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Effect of world war 2 on japan
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In the early 1940’s, the United States was riddled with emotion as they had just joined the great and bloody World War II. Many Americans blamed this on the Japanese because of the bombing of Pearl Harbor, therefore, causing more racism and suspicion of the Japanese Americans living in the United States. On February 19, 1492, President Franklin Delano Roosevelt signed Executive Order 9066, authorized the internment of the Japanese within the United States. The Japanese Internment was an order that was immoral and unconstitutional, there was no need for the order other than to satiate the fear of the American people, and the Japanese Americans affected by it were emotionally, physically, and economically harmed by the effects of this tragic and racist motion of the United States Government.
The Japanese Internment was an incredibly immoral order that violated the rights and well-being of human beings. Many of the Japanese Americans that were branded as “threats to society” were for the most part, average, law abiding human beings that were only in the United States to follow their own American dream and to get the best life for themselves and their family. Approximately 110,000 Japanese Americans were forced into internment camps. 62% of these were fully U.S. Citizens, many of them having been born in the United States (War Relocation Authority). If these people actually went through the great work that is required to become a citizen of the United States, they obviously cared about and felt patriotism toward their country to not be considered a threat to American society.
Also, it was morally wrong to intern innocent citizens and human beings just because of their ethnic background. We have absolutely no right to judge the inte...
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World War Two was one of the biggest militarized conflicts in all of human history, and like all wars it lead to the marginalization of many people around the world. We as Americans saw ourselves as the great righteous liberators of those interned into concentration camps under Nazi Germany, while in reality our horse was not that much higher than theirs. The fear and hysteria following the attacks on pearl harbour lead to the forced removal and internment of over 110,000 Japanese American residents (Benson). This internment indiscriminately applied to both first and second generation Japanese Americans, Similarly to those interned in concentration camps, they were forced to either sell, store or leave behind their belongings. Reshma Memon Yaqub in her article “You People Did This,” describes a similar story to that of the Japanese Americans. The counterpart event of pearl harbour being the attacks on the world trade
The conditions the Japanese Americans were put through were horrible and everyone deserves to be treated equally. The worst part was the persecution of numerous innocent people because they did nothing wrong. The outbreak of hysteria was a big part of them being thrown into camps because the government thought they were working with Japan. In the Internment Camps and Salem Witch Trials people had no evidence and were treated unfairly, making them similar even though it was two different time
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 jobs were now stripped of their homes and businesses and were forced to live in poor living conditions (DISCovering). Although many Americans believed that Japanese American internment was justified because it was used to protect us from attacks by Japanese Americans, it was very unlikely that they were ever going to attack us in the first place. 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).
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)
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The Japanese internment camps started in February, around two months after the Pearl Harbor bombing, which was also the reason America decided to enter the war. People’s suspicions of Japanese led the government, passing an order to uproot 120,000 people from their homes, lives, families, everything they knew. WWII brought lots of change, although their families were being contained, many young Japanese joined the U.S. army in the fight against Germany and Japan. It’s important for people to learn and remember who the really is against. “Sure enough, 40 days later January 20, 1942, came a letter that said, greeting from the President of the United States you are now in the army, and that was my draft notice.”( Interview with Norman Saburo
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.
In 1945 Japanese-American citizens with undisrupted loyalty were allowed to return to the West Coast, but not until 1946 was the last camp closed. The government of the U.S. tried to blame the evacuations on the war, saying they were protecting the Japanese by moving them. The government made statements during this time that contradicted each other. For example, Japanese-Americans were being called “enemy aliens” but then they were encouraged by the government to be loyal Americans and enlist in the armed forces, move voluntarily, put up no fight and not question the forced relocation efforts (Conn, 1990). Stetson Conn (1990) wrote “For several decades the Japanese population had been the target of hostility and restrictive action.”
23 .Roger Daniel, Prisoners Without Trial: Japanese Americans in the World War II 1993, Hill and Yang.
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.
World War II was a time of heightened tension. The entire world watched as fascism and dictatorships battled against democracy and freedom in the European theater. The United States looked on, wishing to remain neutral and distant from the war. On December 7, 1941, Pearl Harbor was attacked by the Japanese, officially drawing the U.S. into the war. Thousands of young sailors died in the attack and several U.S. Navy vessels were sunk. The attack marked the beginning of the United States’ involvement in World War II as well as the beginning of the persecution of Japanese Americans in the U.S. Hysteria and outrage increased across the country and largely contributed to the authority’s decision to act against the Japanese. On February 19, 1942, President Roosevelt signed Executive Order 9066, allowing the military to place anyone of Japanese lineage in restri...
There has been considerable debate as to if internment is really an appropriate term for the holding of Japanese Americans. Internment, the term that has typically been used to describe the holding of Japanese citizens, is defined as the legal detention of enemy aliens during wartime. This is inaccurate as about 66% of those imprisoned were American Citizens. Incarceration on the other hand refers to the imprisonment of citizens, not aliens, so it more accurately describes the situation that faced...
It is not a well known fact that around the time the Holocaust took place in Europe, another internment (less extreme) was taking place in the United States. “Betrayed by America” by Kristin Lewis gives readers an insight on what happened to Japanese-Americans in America. The article tells us about Hiroshi Shishima, Japanese-Americans internment, and what was going on during the regime. During WW2, America went into a frenzy after Japan bombed Pearl Harbor, Hawaii. Many Americans believed what was being said about Japanese-Americans even though it was proven to be false. Since the whole fiasco with Japan took place, many Japanese-Americans were forced into internment in certain parts of the United States. The reason for the internment of Japanese-Americans was due to fear & hysteria, racial