What if entire families were suddenly evicted and thrown into prison just because of their ethnicity? What if thousands of people suddenly disappeared without a trace? On December 7th, 1941, the American naval base of Pearl Harbor was attacked by thousands of Japanese bomber planes. After over 2,000 were killed, the United States knew action had to be taken. However, these actions included the rounding up of around 110,000 Japanese-Americans and putting them into internment camps. While basic needs were provided in the internment camps, these Japanese-Americans lost pets, valuable possessions, and even their houses.The internment of Japanese Americans was not justified because interment was fueled by anti-Japanese sentiment, other potentially dangerous groups were not put into internment camps, and because no military conditions were used as a reason for internment. The internment of Japanese Americans was not justified because it was incited by racist and prejudiced views of Japanese people. When Japanese immigrants started first coming to the United States, they faced harsh discrimination. They were not offered equal opportunity just because of their heritage. This prevented them from living …show more content…
their life as an assimilated American citizen. Harry Paxton Howard wrote “Americans in Concentration Camps” in The Crisis, a publication about civil rights. In the article, Howard comments about how discriminatory the Japanese internment camps were. “Germans and Italians are ‘white.’ Color seems to be the only possible reason why thousands of American citizens of Japanese ancestry are in concentration camps” (Document E). In “Americans in Concentration Camps”, Howard explains how the color, or race, of the Japanese seems to be the only reason they are in internment camps. He claims they do not pose an actual threat, but that they instead face internment because of their ethnicity. Howard’s article proves the point that racist views caused the internment of Japanese Americans, not Japanese Americans posing an actual threat to the United States. Overall, internment of Japanese Americans was not justified because of prejudiced attitudes towards the Japanese. The internment of Japanese Americans was not warranted because other groups of people that threatened the United States were not targeted by the government. During the second World War, the United States and other countries fought against the Axis Powers, a group of countries led by Japan, Germany, and Italy. While German and Italian-Americans had been living in the United States for decades, and were never put into internment camps, Japanese people had only started to recently immigrate into the United States. Since the Japanese were new and different to most Americans, they were not treated as equals. There was also danger caused by non-ethnic, but political groups, that threatened the safety of the United States. However, the unwelcome intentions of these groups were ignored. In 1941, President Roosevelt ordered the State Department to analyze the devotion of Japanese Americans to the United States. A member of the State Department, Curtis B. Munson created the “Munson Report”, in which he states that Japanese Americans pose no threat to the safety of the United States. “There is far more danger from Communists and people of the Bridges type on the Coast than there is from Japanese. The Japanese here is almost exclusively a farmer, a fisherman or a small businessman. He has no entree to plants or intricate machinery” (Document D). Munson claims that Japanese Americans pose little to no threat to the security of the United States, especially when compared to Communists. He notes that many Japanese Americans are just poor, hardworking people who moved to the United States for a better life, with no access to spying technology. The “Munson Report” further pushes the point that Japanese Americans were treated unfairly compared to other groups. Even groups such as Communists that posed actual threats to the United States were not treated as harshly as Japanese Americans. Altogether, the internment of Japanese Americans after the Attack on Pearl Harbor was not warranted because the American government did not put any dangerous groups in internment camps except Japanese Americans. Since no military conditions were used to support starting internment of Japanese Americans, their internment was not justified. When President Roosevelt signed Executive Order 9066, he authorized the war department to designate areas for which any person can be excluded from. While the order didn’t specifically state any specifics, only Japanese people were evicted from their homes and sent to internment camps. This executive order, and the way it was carried out, was entirely based on speculation and perceived danger. The Commission on Wartime Relocation and Internment of Civilians released the report “Personal Justice Denied: The Report of the Commission on Wartime Relocation and Internment of Civilians” about the justification of Japanese Internment camps, in 1983. The commission analyzed many government records from the time of internment camps, and found that the executive order that allowed the camps was not based on any military facts or conditions. “An extensive effort was made to locate and to review the records of government action and to analyze other sources of information . . . Executive Order 9066 was not justified by military necessity, and the decisions which followed from it—detention, ending detention and ending exclusion—were not driven by analysis of military conditions” (Document F). The committee is presenting the fact that Executive Order 9066 that allowed for internment camps was not justified by any military necessity. Even after analyzing and studying innumerable government records of the time, the committee still found that the executive order was not rationalized. The Commission on Wartime Relocation and Internment of Civilians’ findings further confirm that the internment of Japanese Americans was unnecessary and excessive. In summary, the internment of Japanese Americans after the attack on Pearl Harbor was not justified because there was no militaristic basis for internment camps. In conclusion, the internment of Japanese Americans was not justified because interment was provoked by anti-Japanese sentiment, other potentially high-risk groups were not put into internment camps, and because military conditions were not used as a reason for internment.
