World War 2 was a very stressful time period in which tensions over losing the war were very high. However, as a result, a lot of these tensions were directed at specific groups of people in the country. The majority of this tension manifested itself in the targeting of certain ethnicities in the American community that hailed from a country fighting against the US.
One of the most notable occurrences of this was with the Japanese internment that occurred during the war. After the Japanese bombed Pearl Harbour, the anti-Japanese sentiment and Japanese-American suspicion were very high. This led to many different people believing that internment of the Japanese Americans was a necessary measure at this time. So, after the bombing, President Roosevelt signed the Executive Order 9066, which forced all-Japanese Americans to leave the West Coast. Often, many of these families had to sell their businesses and home in a hurry, and often for a huge loss. Many people, as well as Roosevelt, believed that the Japanese Americans who sympathized with the Japanese side of the war could help a Japanese attack from the West Coast. So, Roosevelt and others believed that the solution came in the form of the internment of these citizens. As a result of this order, over 120,000 people were relocated to an internment camp. However, most of these 120,000 people were not even native-Japanese. Out of the 120,000 people, only one-third of them were born in Japan. However, the racial prejudice was so high that people ignored these facts and started to support this violation of civil liberties.
However, the Japanese internment was not always fueled by racial prejudice of the war. Often, people had selfish reasons/interests for supporting the war. Most of these people attempted to create petitions and raise public support for their side, without informing them of their own intentions. An example of this was the farmers on the West Coast who wanted to eliminate Japanese competition. To avoid public discontent, many groups were pressured to go with the popular opinion and support internment.
The conditions in these camps were often questionable at best. The camps were often either very cold or very hot, and the living conditions were questionable. The food that was served was mass-produced. The adults were often given the ability to work for a small compensation. However, if anybody tried to leave the camp, there were guards stationed to shoot anyone who tried to leave.
People such as Fred Korematsu tried to voice their opinion against the camps, as he did in Korematsu vs the US, but the Supreme Court generally deemed the measure as necessary during the war.
In 1946, the last internment camp was shut down, finally ending one of the cruelest impacts of the Second World War. The US offered to give compensation to the surviving inhabitants of these camps. However, this can be just seen as another example of the vast encroachment on civil liberties that the government found necessary during wartime. While the internment camps were bad, they seemed less odd when taken in the context of the mass censorship and limiting of freedom of expression that occurred during the war.
http://www.history.com/topics/world-war-ii/japanese-american-relocation
"America…On Our Way: 1939-42"
http://www.ushistory.org/us/51e.asp
One of the most notable occurrences of this was with the Japanese internment that occurred during the war. After the Japanese bombed Pearl Harbour, the anti-Japanese sentiment and Japanese-American suspicion were very high. This led to many different people believing that internment of the Japanese Americans was a necessary measure at this time. So, after the bombing, President Roosevelt signed the Executive Order 9066, which forced all-Japanese Americans to leave the West Coast. Often, many of these families had to sell their businesses and home in a hurry, and often for a huge loss. Many people, as well as Roosevelt, believed that the Japanese Americans who sympathized with the Japanese side of the war could help a Japanese attack from the West Coast. So, Roosevelt and others believed that the solution came in the form of the internment of these citizens. As a result of this order, over 120,000 people were relocated to an internment camp. However, most of these 120,000 people were not even native-Japanese. Out of the 120,000 people, only one-third of them were born in Japan. However, the racial prejudice was so high that people ignored these facts and started to support this violation of civil liberties.
However, the Japanese internment was not always fueled by racial prejudice of the war. Often, people had selfish reasons/interests for supporting the war. Most of these people attempted to create petitions and raise public support for their side, without informing them of their own intentions. An example of this was the farmers on the West Coast who wanted to eliminate Japanese competition. To avoid public discontent, many groups were pressured to go with the popular opinion and support internment.
People such as Fred Korematsu tried to voice their opinion against the camps, as he did in Korematsu vs the US, but the Supreme Court generally deemed the measure as necessary during the war.
In 1946, the last internment camp was shut down, finally ending one of the cruelest impacts of the Second World War. The US offered to give compensation to the surviving inhabitants of these camps. However, this can be just seen as another example of the vast encroachment on civil liberties that the government found necessary during wartime. While the internment camps were bad, they seemed less odd when taken in the context of the mass censorship and limiting of freedom of expression that occurred during the war.
http://www.history.com/topics/world-war-ii/japanese-american-relocation
"America…On Our Way: 1939-42"
http://www.ushistory.org/us/51e.asp
Great post, Rushil. I find it interesting how, despite condemning the Germans for their discrimination of Jews, America wasn't much better with how they treated aliens from other countries. While Japanese-Americans were undoubtedly treated the worst out of all other races, Italian-Americans also had it quite rough. For decades leading up to the war, mass Italian immigration had lead to much resentment of Italian-Americans. And when the war began, Italian-Americans were immediately targeted. Not only were they discriminated against socially, but they were also discriminated against legally. On top of having strict curfews, but they also had their properties seized and had to carry around photo id booklets to travel over 5 miles from home.
ReplyDeletehttps://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/italian-americans-were-considered-enemy-aliens-world-war-ii-180962021/