Examples Of Unjust Treatment During Japanese Internment

Unjust Treatment During Japanese Internment

Picture this, thousands of people forced to leave everything behind to live in internment camps. On February 19, 1942, this nightmare became a reality for Japanese Americans living on the West Coast. Before this, on December 7th, 1941, Japan attacked the naval bases in Pearl Harbor, Hawaii. This act of war by Japan killed over 2,400 and injured 1,000 Americans. Shortly afterward, the United States involved itself in World War II. Then, on February 19, 1942, an executive order, or a law passed from the president went into effect. Executive Order 9066 made the internment of all Japanese Americans living on the West Coast constitutional. The internment of Japanese Americans was not justified because

The president along with the cabinet thought that Japanese Americans could be seen as a threat to the country because the United States was currently at war with Japan. As a result of this, all Japanese Americans on the West Coast were interned. At the time, the United States was also fighting with Italy and Germany but only Americans with Japanese descent were interned and discriminated against. Harry Paxton Howard, an author wrote, ‘The Crisis’ which was a periodical that promoted civil rights. Written in this periodical, “Color seems to be the only possible reason why thousands of American citizens of Japanese ancestry are in concentration camps. Anyway, there are no Italian-American, or German-American citizens in such camps” (Document E). This proves that the internment was extremely racist. At the time, the United States was also at war with Germany and Italy but did not put German Americans or Italian Americans who lived on the East Coast in a camp. German and Italian Americans were not put into camps because they were seen as white people by the country unlike Japanese Americans, who were seen as Asians. Above all, racism was one of many reasons that the internment of Japanese Americans was unjust during World War

After the Pearl Harbor attack, the United States was very angry at Japan for the tragic bombing and killing thousands of citizens. They were also scared that Japan would carry out another attack on the country. As a result of mixed emotions the United States, lead by president Franklin Roosevelt decided that internment would be the best option for the nation to feel at ease and not be angry anymore. This meant that all Japanese Americans who live on the West Coast would be confined into camps with each other. More than 20 years later, in February 1983, Congress released a report written on internment and on the war. This report, “Personal Justice Denied: The Report of the Commission on Wartime Relocation and Internment of Civilians’’, focused on what had lead up to the decision to intern Japanese Americans and what happened afterward. In an excerpt released from the report reads, “Widespread ignorance of Japanese Americans contributed to a policy conceived in haste and executed in an atmosphere of fear and anger at Japan” (Document F). In other words, the idea of interning Japanese Americans came from fear and anger. This was an emotional decision, not a strategic one because Japanese Americans were not a danger to the United States and the citizens. Above all, the internment of Japanese Americans in 1942 was an emotional decision done out of fear and