Japanese Americans And Japanese War

In June 1942, Japan seized control of two islands in the far western Aleutian chain of islands off the west coast of Alaska, Kiska and Attu. Japanese forces started by bombing Dutch Harbor and then landed ground troops on Attu Island. The island’s 47 residents were no match for 2,000 enemy troops. Japan captured the island residents and sent them to mainland Japan as prisoners for the rest of the war. With the island free of any Americans, Japan was able to set up camp. It is the only time since the war of 1812 that an enemy force has occupied American soil.

While many Americans of the time would argue that any Japanese-looking person could have been dangerous and anti-America, in reality, the U.S. simply hated Japan and their culture which was shown through societal racism. Firstly, a document published in 1942, states, “All Japanese look very much alike to a white person-it is hard for us to distinguish between them… Many Japanese-Americans have been educated in Japan. Many, believers in Shintoism, worship the Emperor and regard his orders as superior to any loyalty they may owe the United States.” (Document H). Clearly, many white Americans felt that internment could be justified by the fact that it was hard to tell which Japanese-looking people were pro Japan and which were pro United States, therefore meaning that they should all be held captive. These Americans misunderstand the situation by getting the false impression that

     Another factor in the case is racism. Japanese-Americans were subjected to discrimination from the government even before the United States’ entrance into WWII. Five days before the executive order that allowed for removal of Japanese from the west coast, Lieutenant General John L. DeWitt speculated the possibility of the Japanese-Americans acting against the U.S., saying that “the very fact that no sabotage has taken place to date is a disturbing and confirming indication that such action will be taken” (RTAP, 119). This created a no-win situation for the Japanese-Americans because if they did not act against the U.S., it was still thought that inevitably would. Japanese were denied citizenship before the war, as well (RTAP, 121). Inside the camps, the loyalty questionnaires forced them to either renounce both their allegiance to

To be a Japanese immigrant in the early 1900s was difficult but after December 7, 1941 things only got worse. On December 7, 1941, the Japanese Imperial Navy attacked the United States naval base in Pearl Harbor, Hawaii. “Although conflict had been underway in both Europe and Asia for years, the United States did not formally enter the hostilities until December 8, when President Franklin Delano Roosevelt famously declared the attack on Pearl Harbor ‘a day which we live in infamy’ and asked Congress for a declaration of war” (Wu and Izumi). After the attack on Pearl Harbor “race became increasingly associated with loyalty in the United States” (Harth 254). “What Japan had done was blamed on Japanese Americans” (Wu 2). On February 19, 1942 President Roosevelt signed Executive Order 9066. Executive Order 9066 granted the secretary of war and his commanders the power “to prescribe military areas in such places and of such extent as he or the appropriate Military Commander may determine, from which any or all persons may be excluded” (Executive Order 9066). “Although the text of Executive Order 9066 did not specifically mention Japanese Americans, it was intended to apply to them exclusively” (G. Robinson and G. Robinson 4).

Japanese immigrants and the following generations had to endure discrimination, racism, and prejudice from white Americans. Two months after the Japanese bombing of Pearl Harbor, the President Franklin D. Roosevelt authorized the United States government to forcibly removed thousands of Japanese-American citizens who lived on the West Coast. They would relocate them to concentration camps in remote parts of Arizona, California, Idaho, and other states in the West because of an unfair reason from white Americans due to fear and ignorance. The relocation of Japanese-Americans into internment camps was one of the most flagrant violations of civil liberties in American history. Approximately, 130,000 Japanese immigrants were relocated to these interment camps, lost their businesses, forced to give up their homes and assets in addition to their freedom. Most of the population were long-standing immigrants (Issei) who arrived before 1924 or American-born children of immigrants (Nisei) who were solid members of the community and loyal to their country.

During World War II, approximately 120,000 people of Japanese descent who lived on the Pacific Coast of the US were sent to internment camps after the bombing at Pearl Harbor by Japan on December 7th, 1941. American citizens made up 62% of those who were interned. And even though these American citizens were being unconstitutionally blocked off from the rest of society, the majority of these citizens still declared that they remained forever loyal to America. Some of the recollections left behind by the internees of their experiences at these camps include letters to their loved ones, diaries, pictures, and even full plays. And while living in often cramped, and poorly maintained conditions, the internees still tried to lead normal lives

