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Japanese American Internment During World War II, Research Paper Example

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Introduction

Following Japan’s attack on Pearl Harbor in 1941, the Executive Order Number 9066 was created by President Roosevelt to evacuate Japanese citizens from the West Coast of America. 110.000 people were removed from their homes, and most of them were school-aged children[1]. The creation of the relocation camps was an anti-democratic, and while the reasoning of Order 9066 was that Japanese people were possibly loyal to the Japanese government, it was not strong enough to deprave U.S. citizens from their basic human rights. The decision was not only anti-democratic, but also was criticized on the grounds that it resembled the Nazi isolation of Jews from mainstream society. While the purpose of the internment was to isolate Japanese nationals, it also restricted people’s basic human rights. Therefore, the below article will review the aspects of human rights violations that occurred as a result of Order 9066.

The main thesis of the study is that Order 9066 during World War II was not founded on facts, only assumptions, and resulted in serious human rights violations, discrimination and stigmatization of Japanese nationals in the United States.

America’s Motivations for Order 9066

The climate of war and the panic that surrounded the bombing of Pearl Harbor was the main reason why President Roosevelt decided to isolate more than 100.000 people of Japanese origins into ten camps that were hastily built and did not provide basic health care, schools and services for people. As a result, many people died of malnutrition and inadequate health care. While the American government declared Order 9066 as a “military necessity” [2], the leaders of the country had no foundation for the claims that the Japanese citizens of America created imposed a risk on the security of the country. As Weglyn[3] states: ”our government had in its possession proof that not one Japanese American, citizen or not, had engaged in espionage, not one had committed any act of sabotage”. The original text of the order claims that the war’s success depends on the national defense, however, it does not provide proof that there is a real danger or threat from Japanese nationals for domestic and international security. Order 9066 states explains the motives simply as security precautions. The text states: “successful prosecution of the war requires every possible protection against espionage and against sabotage to national-defense material, national-defense premises, and national-defense utilities”[4].

The Government’s document archive[5] states that the long-standing racism in the U.S. society against Asian groups of immigrants also contributed towards the decision. Pressure from lobbyist economic and social groups was one of the reasons why the government made the decision to remove Japanese nationals from the West Coast. While the Department of Justice raised ethical and constitutional objections, the U.S. Army decided to carry out Order 9066. As the later released remedy document [6] states, the actions “were motivated largely by racial prejudice, wartime hysteria, and a failure of political leadership”.

Civil Rights Issues in Military Incarceration Camps

Most of the relocated Japanese nationals were U.S. citizens. Therefore, they had the same right to freedom and basic care as other people. Based on a suspicion that was not confirmed by solid facts, the U.S. government denied the rights to free movement from more than 100.000 people. It is important to note that there were several consequences of the forceful removal of families apart from denying them the freedom of movement in the country. The book of Weglyn[7] depicts a dark picture of the camps, while the author claims that indeed these assembly centers designed to house Japanese nationals were “concentration camps”. The camps were located in the desert, Michi’s parents were made to do low paid jobs to cover the cost of living. Further, the author describes how Japanese Americans were made to fill out a loyalty questionnaire. One of the questions included in the questionnaire, quoted by the Personal Justice Denied. Document[8]was requiring the individual to “swear unqualified allegiance to the United States of America”[9]. Apart from low level of health care offered in these camps, low access to nutrition (most of the camps were located in the middle of the desert), it is important to note that health studies show show an increase of heart disease and premature death among Japanese Americans who were relocated to the camps.[10] Relocation also created traumatic stress as people who were removed from their home did not only lose their ties with their families and friends, but also had no certainty regarding their future. They had to leave behind everything they built up in life: their homes, jobs, careers. People suffered both material and intangible losses. They lost their incomes for years, opportunities in career and education. The estimated property loss of evacuated Japanese citizens is 1.3 billion, while the total net income loss is calculated at 2.7 billion dollars[11].

The circumstances in the desert camps were far from satisfactory. [12] In the winter, residents had to face temperatures 356 degrees below zero, while in the summer it could reach 115 degrees. Accommodations were crowded. In some camps, 25 people were forced to live in a space that was designed for 4 persons.[13] Recreation facilities were restricted, and often used to house residents because camps were over-crowded. Schools lacked supportive materials and labs, while the only opportunities for work initially were on farms. Later the government created factories designed to employ residents of the camps[14].

Discrimination and prejudice has a great impact on mental and physical health. Citizens who were forced to relocate to camps were often stigmatized based on their nationality, despite being U.S. citizens. According to the 1983 report [15], “exclusion continued without adequate regard to evacuees’ demonstrated loyalty to the United States”. The only reason why residents of the ten camps were removed from mainstream society was that they were suspected of being hostile against the United States. These assumptions were not based on experience, only the racial diversity of people. This means that they suffered institutional prejudice and discrimination.

