Japanese Internment Camps Dbq

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How did Americans react to the incarceration of Japanese Americans during WW2? This question didn’t seem important during the period of Japanese Internment but it is sure one we’re asking ourselves today. Contrary to popular belief, not everyone in the government believed this was a good idea. After Pearl Harbor, most Americans were scared of Japanese and anyone they thought was involved with them, including Japanese Americans who had never set foot in Japan. There’s no denying most people in the US were ignorant and believed white people were superior. They were just concerned with being bombed by people of a different skin color. Although Internment laws were placed by the government, they were a Special Representative of the State Department by the name Curtis B. Munson. He created the infamous Munson Report which gave light to the few people who shared his unpopular beliefs. “The Intelligence Services are generous with the title of 'suspect' and are taking no chances. Privately, they believe that only 50 or 60 in each district can be classed as really dangerous.” (Document B) In other words, he’s saying the Japanese didn’t pose much threat to us. O the other hand, there was working men from European countries that would have posed a larger threat …show more content…

“Color seems to be the only possible reason why thousands of American citizens of Japanese ancestry are in concentration in camps. Anyway, there are no Italian-American or German-American citizen in such camps.” (Document A) White people have a certain privilege in America and it was arguable that Americans from German and Italian descent would’ve caused more harm because they wouldn’t have stood out as white men and would have stolen or damaged weapons and secret information. The 1940’s was a time where the word “racist” started appearing in Supreme Court decisions. (Document

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