Civil liberties are individual privileges that are secure by law from unwarranted disturbances. Every ethnic group is obligated under this law. America has a tendency of constraining civil liberties tightly during wartime being that it ends up creating anxiety and suppression for everyone. In December 7th, 1941, Japan attacked Pearl Harbor during WWII and led to abomination toward every Japanese person or those with Japanese ancestry alike. Hence, this steered to the creation of internment camps, the case Korematsu v. United States, and The Civil Liberties Act of 1988. First, the attack on Pearl Harbor left many in fear and speechless. In order to protect America, President Franklin D. Roosevelt issued an Executive Order 9066 which determined …show more content…
Fred Korematsu was Japanese born American who was affected by the order. He decided to file a case opposing the rule, stating that it was unconstitutional. The court case Korematsu v. United States became one of the most controversial cases during WWII. Later, Korematsu was jailed and proclaimed that, "I didn't feel guilty because I didn't do anything wrong... Every day in school, we said the pledge of the flag, 'with liberty and justice for all,' and I believed all that. I was an American citizen, and I had as many rights as anyone else." (Korematsu). Those who were born in America, like Korematsu did, had been exposed to American culture throughout their whole life. Experiencing this when they did not do anything was the worst. As a result, the judges ended up agreeing with the government that The Executive Order 9066 was an army obligation. One of the judges named Hugo Black stated that, "Korematsu was not excluded from the military area because of hostility to him or his race. He was excluded because we are at war with the Japanese Empire, because they decided that the military urgency of the situation demanded that all citizens of Japanese ancestry be segregated from the West Coast temporarily." At that fact, there was no way the judges could’ve refused the order and decided to move forward with the rule given. Years after the incident, The Civil Liberties Act of 1988 was