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Was Fred Korematsu Justified?

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“If you have the feeling that something is wrong, don't be afraid to speak up ”(Fred Korematsu). In 1941 The Pearl Harbor was bombed, America was in fear. A year later, February 19, 1942 President Roosevelt signed the Executive Order 9066 which brought out the internment camps for Japanese Americans. In 1944, Korematsu spoke up for his rights as a Japanese- American citizen and he fought against the government. Fred Korematsu took a stand against the United States government for his rights by resisting arrest and placement into internment camps, and these actions resulted in a huge court case where he was accused guilty, though Korematsu lost, he should have been justified to evade the executive order. During the time period, “Japanese planes …show more content…

However he was arrested on May 30,1942 when he was recognized as a “jap” (“ Fred Korematsu”). Therefore, Fred Korematsu was taken into the internment camps where he asked the military “I would like to see the government admit that they were wrong and do something about it so this will never happen again to any american citizen of any race, creed or color”(Supreme Court). As a result the court case was started to prevent any other races from being treated badly as well as to see if it was justified for the government to bring out this order. In doing so, Korematsu group of lawyers during the case stated “Korematsu was born on our soil, of parents born in Japan.The Constitution makes him a citizen of the United States by nativity and a citizen of California by 243*243 residence”(Google Scholar). Fred Korematsu was standing up for all the Japanese - american who were in the camps and suffered too much. Korematsu lawyers pleaded that “Korematsu has been convicted of an act not commonly a crime. It consists merely of being present in the states where of he is a citizen, near the place he was born, and where all his life has lived” (Google Scholar)In addition the case was taken all the way to the supreme court where he was accused to be guilty for standing up for his right to not got to the internment camp. Korematsu pleaded not guilty but the court did not acknowledge his

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