Argumentative Essay On Japanese Internment

Japanese-American Internment was the relocation of many Japanese-American and Japanese descendents into camps known as “War Relocation Camps” during World War II (specifically after the attack on Pearl Harbor). In 1942, the United States government relocated and interned approximately 120,000 Japanese-American citizens and people of Japanese descent into relocation camps. This internment lasted for about four years, and was backed by the government as well as the president. The last relocation camp was closed in January 1946, five months after World War II officially ended.

Japanese internment was not and is not justifiable. America is a mixing pot of cultures, religions, and ethnicities. Thus, American citizens do not inherently have a significant relationship to the nations of their heritage. Immigrants to this country actively selected a lifestyle other than that of their homeland, for one reason or another. Those who were born in America, without any first-hand exposure to the home of their parents or grandparents are especially free of potential conflicting ties. This is proven when Grant Hirabayashi admits, “...I was offered what they call…[an appointment as] a military cadet. And, I told the officer...no thanks. I was an American citizen,” (RAP, pg 190). Another point of importance is that an individual can be loyal to their country without wishing to join its military or military

Imagine 110,00 people being taken away into internment camps, that’s nearly the population of the big island! This is what happened to many japanese-americans during the pearl harbor bombing. I believe that it was not necessary to place japanese-americans into internment camps because it was a act of racism, violated japanese-americans rights and lastly it was unconstitutional.

The internment of Japanese Americans was not justified because it was pushing the rights of the U.S. Constitution and was seen as racist. Frank Murphy, an associate justice of the Supreme Court, a governor in Michigan, and a U.S. attorney general, believes that it goes against the Constitution to contain all of the Japanese Americans. This act would take over the constitutional rights of all the Japanese being put in internment camps. By putting the Japanese Americans in internment camps it takes away their constitutional rights away and is being racist toward a certain race of people.

Imagine what it would be like to be told at a moment’s notice that you must pack up and be relocated from your home all because of your ethnic background? It doesn’t seem possible that it happened, but it did. And it is still happening to specific ethnic groups. During World War Two and the bombing of Pearl Harbor the United States Government, President Roosevelt and many American citizens did not trust the Japanese. They needed to be in internment camps like the one at Newell California that is shown above. The Japanese people could be monitored and watched to prevent any underground activities. My husband and I live 55 miles from an old Japanese Internment Camp, called The Tulelake Relocation Center or the Tule Lake Segregation Center.

On December 7th, 1941 Japan bombed Pearl Harbour, "a date which will live in infamy"(http://historymatters.gmu.edu/d/5166/), sending America into a widespread panic, and anger. This day is what caused us to do something that no one would of thought we would ever do. We created internment camps here in America after signing executive order 9066, which authorized the relocation of all Japanese here in the US to those dreaded internment camps. The conditions were bad but not as bad as they were in Germany where millions of Jews died. After the war the remaining internees were freed to go rebuild their lives, during their captivity they were many legal cases against the Japanese internment, but fear overcame what was right.

Two months after Pearl Harbor, President Roosevelt authorized “Executive order 9066”. Which made More than 110,000 Japanese in the U.S to relocate to internment camps for reason of “national security”. The United States feared that they’re could have been Japanese spies inside America so the government relocated most Japanese immigrants to camps. It was one of the saddest moments in America that the government of America took actions on innocent people just because their heritage. America’s internment camps are similar yet different to Hitler’s concentrations camps.

