The internment of Japanese Americans during WWII was a clear example of mass hysteria that permeated the United States during the dark days of WWII. After the surprise attack on Pearl Harbor many Americans believed that the Japanese were disloyal and were associated with the enemy. There were rumors that the Japanese Americans were exchanging military information and had hidden connections. The U.S became increasingly paranoid causing a question to arise, is this really because the Japanese were truly spies or is it mass hysteria? In the process of war the public skipped to the conclusion that all Japanese Americans were out to get them. The suspicion of a government takeover was on everyones mind. Paranoia led people into to thinking every single Japanese American was guilty, no matter if it was a child, a WWI veteran, or if they had ever even been to Japan. The suspicion did not end there, inducing temporary segregation, and the exploitation of japanese american’s human rights. Mass hysteria and racism influenced the government's actions towards the Japanese. After WWI when everyone was tired of war and thought it was done with, foreign warfare started bubbling up again. A sudden attack by the japanese would have any average american suspicious of any japanese they came across. Especially in the 1940s. So the hysteria was understable. The question was whether or not to do anything about it, and for an angry, grief stricken America, internment camps were the answer. Mass hysteria of the Japanese caused the urge for government issue of executive order 9066 to satisfy the anti-Japanese groups and to rid of all the fear. The order was based on a false claim. The day of, Japanese Americans were given 48 hours to leave their homes a... ... middle of paper ... ...f American citizens of Japanese ancestry and resident aliens from Japan.The Japanese attempted to fight back and prove their innocence.The most famous case, Korematsu v. United States shows that. According to Kelly “The Korematsu case was significant because it ruled that the United States government had the right to exclude and force people from designated areas based on their race.” The decision was 6-3 that the need to protect the United States from spying and other wartime acts was more important than Korematsu's individual rights,better yet any Japanese-American’s rights. To cover up the fact that it was mass hysteria the paranoid Americans claimed it was justified by the Army’s claims that Japanese Americans were radio-signaling enemy ships from shore and were most likely disloyal. The court called the incarceration a “military necessity”(Korematsu Institute).
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Show MoreIt was no secret that when Japan bombed Pearl Harbor, countless Americans were frightened on what will happen next. The attack transpiring during WW2 only added to the hysteria of American citizens. According to the article “Betrayed by America” it expressed,”After the bombing many members of the public and media began calling for anyone of Japanese ancestry။citizens or not။to be removed from the West Coast.”(7) The corroboration supports the reason why America interned Japanese-Americans because it talks about Americans wanting to remove Japanese-Americans from the West Coast due to Japan bombing America. Japan bombing America led to Americans grow fear and hysteria. Fear due to the recent attack caused internment because Americans were afraid of what people with Japanese ancestry could do. In order to cease the hysteria, America turned to internment. American logic tells us that by getting the Japanese-Americans interned, many
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
Roosevelt would issue Executive Order 9066, giving the United States government power to imprison anyone considered a threat to the safety and America’s national security. Although Italian and German-Americans fell under this Executive Order, the largest population affected, would be Japanese-Americans. With quick enforcement, without trial or justification, Japanese-Americans would be singled out, simply because of their race. America’s hatred of the Japanese and anger over the attack in Pearl Harbor (Dec. 7, 1941), would demonize over 110,000 Japanese-Americans, to include men, women and
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
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...
December 7, 1941 was a military accomplishment for Japan. Japanese Bomber planes had flown over the island of Hawaii and bombed the American naval base Pearl Harbor. After the surprise attack on Pearl Harbor, many Americans believed that the Japanese Americans, were disloyal and were sabotaging the United States Government. There were rumors that most Japanese Americans exchanged military information and had hidden connections with Japanese military. None of these claims were ever proven to be true but believed by many at the time. The United States Government became concerned about National Security and demanded action. On Thursday, February 19, 1942, President Roosevelt issued the Executive Order 9066, which called for an evacuation of Japanese Americans on the west coast with the excuse of a “military necessity.” The government’s enforcement of Executive Order 9066 in reaction to the public resulted in the creation of internment camps.
