Japanese American Internment Camps Essay

The purpose of this paper is to discuss the internment of Japanese Americans on the West coast of the United States. On going tension between the United States and Japan rose in the 1930’s due to Japan’s increasing power and because of this tension the bombing at Pearl Harbor occurred. This event then led the United States to join World War II. However it was the Executive Order of 9066 that officially led to the internment of Japanese Americans. Japanese Americans, some legal and illegal residents, were moved into internment camps between 1942-1946. The internment of Japanese Americans affected not only these citizens but the

Immediately after the attack, the U.S. declared war on Japan. In the days that followed, there were many presidential proclamations that declared strict restrictions on German, Italian, and Japanese residents in the U.S. In the months that followed, the restrictions for aliens from Japan continued to increase, while they were substantially relaxed for German and Italian aliens. This was most likely due to the false negotiations and the unexpected attack from Imperial Japan causing the government to become concerned with the loyalties of Japanese citizens. After the attack on Pearl Harbor, the U.S. government came to the conclusion that it was a very real possibility that Imperial Japan could attempt a full-scale invasion of the United States starting from the West Coast. General John L. DeWitt, commanding officer of the U.S. Army's Western Defense Command, pursued to remove all “enemy aliens” from the West Coast, due to being deemed the most susceptible area to be attacked. General Dewitt recommended the government’s evacuation of all Japanese from the coastal areas of California, Oregon, and Washington state. DeWitt's recommendations were accepted by both the Army and the civilian heads. On February 19, 1942, President Roosevelt signed Executive Order 9066, authorizing the Army to "designate military areas" from which "any persons may be excluded." The words "Japanese,” or "Japanese Americans" never appeared in the Order, but the order was primarily used with intent

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.

Written in the 1940s, Arthur Miller’s play the crucible explores the hysteria, persecution, and lack of due process that characterized the 1692 Salem Trials. Arguably, the themes explored in this play resonate with many modern and historical events. Arthur Miller himself saw strong connection between the events surrounding the Red Scare in the 1950s. When juxtaposed with events of the crucible, themes of hysteria, persecution, and lack of due process also emerge from a study of the Japanese Internment Camps. In December 7 1941, one of the American colonies was attacked by Japan. After the Attack on Pearl Harbor, America was feared of the

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.

Internment: the state of being confined as a prisoner, especially for political or military reasons.

     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

On December 7, 1941, the Empire of Japan attacked the United States naval base at Pearl Harbor, bringing the United States into World War II (Prange et al., 1981: p.174). On February 19, 1942, United States President Franklin D. Roosevelt issued Executive Order 9066 authorizing the Secretary of War and Military Commanders to prescribe areas of land as excludable military zones (Roosevelt, 1942). Effectively, this order sanctioned the identification, deportation, and internment of innocent Japanese Americans in War Relocation Camps across the western half of the United States. During the spring and summer of 1942, it is estimated that almost 120,000 Japanese Americans were relocated from their homes along the West Coast and in Hawaii and

“Herd ‘em up, pack ‘em off, and give ‘em the inside room in the badlands”(Hearst newspaper column). Many Americans were feeling this way toward people of Japanese descent after the attack on Pearl Harbor. The feelings Americans were enduring were motivated largely by wartime hysteria, racial prejudice, and a failure of political leadership. The Japanese-Americans were being denied their constitutional rights, they were provided poor living conditions in these relocation camps, and by the time apologies and reparations were paid to the Japanese, it was too late.

In the year 1942, President Roosevelt signed the “Executive Order 9066,” which created the existence of internment camps and removal of all Japanese-Americans that lived on the west-side of the United States. Roosevelt signed this mostly because of the suspicion of the Japanese-Americans of causing severe damage to the United States. Before the attacks of Pearl Harbor, Japanese-Americans were not thought of much differently as to Americans, other than the fact they were obviously Japanese. The Pearl Harbor bombing caused everyone to keep their focus on the Japanese-Americans. When the Japanese-Americans were moved out to the Internment-camps, some questions were stirred around. Did the government make the correct decision, removing all Japanese-Americans from the West Coast? No, the government did not make the correct decision because a good amount of the Japanese-Americans were innocent, they lost all of their belongings, and having a terrible life within the camps.

On December 7,1941 Japan raided the airbases across the islands of Pearl Harbour. The “sneak attack” targeted the United States Navy. It left 2400 army personnel dead and over a thousand Americans wounded. U.S. Navy termed it as “one of the great defining moments in history”1 President Roosevelt called it as “A Day of Infamy”. 2 As this attack shook the nation and the Japanese Americans became the immediate ‘focal point’. At that moment approximately 112,000 Persons of Japanese descent resided in coastal areas of Oregon, Washington and also in California and Arizona.3

The move to the internment camps was a difficult journey for many Japanese-Americans. Many of them were taken from their homes and were allowed only to bring a few belongings. Okubo colorfully illustrates the dramatic adjustment of lifestyle that Japanese-Americans had to make during the war. Authentic sketches accompany each description of the conditions that were faced and hardships that were overcome. The illustrations were drawn at the time each event described throughout the story took place. Each hand drawn picture seems to freeze time, capturing the feelings and intense anxiety many felt during the war. The pictures assist the author's first person narration and assist the reader in creating an accurate

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.

One may ask, why would someone move innocent US citizens, force them to live in terrible camps, and force them to leave their homes selling all their personal belongings. Well, the answer to that is, because rumors spread that Japanese-Americans were planning to sabotage the US after the bombing of Pearl Harbor. Following the bombing every Japanese-American was viewed as if they had been the one who bombed Pearl Harbor. There was racial prejudice spread that was anti-japanese. Although many people thought the Japanese American relocation was needed to keep the United States security during the war against Japan, these relocation centers were violations of Japanese-Americans’ rights.

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.