Example Of Essay On The Issue Of Internment During WW2

The Japanese internment involved the relocation of over one hundred thousand Japanese- Americans into camps following the bombing of the Pearl Harbor by Japanese forces. This attack got the United States of America by surprise as it was not thought that the imperialist Japan would launch their attacks on American soil. It therefore, created tensions because it was uncertain whether they would attack the mainland. Tensions among the citizens were directed to the immigrants and particularly the Japanese who were suspected to extend their loyalty to their motherland through collaborating with the Japanese forces as informers. The concerns of the political leaders made the president to bow to the political pressure and sign the executive order in 1942 that saw thousands of Japanese- Americans contained into camps (Kenney, 2012 p19).
Immediately the directive was issued, the construction of the camps commenced, but even before they were complete thousands of Japanese families were rounded up and contained in places such as stables in race tracks as well as fields. In uncertainty of the future of their homes and investments, many Japanese rushed to sell their properties and inventories mainly at prices far below the market rate. The camps lacked basic facilities and the families lived together in large groups usually dining in common messes. Children did not have access to basic education and other privileges accorded to the rest of American children.
In the Korematsu vs. United States, Fred Korematsu who was one of the Japanese- Americans held in the containment camps decided to challenge the directive in the court. His argument was that in the Fifth Amendment the law prohibited any person or the state to deny a citizen of their liberty in life and deny them the right to their property without the due process of the law. In this case, the United States had denied the Japanese-Americans their right as they were not passed through the process of law to determine their guilt or otherwise. He also cited the Fourteenth amendment which states that all persons should be subjected to equal protection by the law. By holding the Japanese, the States went against this provision. It is noted that the US was also in conflict with Germany and Italy during that time but the irony is that the Italians and Germans living in the country were not treated the same as the Japanese (Kenney, 2012 p82).
The court ruled that the state and the president were in order because the executive order was a wartime necessity. It argued that the president as the commander in chief is allowed by law to issue directives that would allow the military to carry out their operations effectively. In this case, the executive order was to facilitate this. It also stated that when faced with danger, the need to protect the citizens should drive the action of dealing with the danger.
The Japanese were rounded up after the attack on Pearl Harbor and contained together in camps that lacked adequate basic facilities in a bid to safe guard the security of the country. This was seen as an infringement of the rights of citizens and was challenged in the court of law in the Korematsu vs. United States case. Although the court upheld the executive order, the Japanese-Americans felt discriminated against especially because other communities such as the German and the Italians were not subjected to similar treatment. Although the mistake was later on corrected, it remains one of the darkest sides of the American history.

References

Kenney, K. (2012). Korematsu v. the United States: World War II Japanese-American Internment Camps. Minneapolis: ABDO Publishing Company.