So, some people say that the internment of the Japanese-Americans was totally constitutional and let me tell you now that is a lie. The reason I say this is specifically in the fourth amendment shows that you can not have your land or property taken by government without a warrant. Also right in the constitution, it says “we the people.” How can this be when you separate a whole race of people away from everyday

When Franklin Roosevelt issued Executive Order 9066 on February 19, 1942,1 thousands of Japanese-American families were relocated to internment camps in an attempt to suppress supposed espionage and sabotage attempts on the part of the Japanese government. Not only was this relocation based on false premises and shaky evidence, but it also violated the rights of Japanese-Americans through processes of institutional racism that were imposed following the events of Pearl Harbor. Targeting mostly Issei and Nisei citizens, first and second generation Japanese-Americans respectively,2 the policy of internment disrupted the lives of families, resulting in a loss of personal property, emotional distress,

Japanese Internment can not be justified by the United States government. The United States government, in the twentieth century can not justify the Internment of Japanese Americans and their families. Many will argue that in times of war that difficult decisions and choices have to be made on behalf of the nation at war. World War II highlighted the actions of a nation, embracing and expediting the actions and decisions while not seeing the long term consequence of such decisions. People in support of the war and the policies of our government, will argue that they needed to make the war more efficient to shorten the war and spare our nation needless lost of life. Can a society sacrifice moral principles as they blur the lines of its citizens and its enemies?

     For over a century, the United States has been one of the most powerful and influential states on the globe. However, every nation has made mistakes in its past. Throughout our country’s history, certain groups have had to endure horrible injustices: the enslavement of African-Americans, the removal of Native Americans, and discrimination against immigrants, women, homosexuals, and every other minority. During World War II, the government crossed the line between defending the nation and violating human rights, when it chose to relocate Japanese residents to internment camps. The actions taken by the U.S. government against Japanese Americans and Japanese living in the

Like all issues involving race or war, the question of whether or not it was legal and ethical to make Japanese Americans move to relocation camps in early WWII is a difficult and controversial problem. The internment of around 50,000 Japanese citizens and approximately 70,000 Japanese-American people born in the U.S. living in the American West Coast has become known as a tragedy and mistake. The government even set up numerous projects to apologize to the American citizens who were wronged (Bosworth). Still, at the time that the decision to relocate was made, the actions were constitutionally legal and seen by many as necessary. The actions were not based on racist feelings. It was, however,

The Japanese-American placement in internment camps was wrong and unconstitutional. The Japanese-American people had been living in the United States without question until the uprise of racial prejudice brought on by the bombing of Pearl Harbor. Many Japanese-Americans had been born in America and lived an American life, integrated into American schools, speaking with American accents, and enjoying American culture. But, after the bombing of Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941, the Japanese were suddenly seen as threats that needed to be controlled. Without any consent, these Japanese-Americans were placed in internment camps with poor conditions and treated as if they were ticking time bombs themselves.

The Japanese-American Internment was a necessary choice, made by President Franklin Delano Roosevelt. It helped to make our nation secure during times of extreme emergency and it also helped the US government to keep their enemy under watch. “The story of how Japanese American soldiers from the war’s most highly decorated US military unit came to be there is just one part of a remarkable saga. It is also a story of one of the darkest periods in American history, one filled with hardship, sacrifice, courage, injustice, and finally, redemption. It began more than a hundred years ago” (Sandler, 2013, p. 6). At the turn of the 21st century began the immigration of the Japanese to America for various reasons, but all with one thing in mind: freedom. “We talked about America; we dreamt about America. We all had one wish – to be in America” (Sandler, 2013, p. 6). The decision by these many people was a grueling and tough decision, but they knew it would benefit them in the long run. “…like their European counterparts, they were willing to risk everything to begin life anew in what was regarded as a golden land of opportunity” (Sandler, 2013, p. 6). When they came to America, they were employed and were able to begin their new lives for the first part of it.

Imagine the average American family; they’re law abiding citizens who have good jobs, they always pay their taxes on time, the kids are star athletes in their school. Now imagine they wake up one morning to soldiers banging on their door and telling them that they must leave their house; they can take only what they can carry and have to leave everything else, losing it forever. They have a week to get ready, and then after that the soldiers take them to a location where they’re put in inhumane living conditions and are treated like criminals. The idea seems ridiculous, but that was the unconstitutional treatment that many American citizens of Japanese descent received in the years following the attack on Pearl Harbor in 1942.