In 1942 Roosevelt signed the Executive order 9066 which forced all Japanese-Americans to evacuate the West Coast. They were forced out no matter their loyalty or their citizenship. These Japanese-Americans were sent to Internment camps which were located in California, Idaho, Utah, Arizona, Wyoming, Colorado, and Arkansas. There were ten camps all-together and 120,000 people filled them (2009). The immigrants were deprived of their traditional respect when their children who were American-born were indorsed authority positions within the camps. 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.
Japanese immigration created the same apprehension and intolerance in the mind of the Americans as was in the case of Chinese migration to the U.S at the turn of the 19th century. They developed a fear of being overwhelmed by a people having distinct ethnicity, skin color and language that made them “inassimilable.” Hence they wanted the government to restrict Asian migration. Japan’s military victories over Russia and China reinforced this feeling that the Western world was facing what came to be known as “yellow peril”. This was reflected in the media, movies and in literature and journalism.4 Anti-Oriental public opinion gave way to several declarations and laws to restrict Japanese prosperity on American land. Despite the prejudice and ineligibility to obtain citizenship the ...
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...
“Yesterday the Japanese Government also launched an attack against Malaya. Last night Japanese forces attacked Hong Kong. Last night Japanese forces attacked Guam. Last night Japanese forces attacked the Philippine Islands. Last night the Japanese attacked Wake Island. This morning the Japanese attacked Midway Island.” (Roosevelt 1). The attack on Pearl Harbor marked the United States’s entry into World War II. World War II is remembered for the devastation of millions of people’s lives; concentration camps, mistreatment, and Adolf Hitler come to mind. But rarely talked about is the effects on Japanese American lives. We condemn the Nazi Third Reich for their attempts to exterminate the Jewish population, but we fail to account for the fact that here in the United States we similarly rounded up an entire ethnic population and herded them into camps like animals. The reality is, the fear of Japanese Americans was probably more race related than founded in any credible fear. Directly after the attack of Pearl Harbor things changed immediately for everyone, especially Japanese Americans. Gradually Japanese Americans on the West coast
Tom Brokaw said, “During World War II, law-abiding Japanese-American citizens were herded into remote internment camps, losing their jobs, businesses and social standing, while an all-Japanese-American division fought heroically in Europe”. During World War II whether if the Japanese were fighting against the United States, or simply living as our neighbor they were classified as an enemy. In January 1942, one hundred and twenty thousand Japanese Americans were incarcerated simply because they were Japanese. Most of these people had been born in America and didn't have a single act of violence or breaking of the law on their record. During all of this there was no process of law and these innocent people were being forced into internment camps without any questions. After two years and nine
War fabricates hysteria and destruction wherever it resides. The surprise attack on Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, on December 7, 1941, created an internal fear throughout American’s homes. The word “American” does not only apply to those who were born and share a native heritage that connects them to the land but to also those also who have immigrated overtime to the land of the free. However, as this hysteria crept through the minds of American citizens, it quickly built a barrier against those of Japanese descent.
On February 19, 1942 an Executive Order was signed by President Franklin D. Roosevelt. This order is now remembered to be one of the biggest violations of civil justice in American history. Over 120,000 Japanese Americans were forced to leave their everyday lives and commute to internment camps in many different locations with extremely neglected conditions. Though most were United States citizens, those with Japanese heritage were forced to abandon their homes. After the bombing of Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941, suspicions arose in the United States and many were uncomfortable with the large Japanese American population. Many citizens believed they may be spies planning the next attack or gathering information for the Japanese government.
Japanese Internment Camps were established to keep an eye on everyone of Japanese decent. The internment camps were based on an order from the President to relocate people with Japanese Heritage. This meant relocating 110,000 Japanese people. “Two thirds of these people were born in America and were legal citizens, and of the 10 people found to be spying for the Japanese during World War II, not one was of Japanese ancestry” (Friedler 1). Thus, there was no reason for these internment camps, but people do irrational things when driven by fear. In theinternment camps, many of the Japanese became sick or even died because of lack of nourishment in the food provided at these camps. The conditions in the internment camps were awful. One of the internment camps, Manzanar, was located to the west of Desert Valley in California. “Manzanar barracks measured 120 x 20 feet and were divided into six one-room apartments, ranging in size from 320 to 480 square feet.
The casualties of war caused America’s Japanese minority to be judged throughout the US. Americans believed all Japanese people were spies and needed to