On December 8, 1941 the United States entered war with Japan. This caused all people of japanese ancestry to be interned. Some people thought that this was unfair, but most of the people wanted Japanese to be interned. The common good was the best for all Americans during World War II, because of the suspicion of saboteurs of Japanese ancestry, the bombing of Pearl Harbor, and war hysteria that had possible leads to criminal activity. A major reason why Japanese were interned was the suspicion of saboteurs. The government said that since there wasn’t sabotage yet, then there will be in the future. In the article, “Sabotage, Subversion and Espionage Lurk in the Shadows,” Dennis Richardson writes, “In the years after the attack on Pearl Harbor, …show more content…
In the article called “Pearl Harbor,” the author writes, “In all, the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor crippled or destroyed nearly 20 American ships and more than 300 airplanes.” The Pearl Harbor incident made Americans think of what was best for their country, not what was best for individual people. Also, in the article called, “The Japanese Attacked Pearl Harbor December 7, 1941,” the author writes,“The bombing killed more than 2,300 Americans. It completely destroyed the American battleship U.S.S. Arizona and capsized the U.S.S. Oklahoma. The attack sank or beached a total of twelve ships and damaged nine others. 160 aircraft were destroyed and 150 others damaged. The attack took the country by surprise, especially the ill-prepared Pearl Harbor base.” This was the most tragic incident and the president made the decision to use common good instead of civil liberties. Additionally, Encyclopædia Britannica says, “Pearl Harbor attack, (December 7, 1941), surprise aerial attack on the U.S. naval base at Pearl Harbor on Oahu Island, Hawaii, by the Japanese that precipitated the entry of the United States into World War II.” The United States was disappointed by the bombing and made big decisions without giving notice to the …show more content…
The article called, “The Impact of Mass Hysteria,” writes, “U.S. citizens feared another attack and war, hysteria seized the country. State representatives put pressure on President Roosevelt on taking action against Japanese who already lived in the U.S..” Americans were worried so they decided to remove all Japanese for the country’s safety. This wasn’t really the president's decision. Another article writes, “The action, excused on grounds of military necessity, was rooted in race prejudice, war hysteria and failure of political leadership.” Americans have the suspicion that Japanese have failed at leadership and they should be interned. Lastly, in the article called, “A Brief History of Japanese American Relocation During World War II” the author writes, “Beginning December 7, the Justice Department organized the arrests of 3,000 people whom it considered "dangerous" enemy aliens, half of whom were Japanese. Of the Japanese, those arrested included community leaders who were involved in Japanese organizations and religious groups.” The government was very strict to suspicious behaviors. If they saw anything they would give serious consequences. They wanted to keep their people safe and stayed cautious and ready for any criminal activity. They also wanted to show authority, by taking the community leaders in for questioning they were asserting dominance and
When Pearl Harbor was attacked, Japanese Americans were suspected of spying on the US Government and selling information to Japan. This was enough reason for President Franklin D. Roosevelt to authorize the deportation and incarceration of over 110,000 Japanese Americans, using Executive Order 9066. This was not justified, and was not fair, to the Japanese Americans. 62% of the internees were United States citizens, and 99% of all Japanese Americans were not spies. Executive Order 9066 was an order signed and issued during World War II by President Franklin D. Roosevelt.
The United States federal government made the Japanese go into concentration camps during the early 1900’s because officials believed that they were going to betray the American population. Officials believed that they should take precautions towards protecting themselves because the Japanese were thought of to be as drastically inferior. Despite their efforts towards keeping “true Americans” safe they did not find any evidence that proved Japanese Americans were scheming against the United States. 2b. Many Japanese Americans lost their businesses and homes due to the betrayal of their home country.
How would you feel if you have to sell your house and move into a prison like camp in just a few days? Many Japanese had to experience this in 1941. The Japanese Americans got this unfair treatment because Japan bombed Pearl Harbor in 1941 during World War two. However, there are more factors that caused Executive Order 9066 (internment camps for Japanese people) in 1941. Economical, cultural, and political causal factors caused the congress to agree on Executive Order 9066.
The United States thought that the Japanese was dangerous and were afraid they would attack again. It stunned everyone and the government thought the best solution was to relocate all of the Japanese immigrants. According to Document 4 the author states,
Overall, the Japanese were interned during World War one because they were seen as a hypothetical threat to U.S security. The U.S viewed the Japanese population as saboteurs and more specifically, a threat national security. In document B of the Japanese internment DBQ it describes how the U.S racistly generalized the Japanese as Saboteurs who would easily destroy anything in their sight. With the mass hysteria in regards to the stereotype, the U.S too more precaution in regards to the Japanese community and imprisoned them. Moreover, another reason the Japanese were interned is because the Japanese only posed a threat to American security on the West coast.