Personal freedom was restricted to a great extent. The camps were surrounded by barbed wires and boundaries were monitored by armed guards. While initially the relocation was planned to be executed on a voluntary base, it later became mandatory for all who were of Japanese origin and lived in the West Coast. Further, the opportunities for learning, development, recreation and personal hygiene were limited; overall choices of residents in the camp were restricted.

After the closing down of the internment camps in 1946, former residents had to rebuild their lives. Due to their years of exclusion from the mainstream society, this was extremely hard. Japanese Americans also had to often reinstate their legal residential status and face institutional discrimination that was a result of their stigmatization by the government. Many Americans held sentiments after the 2^nd World War and hostility against Japan as a nation initially, however, their perceptions were reinforced by the institutional discrimination of Japanese Americans during the war, making it harder for those returning from camps resettle in the society. It was hard enough to find their personal belongings, homes, farms and property destroyed and in ruins, but they also had to deal with the psychological effects of discrimination.

Remedies Offered

The main remedy offered by the U.S. government for former residents of desert camps was delivered through the Civil Liberties Act Of 1988[16]. The Act clearly states that “a grave injustice was done to both citizens and permanent residents of Japanese ancestry by the evacuation, relocation, and internment of civilians during World War II”. The U.S. Congress also made a formal apology on the behalf of the U.S. nation.

All surviving internee was offered a compensation of $20.000 by the government, while education funds and other support budgets were introduced to create compensation in 1988, based on the recommendations of the Civil Liberties Act[17]. However, education support is likely to be too late for those who were supposed to attend college forty years prior to the allocation of the funds. The loss of property and opportunities cannot be compensated and translated into dollars, nor can mental health and physical condition damages caused by the circumstances in the camps. The compensation does not cover discrimination, and while the Civil Liberties Act does state that the government will do everything to avoid similar events happening in the future[18], the complete rehabilitation of Japanese nationals is not possible.

While the Civil Liberties Act does state that injustice was done to Japanese Americans, it also states that the actions of the government to stigmatize, isolate and restrict the movements of its own citizens were “fundamental violations of the basic civil liberties”.

Conclusion

As a conclusion, the study has revealed that the United States has acted in a discriminatory and unjust manner against its own citizens during the war. While turning time back and undoing actions is impossible, it is important that governments learn from their mistakes and put preventive measures in place to avoid future occurrence of the same violations of civil rights and personal freedom. The above research of primary and secondary documents has revealed that unjustified fear combined with pre-existing prejudice and racism against Asian nationals within the United States’ society has created the ideal circumstances for implementing Executive Order 9066. Personal memoirs, original documents and government research have been reviewed in order to confirm the study’s original statement that the decision to remove Japanese Americans from the mainstream society was based on unfunded claims that these individuals imposed threat to the nation. It has also been confirmed that the order was executed in a manner that promoted prejudice, discrimination, while violating U.S. citizens’ human rights. However, the research has revealed another aspect of the internment decision; that is a long-term effect on Japanese Americans’ lives. They were not only denied basic rights, but suffered economic loss, missed opportunities for career progression and education, while the institutional racism behind Order 9066 has strengthened the society’s already existing prejudice against Asian nationals living in the country. As a result, the decision did not only affect people for years they spent in the military camps, but their future prospects, as well as the lives of the next generation.

Bibliography

Commission of the Wartime Relocation and Internment of Civilians. Personal Justice Denied: Report of the Commission on the Wartime Relocation and Internment of Civilians. University of Washington Press, 1997.

U.S. Government. “Civil Liberties Act Of 1988”. Government Archive. 1988.

S. Government. “Executive Order 9066” 1942.

Weglyn, N. (1976) Years of Infamy: The Untold Story of America’s Concentration Camps. University of Washington Press, 1976.

Web Sources Used

“Ourdocuments.gov” Executive Order 9066 Resulting in the Relocation of Japanese (1942). Accessed 07/04/2014 http://www.ourdocuments.gov/index.php?flash=true&

PBS.org. Internment History. Accessed 07/04/2014 http://www.pbs.org/childofcamp/history/index.html

WRA Records of the War Relocation Authority. National Archives. Accessed 07/04/2014 http://www.archives.gov/research/guide-fed-records/groups/210.html

[1] Weglyn, N. (1976) Years of Infamy: The Untold Story of America’s Concentration Camps.

[2] Ibid.

[3] Ibid.

[4] Executive Order 9066. 1942.

[5] Ourdocuments.org. Executive Order 9066: Resulting in the Relocation of Japanese (1942)

[6] U.S. Government Civil Liberties Act Of 1988.

[7] Weglyn, N. (1976) Years of Infamy: The Untold Story of America’s Concentration Camps.

[8] The Commission On Wartime Relocation And Internment Of Civilians. (1983) Personal Justice Denied. p. 192.

[9] WRA Story, Ourdocuments.gov. pp. 86-87.

[10] PBS.org. Internment History.

[11] Ourdocuments.gov. Executive Order 9066: Resulting in the Relocation of Japanese (1942)

[12] The Commission On Wartime Relocation And Internment Of Civilians. (1983) Personal Justice Denied.