Canada’s Tainted History: Inhumane Living Conditions for the Japanese

763 Words2 Pages
bulb-icon

Recommended: The impacts of the internment of Japanese Canadians

The Japanese living in Canada during World War II (WWII) faced one of the harshest and inhumane living conditions in Canadian history. One unidentified woman remembers, “it was terrible, unbelievable. They kept us in the stalls where they put the cattle and horses.” Before WWII, the Japanese were targeted for their culture. An example is the Anti-Asiatic League that was created to limit the number of Japanese men that could immigrate to Canada. Canadians did not want the potential competitors in farming and fishing. 22,000 Japanese Canadians were interned during WWII, even though 14,000 had been Canadian born citizens. This was because the Japanese had bombed Canada’s ally, the United States. With this in mind, the Canadians viewed the Japanese as the enemy. This made the innocent Japanese Canadians become the victims of unfair suspicion and they began to fall through the cracks of Canada’s developing society and government. Internment camps were created to forcibly keep the “dangerous” Japanese from the seemingly “innocent and civilized” Canadian citizens.

Rewind the clock about 70 years back, and you will find it started with a natural suspicion. The Canadians were prejudiced and assumed the Japanese were up to no good, due to their tarnished image because of the Pearl Harbor bombing from the Imperial Japanese Navy (IJN) against the US. The Canadian government assumed the Japanese culture, as a whole, was conspiring against Canada. The IJN had bombed Pearl Harbor… Who’s to say the Japanese Canadians would not attack Canada? Even before these allegations, the Japanese were no strangers to xenophobia and racism. The suspicions against the Japanese started small, and included things like accusing the Japanese for charting for the ...

... middle of paper ...

...k home, the difficult life they lived was never forgotten.

Even today, the Japanese people have not forgotten the hardships they faced. Many still remember the harsh racism they faced throughout their years of living in Canada. They tried to live in harmony with the others, but not everybody was welcoming. After WWII started, It was hard for them to go back to the life they lived after what they had was sold. Everything changed for the Japanese. It was almost impossible to rebuild families, homes, and businesses. Conditions at the camp were no better, either. The internment of over twenty thousand Japanese people, in my opinion, was an unfortunate event that left many without a home and violated human rights. However, a benefit is that it helped shape the democratic Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms. The Canadian government is now learning from it’s mistakes.

Show More
Related

  • How WW2 Impacted Canada for the good

    960 Words  | 2 Pages

    ...socially by removing racial barriers and uplifting women’s rights. Also economically which helped us get out of the great depression by the war production Canada created. Last but not least politically, by making Canada a more independent country and giving Canada a recognizable identity. If the war didn’t happen we would still be a country that didn’t have much power or an identity and still be stuck behind racial barriers. We wouldn’t still be in the great depression but the great depression would have been much longer if it wasn’t for the WW2.Canda went through so many changes but not as many as it did during this time. All aspects of Canada were impacted and changed because of this war. The war was such a horrific event but out of the horrific event a great country grew and prospered. Now Canada wonders, would Canada be who it is today if this war didn’t occur?

    Read More

  • Canada's Involvement in the Second World War

    1430 Words  | 3 Pages

    some of the positive ways in which the war changed Canada but the most negative way in which

    Read More

  • The War Measures Act: Was It Necessary?

    1289 Words  | 3 Pages

    The unjust punishment of citizens that was allowed by the War Measures Act was iniquitous. When it was used in World War One, World War Two and the October Crisis, it led to the unjust punishment of Canadians by causing the internment of “enemy aliens” as well as the forced to registration with the government. In World War One, Canada had been in war with Germany, Austria, Hungary and Ukraine therefore immigration from there was suspended and people from there were considered “enemy aliens” and were interned. This meant that they had to register with the ...

    Read More

  • 20th Century Canada History Essay

    912 Words  | 2 Pages

    The history of Canada was flooded with many influential and incredible events, particularly during World War 1 and World War 2. During the 20th century, Canada got more involved in worldwide events. It was a very important period for Canada; it was where they gained their independence and progressed as a country. After this century, Canada was considered an important and powerful country. The three main 20th century events in Canadian history are the battle of Vimy Ridge, the change of woman’s rights and the battle of Juno Beach.

    Read More

  • Dehumanization And Narrative: Japanese-Americans And American Prisoners Of War

    970 Words  | 2 Pages

    Everything began for Louie and Mine as WWⅡ started its course. Even though they are very different they went through some of the same challenges. Louie and Mine were detained and held in captivity for long amounts of time. They were also made to feel invisible and were dehumanized as well as isolated. Yet they both had the opportunity to resist that invisibility aspect that they were being forced to experience. People, that were in similar positions as Louie and Mine were, show that if they have the will to live that they can survive most anything. Japanese-Americans and American Prisoners of War (POWs) were forced to experience the feeling of being invisible, along with striving to resist that feeling during their detainment.

    Read More

  • Japanese Canadians

    1071 Words  | 3 Pages

    “They spoke of the Japanese Canadians,'; Escott Reid, a special assistant at External Affairs, would recall, “in the way that the Nazi’s would have spoken about Jewish Germans.'; Just like in that statement, I intend to expose you to the ways that the Japanese were wronged by Canadians throughout the Second World War. As well, I intend to prove what I have stated in my thesis statement: After the bombing of Pearl Harbour, the Japanese in Canada were wronged by being torn from their homes to be put into internment camps to serve Canadians through hard labour.

