farms offered the Japanese Americans high pay for working wonderful ways with the crops. The Japanese internment was an event to learn from and to remember. September 11, 2001 the twin towers were brutally destroyed by a muslim group. Only two planes hit, and the third was stopped. After 9/11 the muslims and eastern immigrants living in the United States not put into internment. Perhaps the Japanese internment was an event to learn from for the United States. When you are walking through security at an airport, often times muslim, eastern looking, or someone with a suspicious sounding last name will be pulled aside and checked. If anyone is too suspicious, they will often be rejected and not allowed to fly on the plane.

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