As opposed to righteous view that America was safeguarding its position in the war, the Japanese American internments were created out of resentment and racial prejudice fostered by other Americans. As the article “Personal Justice Denied” stated, the internments were led by “widespread ignorance of Japanese Americans contributed to a policy conceived in haste and executed in an atmosphere of fear and anger at Japan” (Doc E, 1983). It may seem like a precautionary cause to make internments but there aren’t any other extreme measures for other fronts. Caused by a hatred stirred by media and society’s view, many people disdain the Japanese.
December 7, 1941 is considered one of the most impactful days in United States’ history: the day Japan bombed Pearl Harbor, Hawaii. Despite their size, Japan left an incredible amount of damage with their 5 submarines and 408 planes. President Roosevelt had been avoiding scuffling with Japan since their pact with Germany and Italy; war with Germany was sure to erupt soon enough. However, soon after the ambuscade, the United States’ declared war on Japan and launched their involvement in World War II. Japan’s leaders recognized the risks of invading one of America’s naval bases; yet they persisted.
There was profound racism against the American Japanese both from the society and some government policies. White farmers in the West Coast were highly prejudicial against their Japanese counterparts and the attack on Pearl Harbor offered them an opportunity to condemn and take away the farms owned by people of Japanese descent. Such groups instigated and fully supported the internment camps to enable them reach their objectives.(Trowbridge, 2016) After receiving contradictory advice and popular opinion, President Roosevelt signed an executive order in February 1942 authoritatively mandating the Relocation of all Americans of Japanese ancestry to what would become known as Internment Camps in the interior of the United States. Evacuation orders were posted in JAPANESE-AMERICAN communities giving instructions on how to comply with the executive order.
The Japanese internment camps were horrifying during this time, but everyone was willing to look away because of what the Japanese Government had done. This was unacceptable accusations by a hypocritical government, because at the time America was fighting Germany and claiming they were wrong for Jewish internment camps. Of course, Jewish internment camps were very inhumane, and a mass number of Jews were exiled. America’s logic on Japanese interment was subtle but no one really asked to look behind the scenes. All the things we see in Jewish internment such as German Guards, Barbed wire fences, huts that weren’t anywhere close to homes, and rations that were very limited can all be found in America during WWII with Japanese internment camps.
“The internment of Japanese Americans in the United States was the forced relocation and incarceration during World War II of between 110,000 and 120,000 people of Japanese ancestry who lived on the Pacific coast in camps in the interior of the country.” (Crawford 1). After the attack, the government felt threatened by the Japanese. Therefore, they could not trust any, even the ones living in the United States. Franklin D. Roosevelt issued the relocation of Japanese Americans to internment camps or military camps where they were not allowed to leave.
“The executive order was issued shortly after Japan’s attack on Pearl Harbor…” (“The Return of Japanese Americans to the West Coast in 1945.”). The bombing of Pearl Harbor caused many Americans to fear Japanese immigrants. Even though America retaliated by bombing Japan, Execution order 9066 was made not long after the attack to keep Japanese Americans in their place. After the camps, many Japanese Americans tried to return home with no house. When Japanese Americans left home to go to the camps, land owners sold their homes to Americans of non-Japanese descent.
government made the decision to incarcerate about “120,000 men, women, and children of Japanese descent, regardless of citizenship,” solely based on the belief that they posed a threat to national security solely because of their ethnicity. The internment camps were a product of discrimination and racism prevalent during the war. Japanese Americans were singled out based on their ancestry, with no consideration for their loyalty to the United States or the idea of “America [being] a land of opportunity” for everyone. By targeting a specific ethnic group, the government perpetuated harmful stereotypes and fostered an atmosphere of suspicion and uncertainty.
In both events of Pearl Harbor and 9/11 had a damaging effect on our country. We were terrified and frightened for what could happen next. Pearl Harbor occurred on December 7, 1941 at the Hawaiian territory. 9/11 occurred on September 11, 2001 at New York City. The Pearl Harbor attack was caused from a feud we were having with Japan.
The internment of Japanese Americans during WWII was not justified. After Pearl Harbor, many Americans were scared of the Japanese Americans because they could sabotage the U.S. military. To try and solve the fear President Franklin D Roosevelt told the army in Executive order 9066 to relocate all Japanese Americans living on the West Coast. They were relocated to detention centers in the desert. Many of them were in the detention centers for three years.
“Mary Tsukamoto once said ‘I knew it would leave a scar that would stay with me forever. At that moment my precious freedom was taken from me’” (Martin 54). The Betrayal. The attack on Pearl Harbor.