¶ … World War II as a great triumph in American history. The United States forces were victorious in both the Pacific and European Theatres of war. Two military aggressive regimes were destroyed, and peace was restored, due in large part to America's involvement. What many people do not realize is that some of the actions of the United States were just as morally corrupt as those of the Axis powers. Similar to the Nazi's imprisonment of Jews in Europe, the U.S. government imprisoned Japanese-Americans on the West Coast. Worst of all, the internment of Japanese was more of an act of racism than actual perceived threat. The premise of this paper is to prove that the internment of Japanese in 1942 was a decision motivated by race rather than defensive strategy. I will chronicle the events leading up to the internment, the presence of racism before and after the bombing of Pearl Harbor, and I will conclude by relating the imprisonment of Japanese in America with the current war on terrorism.
On December 7, 1941, the Empire of Japan launched a surprise attack on U.S. naval forces in Pearl Harbor (Daniels 22). The attack caught American forces and leadership completely off guard, and fear and surprise riveted throughout the country. The U.S., which had remained neutral until the attacked, immediately began mobilizing for a war in the Pacific and Europe.
The attack left many on the West Coast bewildered at how the Japanese could be so successful in their bombing. They immediately started to suspect espionage by Japanese-Americans and Japanese citizens living in the U.S. These perceived threats were immediately addressed by the state and federal governments. On December 8, the Department of Justice issued a closure of immigration from Japan...
... further, that it would be only a question of time until the entire Pacific coast region would be controlled by the Japanese.' Yet Japan's ultimate aim was not limited to California or the Pacific Coast but was global domination achieved through a race war. 'It is the determined purpose of Japan,' the report stated, 'to amalgamate the entire colored races of the world against the Nordic or white race,
Internment of Japanese-Americans in World War II When the national interests are threatened, history has shown that American presidents will take extraordinary measures to protect them, even if this means violating the U.S. Constitution. For example, the U.S.A. PATRIOT Act enacted immediately following the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, watered down civil liberties for American citizens. Likewise, President Abraham Lincoln suspended the writ of habeas corpus during the Civil War
Psychological & Cultural Experience of the Victims of Japanese Internment Executive Order 9066 was signed by President Roosevelt on February 19, 1942 ordering all Japanese-Americans and Americans of Japanese descent out of the Western United States and into "internment" camps in the Central region of the United States. A public law was subsequently passed by Congress ratifying the Executive Order; Congress did not even deliberate on the passage of the law. One hundred
Japanese-Americans in the West Coast lived peacefully before President Roosevelt issued the Executive Order 9066 in February 1942 that condemned them to misery in internment camps in the deserts of California. Those who owned property had to sell them. Some had to give up their belongings. The Japanese-Americans could not wage any form of resistance because this would be suppressed by brute military force. Nobody would be foolhardy enough to
Japanese Internment The Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor and subsequent declaration of war by the US against Japan set in motion a chain of events that would lead to the internment of Japanese-origin people living in the United States. President Franklin D. Roosevelt wrote Executive Order 9066, ordering all Japanese-Americans to evacuate the West Coast two months after the bombing. The result was that 120,000 people were interned in 10 camps
Yet, these were small amenities that did not mask the horrible conditions of the camps very well. Most of those within the camps were American citizens, and should not have had their liberties taken away with such blatant disregard for upholding American principles of freedom. Many Japanese-Americans, who were born in the U.S., paid taxes, and even bought war bonds, were treated like criminals during the relocation, "The Japanese-Americans suffered
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