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
again.
In her speech “Undo the Mistake of Internment” Eleanor Roosevelt uses similes and allusions to situations well known to the reader to create an appeal using ethos that urges the American public to act peaceably towards Japanese Americans that may settle among them. Roosevelt supports this plea by first expressing sympathy to the plight of Americans whose families have died in the war, but then reprimanding them for being prejudiced against the Japanese. Roosevelt’s purpose was to deliver this speech in a way that remains relatable to Americans, hence the many mentions of how she understands them and their feelings are not unreasonable. However, at the same time Roosevelt explains that these same reasonable feelings are not acceptable, a reprimand
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
The conditions the Japanese Americans were put through were horrible and everyone deserves to be treated equally. The worst part was the persecution of numerous innocent people because they did nothing wrong. The outbreak of hysteria was a big part of them being thrown into camps because the government thought they were working with Japan. In the Internment Camps and Salem Witch Trials people had no evidence and were treated unfairly, making them similar even though it was two different time
During the 1900’s, it was common for people to immigrate to America. They saw it as a land of freedom and opportunity. Some thought that this was a great way for the US’ economy to boom, but some thought otherwise. With the shortage of jobs, many believed that the immigrants were stealing their precious jobs. Because of the competition over jobs, immigrants became the new public enemy to many. Immigrants such as the Japanese. The Japanese had already been through some racial discrimination, but it wasn’t until World War II that it got much worse. During the war the US decided it was best to be neutral, but the longer the war went on for, The more the US’ neutrality was on the verge of breaking. It wasn’t until December 7, 1941, that the US
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 jobs were now stripped of their homes and businesses and were forced to live in poor living conditions (DISCovering). Although many Americans believed that Japanese American internment was justified because it was used to protect us from attacks by Japanese Americans, it was very unlikely that they were ever going to attack us in the first place. For example, in Dr. Seuss’ political cartoon, many Japanese Americans are lined up to get TNT and waiting for a signal from Japan to attack (Seuss).
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)
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
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. 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...
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.
...se inhabitants, the paranoia of the well being of the nation and the dramatized security threat of the white superior group made Japanese internment immediate and justifiable.
There are a number of reasons why the internment of the Japanese people had to take place. Japan was a major threat to the United States which made anyone of Japanese descendent a potential traitor and threat to America’s security. No one was quite sure what they were capable of.
There were some Japanese-Americans who were hesitant of going into internment camps. They were worried about losing their occupations, property, and freedom. The government came up with an excuse that was meant to calm the fears of the Japanese during the “greatest forced migration in American history” (The San Francisco News, 1942).
The Japanese attacked the United State Military base on Pearl Harbor December 7, 1941, with that aggressive act of war the United States officially declared war and joined with Allied Forces for combat in World War II. Due to nationwide hysteria and fear of other attacks on American soil the president felt compelled to act, he made a decision to take precautionary measures of immediate national Security. On February 19, 1942, President Franklin D. Roosevelt signed Executive Order 9066, (Korematsu) this order would authorize forced deportation, relocation and internment of Japanese Americans. This selected group of Americans would be forced to leave their west coast homes and businesses that they had worked so hard for only to be housed for
Nevertheless, Japanese were resented and disliked by whites. Due to pressure from state leaders near the west coast, President Roosevelt, on February 19, 1942, signed Executive Order 9066. This resulted in the which resulted in the violent imprisonment of 120,000 people of Japanese ancestry. When the government gave its internment order, whites rounded up, imprisoned, and exiled their Japanese neighbors. In 1942, 110,000 Japanese Americans living on the West Coast of the United States were relocated to ten internment camps. More than two thirds of those sent to internment camps, under the Executive Order, had never shown disloyalty and were also citizens of the United States. In April 1942, the War Relocation Authority was created to control the assembly centers, relocation centers, and internment camps, and oversee the relocation of Japanese-Americans. It took another forty years for the US government to recognize the violations of this population's constitutional rights.
During World War II more than 127,000 Japanese-American citizens were imprisoned at internment camps in the United States. Their only crime was that they had Japanese ancestry and they were suspected of being loyal to their homeland of Japan. This was done because earlier, the Japanese government bombed the United States(U.S.) Naval base at Pearl Harbor to attempt a sucker punch on the US before their fight which turned into World War 2. Though, many argue if the decision of the internment was justified or not it is clear that this was not justified. The decision was not justified because it was made out of fear, anger and war hysteria, also the Italian-Americans and the German-Americans were not treated the same way as the Japanese-Americans