Japanese American Internment

604 Words2 Pages
bulb-icon

Recommended: Declaration of human rights article

Human rights - they are an ongoing issue in the world today, with the constant struggle against violation. The United Nations has accepted 30 articles on human rights, which help protect millions from political, social, and legal abuses (UDHR). Even with the insistence from the world’s leaders to follow and honor these rights, violation is common and provides a serious threat to people all over the world. One example of a violation of human rights such as equality and safety in possessions is shown through the issue of Japanese American internment camps (UDHR).
First, the problem of Japanese American internment began in the 1940’s, when World War II left it’s mark on America (Ng xi). On December 7th, 1941, the Japanese Empire bombed Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, taking the lives of thousands and leaving Americans distraught and furious (Ng xi). According to the ¨Relocation & Incarceration of Japanese Americans During World War II" article from the Japanese American Relocation Archives (JARDA), the very next day, the United States and Britain both declared war on the Japanese. Soon after, on February 19th, 1942, President Franklin D. Roosevelt signed the Executive Order 2066; a command which led to the evacuation and relocation of 122,000 men, women and children of Japanese Ancestry on the west coast of America (JARDA). Over 70,000 of the incarcerated were American citizens (JARDA). Following this, Japanese Americans were discharged, removed from their homes, and stripped of their belongings as they were forced to evacuate to various reception centers spread throughout the west coast (Ng xxi).
Consequently, the act of removing all of the Japanese Americans from their home and putting them in internment camps violated several hum...

... middle of paper ...

...fferent Shore: Japanese-American Internment” shows us that the offspring of the suffered internees still remember and are affected by those days.

Works Cited

"From a Different Shore: The Japanese-American Experience." Classroom Video On Demand. Facts Media Group, n.d. Web. 20 Nov. 2013.
Ng, Wendy L. Japanese American Internment during World War II: A History and Reference Guide. Westport, CT: Greenwood, 2002. Print.
Nickel, James, Nickel,. "Human Rights." Stanford University. Stanford University, 07 Feb. 2003. Web. 18 Nov. 2013.
"Relocation and Incarceration of Japanese Americans During World War II." Calisphere. California Digital Library, n.d. Web. 18 Nov. 2013.
"The Universal Declaration of Human Rights, UDHR, Declaration of Human Rights, Human Rights Declaration, Human Rights Charter, The Un and Human Rights." UN News Center. UN, n.d. Web. 18 Nov. 2013.

Show More
Related

  • You People Did This Essay

    646 Words  | 2 Pages

    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

    Read More

  • Farewell to Manzanar

    708 Words  | 2 Pages

    Beginning in March of 1942, in the midst of World War II, over 100,000 Japanese-Americans were forcefully removed from their homes and ordered to relocate to several of what the United States has euphemistically labeled “internment camps.” In Farewell to Manzanar, Jeanne Wakatsuki Houston describes in frightening detail her family’s experience of confinement for three and a half years during the war. In efforts to cope with the mortification and dehumanization and the boredom they were facing, the Wakatsukis and other Japanese-Americans participated in a wide range of activities. The children, before a structured school system was organized, generally played sports or made trouble; some adults worked for extremely meager wages, while others refused and had hobbies, and others involved themselves in more self-destructive activities.

    Read More

  • Japanese Internment Camps Research Paper

    538 Words  | 2 Pages

    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)

    Read More

  • Japanese Internment Camps Essay

    614 Words  | 2 Pages

    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.

    Read More

  • Japanese Internment Camps And Holocaust Concentration Camps

    864 Words  | 2 Pages

    Japanese internment camps were located around the Western United States with the exception of Arkansas (which is located further east). On December 7, 1941, the Japanese bombed Pearl Harbor. This sparked a period of war-time paranoia that led to the internment or incarceration of 110,000 Japanese Americans. Almost all of them were loyal citizens. Actually, many of them were not allowed to become citizens due to certain laws. Although these camps were nowhere close to as horrible as the concentration camps in Europe, the conditions were still pretty harsh for a while and caused internees to have various physical and psychological health effects and risks in the future.

    Read More

  • Internment of Japanese Canadians

    1973 Words  | 4 Pages

    Marsh, James H. "Japanese Internment: Banished and Beyond Tears." The Canadian Encyclopedia. N.p., 23 Feb. 2012. Web. 7 Jan. 2014. .

