The narrative begins with the first two chapters focusing on assessing Roosevelt’s evolving attitude toward Japan and Japanese-Americans, during his pre-presidential years and his first two terms in office. Continuing, Robinson changes directions and focuses on the origin and implementation of the internment policy, beginning with Roosevelt’s decision to issue Executive Order 9066 in February 1942, the authorization of relocating Japanese-Americans from the West Coast into internment camps, the subsequent controversy over with Japanese-Americans deemed “loyal” to the United States, and the decision to finally close the camps in 1946. The final chapter concludes with Robinson attempting to understand how Roosevelt, whom historians have celebrated for his strong commitment to individual rights, could have supported such an unjust policy. Robinson argues Roosevelt’s “past feelings toward the Japanese-Americans must be considered to have significantly shaped his momentous decision to evacuate Japanese-Americans from their homes … whether citizens or longtime resident aliens, [Japanese-Americans] were still Japanese at the core and should be regarded as presumptuously disloyal and dangerous on racial grounds” (p. 118 -
In the CNN article “Muslim hearings recall my life in internment camps,” Rep. Michael Honda claims that during his experience in internment in World War II, the people were treated like cattles. Regardless of whether they were born in America or patriotic Americans and obeying the law, and providing to the American economy, they were considering at the enemies during the war. Yet, there was no reasonable answer for them to be imprisoned. After 65 years, the devastating event of September 11 happened and the similar experience of Rep. Michael Honda had reoccurred, but this time, it was targeting the Muslim Americans. Honda briefly described his experience during the internment camps in the beginning of the article.
How would you feel if one day you were told to leave your whole life behind to live in captivity just because people halfway across the world did something wrong? This horror story was all too true for the thousands of Japanese Americans alive during World War II. Almost overnight, thousands of proud Japanese Americans living on the west coast were forced to leave their homes and give up the life they knew. The United States government was not justified in the creation of Japanese internment camps because it stripped law-abiding American citizens of their rights out of unjustified fear.
"Japanese Relocation During World War II." National Archives and Records Administration. National Archives and Records Administration, 17 Apr. 2017. Web. 17 May 2017.
Due to the increasing fear of a Japanese attack on the West Coast, Lt. General John L. Dewitt recommended that all people of Japanese descent living in America be removed to the interior of the country. In the article “An American Tragedy: The Internment of Japanese-Americans During World War II” by Norman Y. Mineta, former US Secretary of Transportation, Dewitt backed up his suggestion with rumors that “ethnic Japanese on the West Coast were signaling Japanese ships out in the Pacific ocean” and they “had stockpiled numerous rounds of ammunition and weapons” (Mineta 161). In order to combat this threat in case of enemy invasion, the camps would detain the Japanese Americans so they cannot aid the enemy. The warped logic used to imprison 110,000 people purely based on ethnic background was convincing enough to the American people that they didn’t even question
Many historians agree that this event was undoubtedly unconstitutional and an infringement of basic human rights. The forced incarceration of Japanese
To be stripped of freedom for the sake of accommodating those who are prejudiced against one’s heritage remains an unjustifiable action. Although oppression remains a sensitive issue in society, one must not silence the history of its existence as humanity must learn from its mistakes. Such silencing was experienced by the Japanese citizens of Canada as their freedoms were replaced with discrimination. Following Japan’s attack on Pearl Harbour on December 7th, 1941 ¹, the Canadian government systematically removed over 21 000 Japanese Canadians from their businesses and homes and forced them into internment camps from 1941-1949 ². Thus, the methodical location of Japanese Canadians into internment camps during World War II was unjustified.
December 7th of 1941 America would face a horrific scene in their own homeland, the Japanese would attack Pearl Harbor with their Air Force not once but twice. That same day President John F. Kennedy would decide to place the Japanese Americans, living in the country at the time, in internment camps. The civilians would not have a clue what they would be put up against, now they would have to encounter various obstacles to make sure they would be able to survive. “The camps were prisons, with armed soldiers around the perimeters, barbed wire. and controls over every aspect of life”(Chang).
The government sent out Execute Order 9066, which sent all Japanese to internment camps. The purpose of this essay is to explain why this executive order should have never gone out. First of all, it was unjustifiable. Many of the Japanese-Americans were born and raised in America.
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.
How would you feel if you were punished for something you didn’t do? This is what happened to many Japanese Americans. After the Pearl Harbor attack, the Americans lost trust with the Japanese Americans. There were many events that caused the Japanese internment camps, not just the Pearl Harbor attack. Political pressure was also a big factor.
Japanese internment camps made us question who was really an American and it relates to today’s issues. Internment camps were similar to concentration camps or prison and Japanese-Americans were put into them. Even though they were considered Americans, they were still treated unfairly by other Americans. So who is American?
The controversy surrounding the idea of the use of the internment camps during the second World War, is a highly debated issue. Was the US wrong to act out of fear in a time of great distress; or was it justifiable? In this essay, I will be arguing in favor of the US, stating, the internment camps were justifiable under the circumstances of the pearl harbor bombing. The first reason I bring forth to justify the US internment camps was that in a time of fear and distress, the US had reacted in a was that was to protect it’s people.
Thesis statement: Though many speculate that the act of dropping the atomic bomb on Japan (Hiroshima and Nagasaki) while not doing so on Europe (Germany and Italy) was racially motivated, racism played little to no role in these bombings. The United States of America and her allies were willing to end World War II at any cost, had the atomic bombs been available they would have been deployed in Europe. In the 1940’s there is no doubt that the United States of America was engulfed by mass anti-Japanese hysteria which inevitably bled over into America’s foreign policy. During this period Japanese people living in both Japan and the United States of America were seen as less that human.
When internees found out that they were free, you would expect that they would be happy and joyful, but they weren’t. Once they got back into their homes, and were free, there was still hatred shown toward them. They didn’t get paid in the camps, they had no insurance; and once they got back into their homes, they found broken windows, empty living rooms, and lost memories. But for some, they don’t want to live in a life of depression. They had just spent several years in the camps, and had the rest of their lives to spend.
