Racism is a term that has been around as long as history has been recorded. In some form, all around the world, there are records of events that show how one race had negative views of another race; many of the times one group views the other group as lesser because they feel they are uneducated, inadequate humans, or even different species. This being said it isn’t surprising that racism still exists as tensions amongst world powers are increasing in the years leading up to America’s involvement in World War Two. Racism still existed when Japan launched a surprise attack on the US at Pearl Harbor, but racism took on a more transparent form, sometimes called systemic/institutionalized racism. Flint, Michigan is an excellent example of systemic …show more content…
This fear will mark as the starting point for racism from WWII until now. This fear is one that shows what institutionalized racism looked like in the midst of chaos. The attack stunned Americans, citizens and military members alike; not only did it stun those who witnessed the carnage it made it easy to point the finger at the enemy, based on racial classifications. This blame game led to Executive Order No. 9066 issued by FDR in Feb. 1942, which in summary allowed the forced migration of the Japanese located in strategic military zones. Japanese is a tricky word here, but it means anybody of Japanese ancestry either foreign born or Nationally born. This executive order is the first step of institutionalized racism, which made it lawful to force these people into internment camps because of their race, and it is argued that “they” are a threat to National Security. The idea that they are a threat to National Security is somewhat bogus as many of those relocated are more American than …show more content…
These petty crimes are largely accompanied with strict punishments, such as felonies, that scar the reputation of those convicted. This scar makes it even more difficult for these people to find good jobs so they can get out of this never ending cycle. Looking at the broader picture would be looking at Flint and similar cases. This institutionalized racism that has been implemented in some form or another since WWII has caused a downward spiral for the poor minorities that is seemingly impossible to get out of. Flint is a great example of the consequences of this systemic racism. In short, the issues in Flint happened because the government viewed these people as “nobodies,” but what they don’t realize is that they are the ones that have caused this issue to escalate to the point it has. The Governor allocated a certain amount of money to the impoverished city, an amount that reflects the wealth of the citizens of the city. Because of the policies discussed earlier on, the civilians in Flint were extremely poor, so the money the city was allocated was extremely small. The government knew very well that the money Flint had to work with was not enough to provide adequate standard of living, but they turned their heads, and wiped these nobodies away like dust under the
Throughout history in America there has always been the idea of racism. When Americans think of racism, they usually think of slavery and that racism is no longer a problem in America. However, this is not the case. Racism is still very apparent in America. It is true that since the end of slavery, the U.S. has made great strides towards becoming a less racist country. In reality, racism will never be extinct. In today’s society, all American citizens of all races have the same rights as one another, yet there is still racism. Racism can be linked directly to stereotypical mindsets of certain groups of people. It is human nature to make conclusions about other people, this is what leads to racism. Today’s racism is not limited to whites
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
One of the major issues in our world is racism. Racism affects almost everyone and it is never a positive thing. Racism has been around since the beginning of time. Even if you aren’t racist in any way, we all have been taught to subconsciously have a stereotype for every race. Whether it’s how the dress, act, what they eat, or how they talk, there is some form of stereotypes for everyone. Racism knows know race or gender, sometime in everyone’s life we have experienced racism whether it be silent or loud. A time which I experienced racism I was walking with my dad to this restaurant not far from my house. The people working there were all Hispanic, as that is the majority
Often, Mass hysteria is caused by a multitude of things but fear is the one which caused the Japanese concentration camps. Even though there was no real evidence that any Japanese Americans were in communication with Japan or still loyal to their home country but Anti-Japanese paranoia still increased because of the many Japanese americans on the west coast (History par.1). Many Americans were terrified of the Japanese because of Pearl harbor which had only happened two months earlier; President Roosevelt heard the people’s fear and responded quickly by having them be put in camps, and because the fear of another pearl harbor on the west coast many Japanese americans were wrongfully sent to camps. Although this case
Racism has been around since the early times of civilization and has many names describing it. The word “racism” first came into common usage in the 1930s when a new word was required to describe the theories on which the Nazis based their persecution of the Jews. As is the case with many of the terns historians use, the phenomenon existed before the coinage of the word that we use to describe
Shortly after the first bombs were dropped on Pearl Harbor on December 7th, 1941, the American people’s fear of the Japanese grew dramatically, especially for those Japanese living in America. Almost every Japanese American was seen as a threat to the country. On February 19th, 1942, Executive Order 9066 was issued by President Franklin D. Roosevelt, authorizing the relocation of Japanese Americans to camps further inland. Over 175,000 Japanese Americans were affected in some way by the order, even though more than 70,000 of them were born in the United States and were American citizens. The common perspective of the American people was shown through their use of the expression “A Jap’s a Jap,” virtually destroying the thought that any
It wasn’t very long after Pearl Harbor that we succumbed to fear of the Japanese here in America, thinking they were spies, and still loyal their ancestral land. Sadly, even our president Roosevelt succumbed to this, in which he signed executive order 9066 which authorized the relocation of all Japanese citizens here in America to internment camps where they would spend 4 years of their life, and lose their homes, valuables, lifes savings,businesses, and much more. Japanese Americans were taken by bus and train to assembly centers such as racetracks and fairgrounds, after this there were camps were created in California, Idaho, Utah, Arizona, Wyoming, Colorado, and Arkansas. Over 127,000 United States citizens were imprisoned during World War II because
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.
