Japanese American Treatment
On December 7, 1942, the
Japanese bombed the U.S. at Pearl Harbor claiming the lives of over 2,500
people and wounding over 1,000 more.
This historic event would then lead into World War II. Because of the unexpected and tragic bombing
President Franklin D. Roosevelt thought it would be best to send all citizens
of Japanese descent to designated “internment camps”. Even though the name was different than concentration
camps, they were very similar in treatment and sanitation minus the brutal
slaughter houses. Although a lot of the
Japanese were citizens, they were treated unjust. They were denied their constitutional right
to own land because of their race, which proves there was discrimination
lurking in the future. While the Pearl
Harbor bombing was tragic, it was inhumane and unmerited to separate thousands
of Japanese American citizens into “camps”.
American government officials became paranoid that Japanese spies and soldiers were lingering in the Japanese American population[1]. In order to prevent an uprising Franklin D. Roosevelt issued Executive Order 9066, which revoked the rights of all Japanese Americans. Two-thirds of Japanese Americans that were segregated to internment camps were U.S. citizens[2]..
While Roosevelt was trying to protect his American people, he acted ignorantly on impulse by issuing the Executive Order. He did not think how the internment would affect their lives during and after WWII. There was an immediate change in behavior and treatment towards the Japanese after December 7, 1941. An overwhelming amount of racist comments followed the Japanese attack. The Japanese Americans were accused of siding with their home countries antics, but that could not be farther from the truth. There were many store owners with signs outside the windows saying, “I am an American”. The Japanese American culture was not only physically affected they were emotionally affected as well.
The U.S. government interned about 112,000 Japanese Americans. While they were behind the walls the government either bulldozed their land or sold their property for profit. They stripped everything they worked hard for and didn’t look back because in their eyes they were protecting the Nation from a possible uprising. While they were imprisoned they had to answer two questions, “whether or not they would be willing to be drafted to fight in the war or volunteer as a nurse and whether they would swear to obey all the laws of the U.S. and not interfere with the war effort”[3]. Even after the government abused their constitutional rights, most of the Japanese American people answered yes to both questions. They were trying prove their loyalty to the American people, but they still remained locked up. Despite their treatment, a group of people volunteered their lives to fight for the U.S. They were named the 442nd Regimental Combat Team and they would soon be “the most decorated combat unit of its size in the entire U.S. military for their heroic deeds”[4]. The medals and achievements they received were, “seven Presidential Distinguished Unit Citations, a Congressional Medal of Honor, 47 Distinguished Service Crosses, 350 Silver Stars, 810 Bronze Stars, and more than 3,600 Purple Hearts”[5], which is nothing short of amazing.
The Executive order would eventually be uplifted on January 2, 1945 allowing all Japanese Americans to return to their previous lives if possible[6]. It was questioned whether or not the government put them behind bars because of the war or if they were just being prejudice. It was pointed out that the Japanese Americans were released far before the Japanese surrender and in the height of the war, arguably the most brutal part of the war. If we were in the most vicious part of the war why would we release the potential spies back into the American community. This goes against the reasons for placing the Japanese Americans in internment camps and gives further evidence towards the racial mistreatment of over 100,000 people.
The Japanese American community began to rebuild their lives after they were released. They knew it would take some time and effort, but they were happy to be out of imprisonment. The U.S. had an economic boom after the war ended which was a great help to the newly freed Japanese Americans. American citizens did not see them as threats due to the job availability and cash flow everyone was experiencing[7]. After 20 years passed, “In 1987, the House of Representatives passed a "redress" bill that included an official apology to Japanese Americans and compensated $20,000 to each person who was imprisoned who was still alive”[8]. This redress bill showed that Japanese American citizens could fight for their rights like any other American, but most importantly justice.
Bibliography
[1] Bryan Grapes, J. Japanese American Internment Camps. San Diego, Calif.: Greenhaven Press, 2001.
[2] "Gates Opening and Closing." Japanese Internment : Asian-Nation. Accessed April 6, 2015. http://www.asian-nation.org/internment.shtml.
[3] Bryan Grapes, J. Japanese American Internment Camps. San Diego, Calif.: Greenhaven Press, 2001. [4] "Gates Opening and Closing." Japanese Internment : Asian-Nation. Accessed April 6, 2015. http://www.asian-nation.org/internment.shtml.
[5] "Gates Opening and Closing." Japanese Internment : Asian-Nation. Accessed April 6, 2015. http://www.asian-nation.org/internment.shtml.
