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Essay On Japanese Internment Camps

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Japanese Internment: The Imprisonment of United States Citizens

David Pelkey
History 1302: United States History II
April 30, 2023

The United States has several dark moments in history that they are not proud of. One of those dark moments is the apprehension and internment of over 120,000 Japanese Americans during World War II. This act alone many criticize as unfair and unjust. However, Japanese Americans endured negative treatment prior to, during, and after World War II without any valid justification other than fear. Fear and uncertainty contributed to the wrongful persecution of Japanese Americans by the United States during World War II resulting in one of the largest civil rights violations in American history. Negative …show more content…

Roosevelt made a pivotal decision that resulted in a generational impact to Japanese Americans. On February 19, 1942, President Franklin Roosevelt issued Executive Order 9042 authorizing the Secretary of War and Military Commanders to establish internment camps capable of housing residents of all ages. Though the order did not specify who was being detained at these facilities, it could be easily assumed it was for Japanese Americans. Camps were established inland away from the pacific coast and in mountainous and desert terrains. The Secretary of War established 10 internment camps: Tuli Lake (California), Manzanar (California), Amache (Colorado), Minidoka (Idaho), Heart Mountain (Wyoming), Topaz (Utah), Rohwer (Arkansas), Jerome Arkansas), Gila River (Arizona), and Poston (Arizona). Once the camps were created, Japanese Americans were given minimal time to grab what was allowed and report for processing into one of the camps. Many rode trains to processing centers marking these rides as the last piece of freedom they would experience for the duration of the …show more content…

The Evacuation Claims Act of 1948 paid 10 cents on the dollar to families as a result to internment. The United States thought this gesture would erase their actions however, money does not replace a home, personal belongings, and time that was lost due to internment. Japanese Americans engaged in a series of legal battles spanning over the next 40 years fighting for reparations and a formal apology. Finally, in 1988 the Civil Liberties Act was passed by President Reagan issuing internment camp survivors a formal apology, $20,000 in reparations, and a public education fund. Though most first generation Japanese Americans were not alive to see the result, their families were rewarded with a formal apology which was worth more than any monetary compensation. The internment of Japanese Americans during World War II is an embarrassing moment in United States history. Fear contributed to President Franklin D. Roosevelt and the federal government’s unlawful detainment of American citizens without proper cause and justification. The United States failed to take full responsibility and accountability for the illegal detainment of American citizens. These actions impacted several generations of Japanese Americans through the internment, postwar, and redress

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