The Incarceration of Japanese Americans is widely regarded as one of the biggest breaches of civil rights in American History. Incarceration evolved from deep-seated anti-Japanese sentiment in the West Coast of the United States. After the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor on December 7th, 1941, pressure from the military leadership, politicians, media and nativist groups in the West Coast eventually convinced the President Franklin Roosevelt that action had to be taken to deal with the national security “threat” that Japanese Americans posed. In reality, Japanese Americans were no real threat to the United States, but the racist sentiments against them prevailed and greatly influenced United States policy during the war.
United States President Franklin D. Roosevelt once proclaimed that the Pearl Harbor bombings that took place on December 7th, 1941 is, “ a date which will live in infamy.” The events that unfolded that fateful morning not only resulted in a U.S declaration of war against Japan the next day (subsequently promoted Germany/Italy to declare war against U.S three days later), but also proved to be a traumatic landmark event in the history of Japanese Americans. The aftermath of the Pearl Harbor bombings prompted Franklin D. Roosevelt to authorize Executive Order 9066 on February 19th, 1942, which consequently cleared they way for Japanese American internment. In Hawaii, where Japanese Americans made up one-third of the population, only 1200 to 1800 were interned. On the mainland (specifically the West Coast) over 100,000 Japanese Americans were interned. Despite widespread outcry in Japanese American communities, the Supreme Court upheld the constitutionality of these exclusion orders in the 1944 landmark case Korematsu v. United States. The horrors of internment continued until January 2, 1945 when the exclusion order was nullified, and in 1946 the last internment was closed. Despite being released the hardships and material loss suffered by Japanese American internees were far from over. Many internees who survived this traumatic ordeal not only suffered from psychological problems, but also lost their properties and incomes. Although the U.S. government issued a public apology and compensated surviving former internees under the Civil Liberties Act of 1988, it is still unclear if this adequately compensates former internees for the long-term economic hardships that followed as a result of internment.
In 1988, the Civil Liberties Act (or Japanese American Redress bill) granted $20,000 to each survivor of the internment camps. About 82,000 survivors received an official apology from the U.S. government with the money. The entire amount given totaled to $1.6 billion.
The problem with Japanese American treatment during World War II was harsh and cruel but was approved of at the time. The japanese descendants were taken from their homes and businesses because the government had passed a law that said the Japanese Americans had to move inland to safe camps that were ready for them. The truth was that the government and the military was scared of the Japanese Americans going to fight with the japanese. Some may of wanted to go peacefully but others did not want to leave everything behind, there were protests from the Japanese Americans, that are listed in multiple documents, in which they wanted to stay by the coast. The government had made it sound as if the movement was like a wonderful vacation where everything was taken care of and the living conditions were amazing but the conditions were actually rough and cruel but everyone thought the government was treating them kindly.
On August 10, 1988 Congress passed the Civil Liberties Act of 1988 and President Reagan signed it into law, requiring payment and apology to survivors of the internment caused by Executive Order 9066. Letters of apology signed by President George Bush and $20,000 to each to the survivors was presented on October 9, 1990. “The Congress recognizes that, as described in the Commission on Wartime Relocation and Internment of Civilians, a grave injustice was done to both citizens and permanent residents of Japanese ancestry by the evacuation, relocation, and internment of civilians during World War II.” (IX)
referring to is regarding the internment of Japanese Americans and the long restoration period it
Ten weeks after the Japanese had bombed Pearl Harbor, President Franklin D. Roosevelt (FDR) singed an Executive Order of 9066 that authorized the removal of any people from military areas “as deemed necessary or desirable”(FDR). The west coast was home of majority of Japanese Americans was considered as military areas. More than 100,000 Japanese Americans was sent and were relocated to the internment camps that were built by the United States. Of the Japanese that were interned, 62 percent were Nisei (American born, second generation) or Sansei (third-generation Japanese) the rest of them were Issai Japanese immigrants. Americans of Japanese ancestry were far the most widely affected. 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.
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)
In the midst of WWII, the U.S. trust of Japan spiraled downward as explosions flew over Pearl Harbor. On December 7,1941, the Japanese bombed Pearl Harbor. After the attacks, the Japanese-Americans were placed in internment camps. They were removed from their homes, and placed in homes and camps on the Pacific Coast. Many people argued whether the internment of Japanese-Americans was justified or not justified. The internment of Japanese-Americans was definitely justified because the U.S. needed to protect the West Coast, the U.S. wasn’t taking any chances during WWII, and the Japanese could help the U.S. with the war efforts.
Because of this order, 120,000 people of Japanese descent living in the U.S. were removed from their homes and placed in internment camps. The United States justified their action by claiming that there was a danger of those of Japanese descent spying for the Japanese. However more than two-thirds, approximately 62 percent, of those interned were American citizens and half of them were children. None had ever shown disloyalty to the nation. In some cases family members were separated and put in different camps. Only ten people were convicted of spying for the Japanese during the entire war and they were all white people. None of them were Japanese. Because of the wartime hysteria and prejudice, many Japanese people were forced to leave their homes and go to the intern camps.
The United States government gave several justifications, both military and constituently for the decision of the camps. However, not all of the Japanese Americans took the order in stride. There was resistance by the Japanese to the government policy and lawsuits were filed going all the way to the Supreme Court. In recent history, the Supreme Court has reversed a few judgments from the 1940s. The question of civil liberties over national security of the Japanese Americans in the 1940s is parallel to Arab Americans after September 11, 2001.
Although the term “revolution from above” is often used to explain the GHQ’s method of postwar reform in Japan (Dower, 1999: p.69), I argue that a similar motivation was in effect in the U.S.’s efforts to isolate all Japanese descendants in America and subject them to coerced American soci...
The treatment of Japanese Americans after the bombing of Pearl Harbor was unjust and created by prejudice. When President Roosevelt signed Executive Order 9066, and when it was decided that Japanese people were a threat, the basic human rights of Japanese Americans were taken away. In the future, every human being must never face imprisonment for their race, religion, or heritage. The basic rights of all Americans must be protected in the future to prevent internment camps from becoming a reality
Upon their arrival to the Untied States, immigrants were immediately faced with an air of exclusion and discrimination. Some people believe that Internment was only based upon events that unfolded during the second World War, but Japanese Americans have a longer history of being mistreated in the US. Angel Island was a processing center on the West Coast where Asian immigrants were put through naturalization. The process was much harsher on Asians as opposed to those of European descent.Asian immigrants faced heavy interrogation while being detained for weeks or months before being allowed to leave the sometimes jail-like confinement.This goes to show that the discrimination faced by Japanese Americans dates back to before World War II began and further encouraged a pattern of bigotry from other
Japanese American internment in the United States during World War II affected thousands of lives for generations yet it remains hidden in historical memory. There have been surges of public interest since the release of the internees, such as during the Civil Rights movement and the campaign for redress, which led to renewed interest in scholarship investigating the internment. Once redress was achieved in 1988, public interest waned again as did published analysis of the internment.