[6] "Calisphere - JARDA." Calisphere - JARDA. Accessed April 6, 2015. http://www.calisphere.universityofcalifornia.edu/jarda.
[7] Midori Takagi, 2000. Japanese American Internment Camps. St. James Encyclopedia of Popular Culture. 525-526.
[8] "Gates Opening and Closing." Japanese Internment : Asian-Nation. Accessed April 6, 2015. http://www.asian-nation.org/internment.shtml.
American government officials became paranoid that Japanese spies and soldiers were lingering in the Japanese American population[1]. In order to prevent an uprising Franklin D. Roosevelt issued Executive Order 9066, which revoked the rights of all Japanese Americans. Two-thirds of Japanese Americans that were segregated to internment camps were U.S. citizens[2]..
While Roosevelt was trying to protect his American people, he acted ignorantly on impulse by issuing the Executive Order. He did not think how the internment would affect their lives during and after WWII. There was an immediate change in behavior and treatment towards the Japanese after December 7, 1941. An overwhelming amount of racist comments followed the Japanese attack. The Japanese Americans were accused of siding with their home countries antics, but that could not be farther from the truth. There were many store owners with signs outside the windows saying, “I am an American”. The Japanese American culture was not only physically affected they were emotionally affected as well.
The U.S. government interned about 112,000 Japanese Americans. While they were behind the walls the government either bulldozed their land or sold their property for profit. They stripped everything they worked hard for and didn’t look back because in their eyes they were protecting the Nation from a possible uprising. While they were imprisoned they had to answer two questions, “whether or not they would be willing to be drafted to fight in the war or volunteer as a nurse and whether they would swear to obey all the laws of the U.S. and not interfere with the war effort”[3]. Even after the government abused their constitutional rights, most of the Japanese American people answered yes to both questions. They were trying prove their loyalty to the American people, but they still remained locked up. Despite their treatment, a group of people volunteered their lives to fight for the U.S. They were named the 442nd Regimental Combat Team and they would soon be “the most decorated combat unit of its size in the entire U.S. military for their heroic deeds”[4]. The medals and achievements they received were, “seven Presidential Distinguished Unit Citations, a Congressional Medal of Honor, 47 Distinguished Service Crosses, 350 Silver Stars, 810 Bronze Stars, and more than 3,600 Purple Hearts”[5], which is nothing short of amazing.
The Executive order would eventually be uplifted on January 2, 1945 allowing all Japanese Americans to return to their previous lives if possible[6]. It was questioned whether or not the government put them behind bars because of the war or if they were just being prejudice. It was pointed out that the Japanese Americans were released far before the Japanese surrender and in the height of the war, arguably the most brutal part of the war. If we were in the most vicious part of the war why would we release the potential spies back into the American community. This goes against the reasons for placing the Japanese Americans in internment camps and gives further evidence towards the racial mistreatment of over 100,000 people.
The Japanese American community began to rebuild their lives after they were released. They knew it would take some time and effort, but they were happy to be out of imprisonment. The U.S. had an economic boom after the war ended which was a great help to the newly freed Japanese Americans. American citizens did not see them as threats due to the job availability and cash flow everyone was experiencing[7]. After 20 years passed, “In 1987, the House of Representatives passed a "redress" bill that included an official apology to Japanese Americans and compensated $20,000 to each person who was imprisoned who was still alive”[8]. This redress bill showed that Japanese American citizens could fight for their rights like any other American, but most importantly justice.
Bibliography
[1] Bryan Grapes, J. Japanese American Internment Camps. San Diego, Calif.: Greenhaven Press, 2001.
[2] "Gates Opening and Closing." Japanese Internment : Asian-Nation. Accessed April 6, 2015. http://www.asian-nation.org/internment.shtml.
[3] Bryan Grapes, J. Japanese American Internment Camps. San Diego, Calif.: Greenhaven Press, 2001. [4] "Gates Opening and Closing." Japanese Internment : Asian-Nation. Accessed April 6, 2015. http://www.asian-nation.org/internment.shtml.
[5] "Gates Opening and Closing." Japanese Internment : Asian-Nation. Accessed April 6, 2015. http://www.asian-nation.org/internment.shtml.
[6] "Calisphere - JARDA." Calisphere - JARDA. Accessed April 6, 2015. http://www.calisphere.universityofcalifornia.edu/jarda.
[7] Midori Takagi, 2000. Japanese American Internment Camps. St. James Encyclopedia of Popular Culture. 525-526.
[8] "Gates Opening and Closing." Japanese Internment : Asian-Nation. Accessed April 6, 2015. http://www.asian-nation.org/internment.shtml.