Following the December 7, 1941 attack on Pearl Harbor by Japan, racial tensions increased in the United States, especially on the West Coast (Divine 898). The anti-Japanese sentiment led to President Franklin Roosevelt’s Executive Order 9066, which gave military officials the power to limit the civil rights of Japanese Americans (Danzer 802). The order also authorized the forced relocation of all Japanese Americans to concentration camps (Divine 898). These camps were located in desolate deserts and flatlands in the interior of the United States (Sato 67). Two thirds of the 120,000 Japanese Americans who were forced to relocate were “Nisei”, or native born American citizens (Divine 898).
Along the coast, Japanese Americans were put into camps, and the government claims it was a safety measure in order to protect the people of the United States, but in reality, it was a mask for racism. For example, in the editorial, “Americans in Concentration Camps” published to the Crisis by Harry Howard, he asserts, “From a military point of view, the only danger on the coast is from Germany and Italy, but the American government has not taken any such high handed action against Germans and Italians.” Due to racial prejudice, actions were not taken against the real threats because Italians and Germans were considered “white.” The U.S. assumed that all Japanese Americans were potential enemies because the Japan was responsible for the attack on Pearl Harbor. To add on, Howard goes on to argue, “Color seems to be the only possible reason why thousands of American citizens of Japanese ancestry are in concentration camps… There are no Italian American, or German American in such camps.” Without question, this proves that America went down the road of segregation and racism once again and discriminated against a group based on a couple people from that group. Internment and segregation against African Americans were very similar to each other. America is trying to improve from the segregation against blacks, but is falling back down the same hole of racism all over
This was the first time the US had been attacked on their own soil, and it heightened the already present fear that lingers in a country during a time of a war. This led to fear and paranoia, ultimately culminating into President Roosevelt creating and signing Executive Order 9066. This order allowed the military to exclude and move any citizens from any area without said citizens having any trial, hearing, or being charged with a crime. The exclusion affected only people of Japanese descent, forcing them to leave their homes, businesses, communities, and friends, often at huge financial and emotional losses. A majority of these Japanese Americans were citizens themselves, born in raised in the United States, and many had no ties to or communication with Japan. The President and Congress overreached their powers when they implemented Executive Order 9066, an unconstitutional military action violated some of the most basic constitutional rights that are guaranteed in the
Although racism has changed over time these past 50 years, racism in many ways still exists. Everybody has their own opinion and those opinions are influenced by the public and the media. In some way,
The United States was a divided nation at the time of World War II. Divided by race and racism. This Division had been much greater in the past with the institution of slavery. As the years went by the those beliefs did deteriorate slowly, but they were still present during the years of World War II. This division was lived out in two forms, legislation and social behavior. The legislation came in the form of the “Jim Crow” laws. The belief that some people were naturally superior and others inferior, scientific racism, was the accepted belief of the time These cultural traits were waning. After World War II ended they would decline even more rapidly.
The conclusion of the Civil War in favor of the north was supposed to mean an end to slavery and equal rights for the former slaves. Although laws and amendments were passed to uphold this assumption, the United States Government fell short. The thirteenth, fourteenth, and fifteenth amendments were proposed and passed within five years of the Civil War’s conclusion. These amendments were to create equality throughout the United States, especially in the south where slavery had been most abundant. Making equality a realization would not be an easy task. This is because many problems were not perceived before and during the war. The reunification of the country would prove to be harder than expected, and entry into a new lifestyle would be
Racism has occurred for many years and in many different societies. Some people choose to remain oblivious to it all while others choose to take a stand either for it or against it. Racism is a big