Japanese Internment Camps

While the attack on Pearl Harbor was a devastating time in United States history and the attack being conducted by the Japanese government, it didn’t not justify Japanese Americans being put into internment camps. The fear of a Japanese attack on mainland United States soil prompted the United States government to create these internment camps. Such fear lead to innocent Japanese Americans to live in a way that could be considered inhuman. Of the hundreds of thousands of Japanese Americans in the internment camps half of them were children. The conditions of the camps where no way of life and Japanese Americans were forced to live in an undignified life that

The internment and cruel treatment of the Japanese in the U.S. stemmed from a fear of a full-pledged invasion from Japan and also from years of racial prejudice

Some people claim that the Internment camps were worse than Nazi camps but in reality, they were a bit alike but nothing really similar to them. Some of the hardships were bad food and very small living spaces but they were in there for national security, not for extermination. Over two-hundred voluntarily moved in.(Pipes) Families dined together at communal mess halls.(USHistory.org) Some of the internees had the option of serving in the army. One of the strongest units was the 442nd regiment, an all Japanese unit in Europe. So camps never reached the levels of Nazi camps.(USHistory.org)

I don’t think it was ok for the United States to put the Japanese in Internment camps, because most of the Japanese didn’t have nothing to do with it. They caused some Japanese to give up their houses and land for a small place. 110,000 to 120,000 people of the Japanese ancestry in the east coast. Sixty-two percent were of the internees were United states citizens. One reason it was not ok is because the adults and children had to stand in line to get food and to use the bathroom. The lines were as long as amusement park lines. Another reason is there were like 6-8 people packed in one room.There was really no room to move around.My last reason was the Japanese worked 44 hours just for $12.

Another thing that was bad about the internment camp is that there was a lot of racism going on between the Americans and the Japanese. The anti-racism has been going in the United States since the 19th century. There were tensions between the Asian immigrant workers and the whites because they were force to compete for jobs and land. The United States Congress decided to discourage the Japanese immigrants and to prohibit the naturalization of Japanese immigrants. “The state of California banned the marriages between the whites and the people of Asian descent” (KIM). This is also racism also because the Japanese were the only race that was send to the camps. There were signs on street and billboard on stores

Photograph #1 shows a large group of Japanese Americans lining up behind a table, for what appears to be their registration into a Japanese internment camp. Within the group, you can see looks of confusion and distress on most of the adult faces, as well as looks of confusion and crying from the children. Many of the Japanese Americans are carrying few belongings other than the man to the left with one bag in his hand, and the woman in front of him who has an item in her hands; it is implied that after registering their names with the United States government representatives at the table, they will be sent to the internment camps with what they have. With the confusion on their faces as well, it could be assumed that some people did not even know that they could take belongings with them to the camps. It could also be assumed that many in the line are not sure why they have to register in these camps, as they have been living normal American lives up until this point in 1942.

After the attack on the Pearl Harbor in 1941, a surprise military strike by the Japanese Navy air service, United States was thrilled and it provoked World War II. Two months after the attack on Pearl Harbor, U.S. President FDR ordered all Japanese-Americans regardless of their loyalty or citizenship, to evacuate the West Coast. This resulted over 127,000 people of Japanese descent relocate across the country in the Japanese Internment camps. Many of them were American Citizens but their crime was being of Japanese ancestry. They were forced to evacuate their homes and leave their jobs and in some cases family members were separated and put into different internment camps. There were ten internment camps were placed in “California, Idaho, Utah, Arizona, Wyoming, Colorado, and Arkansas”(History.com). However, until the camps were fully build, the Japanese people were held in temporary centers. In addition, almost two-thirds of the interns were Japanese Americans born in the United States and It made no difference that many of them had never even been to Japan. Also, Japanese-American veterans of World War I were forced to leave their homes and relocate in the internment camps. Japanese families in internment camps dined together, children were expected to attend school, and adults had the option of working for earning $5 per day. The United States government hoped that the internment camps could make it self-sufficient by farming to produce food.

It is my belief that the Internment process took place because mass hysteria and racial tensions fueled the government 's decision. Rather than selecting and relocating solely those posing a threat, such as those with criminal records or political ties, the government made a blanket decision and evacuated all peoples of Japanese descent. This was the result of a hysterical overreaction, and it was later documented that "our government had

Many Japanese Americans were actively being sent to the internment camps against their will by the government. This forced exile likely instilled feelings of fear, confusion and betrayal amongst the Japanese-American people.

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.

On December 7, 1941, Japan attacked air bases in Pearl Harbor, leaving many dead and injured. The incident made the Japanese a focal point in the nation. As a result, President Roosevelt signed an agreement ordering the Japanese to relocate to concentration camps. Then many people at the time saw this idea to be the right thing to do. There are quite a few reasons on why I think sending the Japanese to internment camps was the wrong thing to do.

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.

Whenever you think of World War II camps, the first thing that comes to mind are the Nazi concentration camps. Although not many people think about the American internment camps, they were a very big problem at the time for the Japanese. Most of the Japanese were relocated to these camps, many of which were atrocious. During World War II, the Japanese-American internment camps had many issues, such as: being forced from communities, harsh living conditions, and prejudice from the non-Japanese.

The attack on Pearl Harbor in 1941 was unexpected. The United States suffered heavy losses in the war. This unintended war finally caused American fought back towards Japan. Many Japanese-Americans were being held in detention in a state of intense military preparedness. They were suspected of passing information to the Japanese army or threatening American national security. Many of them were sent to concentration camps without trial or conviction. This measure was disrespectful to Japanese-American human rights.