Imagine if people consider you guilty of sabotaging your country without a fair trial. Your home was searched against your will. And you were denied rights as straightforward as freedom of speech. That’s what the Japanese underwent during WWII. 120,000 Japanese Americans were taken from their homes and brought to concentration camps in remote locations that were in in harsh environments. That all happened because they were considered possible spies, sent from Japan. On December 7th, 1941, Pearl Harbor was bombed by the Japanese military. War hysteria, failure of leadership, and preexisting racism was mostly why the reason why so many Japanese Americans were put into concentration camps. Our country was trying to balance common good with individual rights of the people. But, the common good was valued more than people’s during World War II. Most of the time, The United States government does a favorable job balancing people’s rights and the good of the nation. For example, we pay taxes to support our government, and the government protects us (ex: the police force) But during WWII, the US broke more than half the amendments in the bill of rights. Some of the major ones being the 4th amendment (search and seizure,) the 1st amendment (mainly freedom of speech) and the 6th amendment (right to a speedy and fair trial) Why, in the land of the free was a large amount of citizens denied basic constitutional rights for so long?

On February 19, 1942, President Roosevelt signed the Executive Order 9066 allowing the military to exclude “any and all persons” from designated areas of the country as needed for national defense. These “any and all persons” were Japanese Americans, 2/3 citizens and 1/3 aliens, and the designated area was the West Coast of the United States. The Executive Order to place the Japanese living in the United States into internment camps was deemed necessary due to the recent attack on Pearl Harbor, December 7, 1941, by Japan.

In the United States, prejudice, propaganda, and power were collective factors influencing discrimination against Japanese Americans before, and during World War II, but the bombing of Pearl harbor catapulted the greatest violation of civil rights against a minority group during this time with the issuance of Executive Order 9066, which ordered their confinement.

The Issei (first generation immigrants) crossed the Pacific Ocean to come to America because there was a high demand for immigrants’ cheap labor. The Japanese left everything familiar to them. They established their own communities of Japanese culture. The Japanese were discriminated and faced with racial injustice. The Pearl Harbor attack was a spark for more people to hate Japanese living in the United States. Then the Executive order signed by Roosevelt forced hundreds of Japanese Americans to leave their homes and go to interment camps because people feared they were spies for Japan. Most young men wanted to prove their loyalty to America and restore family honor so they joined the war.

Japanese-American’s before World War II were treated not good but not bad in the United States, even at the start of the war they were still treated the same. It wasn’t until the Japanese’s attack on December 7, 1941 at Pearl Harbor that everything changed for them. They were looked down on and that they were un-American to most Americans at the time and were treated very poorly. They were forced to live in a interment camp throughout the duration of the war and work there. No one really cared that they were being brought to camps to live except for some people that would eventually help them while their time in the camp and donate to them. The American government actions after this event changed every Japanese-Americans life forever.

Japanese Americans during World War II were displaced from their homes and placed in concentration camps (Takaki, 147). “In the War, we are now engaged in racial affinities are not severed by immigrations” (Takaki, 148). Furthermore, Japanese Americans were not citizens due to the exclusion of Asian people

In 1941, the Japanese military bombed Pearl Harbor, which made many Americans dislike Japan and the people that are from Japan. Also, President Roosevelt created the Executive Order 9066. The Executive Order stated that all people of Japanese ancestry would be relocated to internment camps, but there weren’t that many that got interned in Hawaii. From 1942-1945, there were about 120,000 “aliens” of Japanese descent that had to live in these internment camps. The government tried to portray life in these camps as happy and nice, but in reality, it wasn’t like that. They had to live in small spaces with many other people, leave most of their belongings at their house, and use what was given to them in the camps. The government didn’t do the right thing when they put the Japanese and Japanese Americans into internment camps during WWII. They only did it because of how they looked, because the United States was at war with Japan, and because of fear and anger towards Japan.

Migration of Japanese people to America began in mid-1800s as they searched for peace and a mode of payment to improve their family conditions, and escape from unstable home conditions in Japan. Migration resulted in a life of great hard work and severities of hostility in the workplace. In addition, Japanese immigrants had to face multiple legislative attacks from Americans and endure poor working conditions because of their presence in a foreign land.

The United States had to alter their submarine and bomber warfare methods to properly defend themselves from the Japanese. Submarines and bombers were forced to adopt unrestricted warfare methods which loosened moral and ethical war time views. The United States was dragged into the Second World War by the Japanese attack of Pearl Harbor making them victims of the ruthless warfare methods of the Japanese. The Japanese military had a relentless reputation for cruelty as Sturma paraphrases President Roosevelts need to abandon past rules of warfare to successfully fight Japanese savages. The Japanese committed horrible war atrocities that influenced a change in American warfare methods causing them to reevaluate combat tactics and widen the scope