    Read More

  • Japanese Internment In Canada Essay

    1515 Words  | 4 Pages

    The tendency to racially discriminate and victimise against certain minorities or a specific nationality was a long-lasting sting of racism which was a part of Canadian history. The discrimination by Canadians directed towards Japanese-Canadians during WWII was a significant historical event that needs to be addressed. After the Pearl Harbour attacks in Hawaii by the Japanese navy, 24,000 Japanese-Canadians were placed in internment camps, where they were stripped of their identity and freedom of rights based upon their racial origin. In the aftermath of the internment, many Japanese-Canadian natives were left without life savings, as all of their belongings were confiscated and never given back. This internment of the Japanese-Canadians occurred

    Read More

  • Internment of Japanese Canadians

    1973 Words  | 4 Pages

    World War Two had a significant impact on Canadian history as the Canadian government revoked many rights and changed the lives of Japanese-Canadians that were interred. Between 1941 and 1945, over 21,000 Japanese-Canadians (in which over two thirds were born in Canada) were limited of their rights and freedom and were forced into internment camps "for their own good". The Japanese-Canadians were considered as enemy aliens by the Canadian government the day after Japan bombed Pearl Harbour. They lost many rights along with it and their property was confiscated as well even though the Canadian government promised that they would receive their property back after the war was over. While the Japanese-Canadians were living in the internment camps, they were forced to suffer from the harsh nature and living conditions of the camps. Also, after all those these years of internment, the end result was that the Japanese-Canadians were given the freedom to move and were given a formal apology from the government in 1988. Not only did the internment of Japanese-Canadians tear families apart and scar the lives of many innocent civilians, but it also made the Canadian government open their eyes and realize how they were treating different ethnicities even though Canada was supposedly a free country.

    Read More

  • Assimilation In Canada

    533 Words  | 2 Pages

    The Indian Residential schools and the assimilating of First Nations people are more than a dark spot in Canada’s history. It was a time of racist leaders, bigoted white men who saw no point in working towards a lasting relationship with ingenious people. Recognition of these past mistakes, denunciation, and prevention steps must be taking intensively. They must be held to the same standard that we hold our current government to today. Without that standard, there is no moving forward. There is no bright future for Canada if we allow these injustices to be swept aside, leaving room for similar mistakes to be made again. We must apply our standards whatever century it was, is, or will be to rebuild trust between peoples, to never allow the abuse to be repeated, and to become the great nation we dream ourselves to be,

    Read More

  • The Necessity Of Japanese Internment

    1429 Words  | 3 Pages

    FYI (This is a biased written paper written if one were to defend Japanese Internment)

    Read More

  • Japanese Canadian Internment In Canada

    2153 Words  | 5 Pages

    was the driving factor that ultimately resulted in the internment of the Japanese Canadians. Racial prejudice against Orientals had been around in B.C. since the 1850s when Chinese immigrants came to Canada to help with the construction of the Canadian Pacific Railway. A newspaper article described the Chinese as a “marvelous human machine, competent to perform the maximum of labour on the minimum of sustenance” (Adachi 42). While they were beneficial for contractors, they posed a threat to the white population (Figure 3). The cartoon suggests that the low living standards of the Chinese allowed them to endure the harshest conditions, while being satisfied with the lowest wages. In contrast, the typical European is portrayed as a civilized human being who cannot compete with the Chinese workers without sacrificing his dignity. As a result, when the Japanese started immigrating to Canada later on, the British Columbian population only saw them as another threat to their culture due to the similarities they shared with the Chinese. However, the Japanese proved to be a greater problem since they were not affected by the Head Tax imposed on the Chinese (Hickman, 33; Morton). The attack on Pearl Harbour was an excuse that finally allowed British Columbians to release the anti-Japanese sentiment that they had been suppressing for years. In addition, when the final decision to intern the Japanese Canadians was passed, the government considered them all as potential threats (Figure 4). There was no effort made to distinguish those who posed potential threats and those who did not; most of them had no connection with Japan besides for their ancestry. This can only be attributed to racism, as there are only 38 suspects out of the 22,000 internees. Similarly, selling of Japanese property was another racist act that the government claimed to be necessary for the war effort and to increase national security (Sunahara 90; “The War Years”).

    Read More

  • The Japanese Internment Camps

    1370 Words  | 3 Pages

    Stetson Conn (1990) wrote “For several decades the Japanese population had been the target of hostility and restrictive action.” It was easy for the government to take advantage of the Japanese-Americans because they were already the target of aggression. Since the Japanese population was already in such a low position in society, taking advantage of their circumstances was easy for the government. The Japanese found themselves having to defend their presence in a country that was supposed to be accepting; this also happened to the Chinese before the Japanese. (Terry, 2012)

    Read More

  • Japanese Internment

    700 Words  | 2 Pages

    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.

    Read More

  • African Americans In Japanese Internment Camps

    279 Words  | 1 Pages

    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.

    Read More

  • Essay On Japanese Internment Camps

    946 Words  | 2 Pages

    Japanese-American internment camps were a dark time in America’s history, often compared to the concentration camps in Germany (Hane, 572). The internment camps were essentially prisons in which all Japanese-Americans living on the west coast were forced to live during World War II after the bombing of Pearl Harbor Naval base in Hawaii. They were located in inland western states due to the mass hysteria that Japanese-Americans were conspiring with Japan to invade and/or attack the United States. At the time the general consensus was that these camps were a good way to protect the country, but after the war many realized that the camps were not the best option. Textbooks did not usually mention the internment camps at all, as it is not a subject most Americans want to talk about, much less remember. Recently more textbooks and historians talk about the camps, even life inside them. Some Japanese-Americans say that their experiences after being released from the internment camps were not as negative as most people may think. Although the Japanese-American internment camps were brutal to go through, in the long run it led to Japanese-Americans’ movement from the west coast and their upward movement in society through opportunities found in a new urban environment such as Chicago and St. Louis.

    Read More

More about Canada’s Tainted History: Inhumane Living Conditions for the Japanese

Open Document