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Causes, course and Consequences of World War II
Causes, course and Consequences of World War II
Japanese american internment essays
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The internment of the Japanese people in America was one of the darkest and most shameful acts of the United States during the war. Across the seas in Europe we were angry at the Germans, and the Nazis. As Americans we were angry at the torture that Adolf Hitler was bestowing upon minorities. He killed millions of Jewish, lesbian, gay, and mentally and physically disabled people. He trapped them in concentration camps and burned them, beat them and starved them to death. The Holocaust was one of the darkest periods in the history of the world. The definition of concentration camp is as follows: A guarded compound for the detention or imprisonment of aliens, members of ethnic minorities, political opponents, etc. The definition of internment
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
I wish I could say that I would have been against the internment camps, but had I lived during that time frame, I probably would have agreed with society’s fear of Japanese-Americans. Currently working in an assisted living facility, I spoke with many of my residents about this subject. Although they are somewhat ashamed of their actions made by the government, they reminded me that they all had anxiety and concern about immanent invasion of the Imperial Japanese Army attacking the west coast of the United States.
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
The U.S. went into WWII in 1942 after the Japanese bombed U.S. naval base, Pearl Harbor. The bombing of Pearl Harbor took out the majority of the U.S. Navy. This attack struck fear in all Americans, and was followed by extreme hostility to the Japanese Americans. The fear became so severe that the U.S. government created the internment camps inland from the west coast where they sent all people of Japanese descent. This occurred because the government was afraid that the Japanese Americans, living too close to the coast, could communicate with Japan. They were “stripped of their civil liberties” (Des Jardins) on American soil. Part of the American Dream for people was to escape persecutions of all kinds. The camps eroded people’s American Dream and freedoms. Moving into these camps was disaster for the Japanese Americans. The camps destroyed the old traditions and gender roles. The men felt “emasculated by the low wages” (Des Jardins) they received from low-status jobs inside the camps and the women were “shamed in barrack commodes” (Des Jardins) having to expose themselves in front of their families and strangers. Before the camps, families would eat meals together. Once the Japanese Americans were forced into the camps and their lifestyles changed, families stopped their
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
Over 12 million people alone were killed in the holocaust alone. Internment camps and concentration camps were designed to oppress one group of people by the government. Both of these tragic events happened during ww2. our goal was to suppress one race theirs was to destroy theirs. The concentration and internment camps were essentially the same thing because, they put a economic burden on them, then they were forced to do unreasonable task, and finally they were both suppressed by the government.
How would you feel if you were forced out of your home to go to a camp where you shall be incarcerated for an unknown amount of time in an unknown location. You have no idea what will happen to you and your family. Why were you forced into the camps? Because of your ethnicity or beliefs. Japanese internment camps and Holocaust concentration camps both left their hateful marks in the fabric of history. During World War II, the Holocaust concentration camps were located around Central or Eastern Europe while the Japanese internment camps were located in the Western United States. Both types of camps have interesting similarities. However, one must realize that despite this similarities, these camps were very different in many ways. Yet, one thing is certain. We must learn more about this dark time in history in order to prevent such acts of hatred and paranoia from ever happening again.
Japanese internment camps are an important part of American history. They represented and showed much of the change that happened around World War II. Although many people may say that races other than African-Americans were not that discriminated against, that was not the case. The Japanese-American People lost their homes, livelihood, and were separated from their families. More people should know about this event so as to learn from it and let something similar never to repeat it. Japanese internment camps should be an event all new American’s learn about because of its importance in World War II, the influence racism had on the camps, and for being one of the biggest violations of civil rights in American history
... group of citizens was treated during this time. Unfortunately, this is most likely due to the fact that it exposes the worst of the United States government. This treatment is treated as a blemish in the history of the United States to the United States citizens who learn about it. This is not the case at all for the Japanese-American people who experienced this, as well as the relatives of these people. The management of these people was a cruel and unjust act that was never shown for the harshness that it truly is. In Germany, it was called concentration camps, and it is known around the world as the worst time in history. In the United States, people brush the subject away, not showing any concern. In any other country, the United States would have been horrified, but it happened in our country. Thus, since the country is always right, this cruelty is ignored.
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.
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.
The internment camps were permanent detention camps that held internees from March, 1942 until their closing in 1945 and 1946. Although the camps held captive people of many different origins, the majority of the prisoners were Japanese-Americans. There were ten different relocation centers located across the United States during the war. These Japanese Americans, half of whom were children, were incarcerated for up to 4 years, without due process of law or any factual basis, in bleak, remote camps surrounded by barbed wire and armed guards.