    Read More

  • The Scapegoat

    789 Words  | 2 Pages

    DeWitt, John L. "Japanese Evacuation from the West Coast." Letter to Chief of State, U.S. Army. 5 June 1943. MS. N.p.

    Read More

  • The Necessity Of Japanese Internment

    1429 Words  | 3 Pages

    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.

    Read More

  • The Japanese Internment Camps

    1370 Words  | 3 Pages

    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.”

    Read More

  • Japanese Internment After Pearl Harbor

    2439 Words  | 5 Pages

    23 .Roger Daniel, Prisoners Without Trial: Japanese Americans in the World War II 1993, Hill and Yang.

    Read More

  • Analysis Of Betrayed By America By Kristin Lewis

    662 Words  | 2 Pages

    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

    Read More

  • The Odyssey

    2003 Words  | 5 Pages

    ...omic exploitation. After enduring such injustices and hardships, many are now enjoying the life the Issei dreamed of for their families. Bibliography Work Cited Parillo, Vincent N. Strangers to These Shors: Race and Ethnitc Relations in the United States. Needham Heights, : Massachuchetts: 2000, 287-289. Klimova, Tatiana A. “Internment of Japanese Americans: Military Necessity or Racial Prejudice.” Old Dominion University. 1-9 (5/2/00) Asia, Ask. “Linking The Past to Present: Asian Americans Then and Now.” The Asia Society 1996. 1-3 (5/1/00 Spickard, Paul R. Japanese Americans: The transformation and Formation of an Ethnic Group. New Yourk:1996,93-159 McWilliams, Carey. Prejudice Japanese Americans: Symbol of racial Intolerance. boston: 1945,106-190. Myer, Dillon S. “Joseph Yoshisuke Kurihara.” Upprinted Americans 1971. 1-5 (5/1/00) Asin, Stefanie.”Poignand Memories.” Houston Chronicle 7/31/95.1-3 5/2/00 Reaseach Center.”research on 100th/442nd reginent conbat team.:NJAHS.1-2 5/2/00 Miyoshi, Nubu.:Idenity Crisis of the Sansei.”Sansei legacy project 3/13/98.1-21 5/1/00 Kiang, Peter.” Understanding the Perception of Asian Americans.” Asian Society1997.1-2 5/2/00 Word Count: 1862

    Read More

  • Jeanne Wakatsuki Houston's Farewell to Manzanar

    608 Words  | 2 Pages

    A Japanese American Tragedy      Farewell to Manzanar, written by Jeanne Wakatsuki Houston, Japanese American, and James D. Houston, describes the experience of being sent to an internment camp during World War II. The evacuation of Japanese Americans started after President Roosevelt had signed the Executive Order 9066 on February 19, 1942. Along with ten thousand other Japanese Americans, the Wakatsuki was sent on a bus to Manzanar, California. There, they were placed in an internment camp, many miles from their home, with only what they could carry. The lives of the Japanese Americans in the internment were a struggle.

    Read More

  • Universal Declaration of Human Rights

    1354 Words  | 3 Pages

    On December 10th in 1948, the general assembly adopted a Universal Declaration of Human Rights. This declaration, although not legally binding, created “a common standard of achievement of all people and all nations…to promote respect for those rights and freedoms” (Goodhart, 379). However, many cultures assert that the human rights policies outlined in the declaration undermine cultural beliefs and practices. This assertion makes the search for universal human rights very difficult to achieve. I would like to focus on articles 3, 14 and 25 to address how these articles could be modified to incorporate cultural differences, without completely undermining the search for human rights practices.

    Read More

  • Japanese American Are A Minority Group

    1534 Words  | 4 Pages

    Throughout Americas history, there has been prejudice, discrimination, and segregation. The prejudice, discrimination, and segregation of African-Americans and Native Americans are well known and often portrayed in movies. The group that is less exposed in movies is the prejudice, discrimination, and segregation of Asians. Mine is about a minority group that has seen prejudice, discrimination, and segregation that is now recognized universally deplorable the Japanese American. The incarceration of the Japanese by the United States during World War II is now considered unjust. After “Executive Order 9066 the army moved 40,000 long-term immigrants, and 77,000 United States citizens of Japanese descent.” (Miksch and Ghere, 2004 p. 212) Although, at that time “Most people thought internment of enemy aliens was a normal precaution in wartime situations.” (Miksch and Ghere, 2004 p. 211) “The practice of internment of enemy aliens is normal practice in Canada, Australia, United States, and European countries.” (Miksch and...

    Read More

More about Japanese American Internment

Open Document