Justified Japanese Internment

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The Justified Japanese Internment
The day of December 7, 1941 marked the beginning of turmoil in the United States. Citizens began to grow scared and concerned for another unsuspected attack, and the country was unable to cope with the 2,300 deaths caused by the invasion of Pearl Harbor. Japanese fighter jets attacked the naval base, which obliterated 20 American naval vessels, including eight battle ships, and about 300 airplanes. The bombs detonated from the intrusion killed more than 2,000 US soldiers, and injured around 1,000. This ignited a state of war between the United States and Japan; however, the United States was formerly in a time of serene peace. During the earlier peaceful time, Japan declared war on China, one of the United …show more content…

The Japanese grew angry at the United States, and used this as their motivation to strategically attack at Pearl Harbor. This was an unexpected location to strike because it was located 4,060 miles from Japan’s coast, in comparison to another American naval base in Philippines. The Japanese believed that Pearl Harbor would leave a greater impact on the United States since it was closer to home and would prevent the United States’ Navy from reacting quickly. However, President Franklin D. Roosevelt declared war on Japan the following day, which drew the United States into World War II. During this period of time, the President Roosevelt signed Executive Order 9066, which allowed the war department to detain “any and all persons”. This executive order was soon interpreted to remove Japanese Americans from their homes and relocate them to internment camps along the west coast. Additionally, the Japanese were closely monitored by the government for safety measures, which prevented issues of fifth column activity and dishonesty towards America. Therefore, Japanese Internment was justified because it prevented espionage, Habeas Corpus was rightfully suspended, and the Supreme Court deemed …show more content…

In 1944, this controversial case was enlightened by the Supreme Court when Fred Korematsu, a Japanese American, was convicted of avoiding the Internment. This was impermissible by the United States, because those who were suspected of evading the internment are thought to participate in fifth-column activity. Due to the unfaithfulness demonstrated by Korematsu, the United States’ government grew suspicious. Ultimately, the Supreme Court ruled “We uphold the exclusion order as of the time it was made and when the petitioner violated it . . . because they decided that the military urgency of the situation demanded that all citizens of Japanese ancestry be segregated from the West Coast temporarily, and, finally, because Congress, reposing its confidence in this time of war in our military leaders -- as inevitably it must -- determined that they should have the power to do just this” (Document C). The Supreme Court reasoned that the decision of Executive Order 9066 was an effort to protect the United States from further damage. This permitted any Japanese person to be temporarily relocated to an internment camp, in order to secure American from their enemies. The ruling also mentioned that the military leaders obtained the right and power to intern the Japanese, conclusively deeming the act constitutional. In closing, Executive Order 9066 remained legitimate, especially

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