Memo

Title page

Japanese-American intervention during World War II

The policy of internment camps was the American reaction to Japan's attack on Pearl Harbor in 1941. A massive wave of trauma spread across the country as the American government transmitted a significant number of Japanese to internment camps. The famous abuses of World War II include the establishment of the internment camps. In the United States thousands of people were locked up in detention camps during the war. The policy stated that the people of Japanese descent will be kept in isolation in these camps. This action reflects the atrocious violation of American civil rights.

The reason for the implementation of this order was to prevent espionage from American territory. Japanese American population was directed impacted by this decision. It influenced the lives of around 117,000 people and the majority were American citizens. The Japanese were sent to the camps that were located in poor areas that affected their socio-economic development. This was a denial of the basic rights of freedom and the Japanese suffered the economic adversities.

These camps were developed on the orders of President Franklin Roosevelt following execution order of 9066. During the event, the Japanese were denied ownership of their homes. They were only permitted to carry as many things as they can. This resulted in the loss of their property. The property left by the Japanese was either stored in government facilities or theft. Evacuation orders were passed by the president that made it a duty of the army to remove people of Japanese descent. Many Japanese sold their houses and carried their assets. However many still lost their homes and poverty.

Japanese had to survive in the camps that lacked adequate living facilities. The camps were overcrowded and the Japanese had to live in extreme conditions of poverty. The camps were constructed with tarpaper-covered barracks lacking plumbing or cooking facilities. The state also rationed food that was sold at the price of 48 cents for each internee. The camps looked like mess halls that consisted of 250 to 300 people. They lacked access to education and basic necessities of life.

Around 70 per cent of the Japanese were born in the US and forced to leave their homes in the West Coast. The people who were enforced to live in these camps were Japanese Americans and most were born in the US. The state ignored the facts that the people kept in camps were Japanese Americans and had been settled there for many years.

Japanese Americans had no choice but to respect the respect of the established order. Only a few challenged the decision of the state and resisted against the internment camps. The prominent names are of Gordon Hirabayashi, Fred Korematsu and Minoru Yasui. They went to the Supreme Court and claimed that the decision of America represents racial-based expulsion. The executive order of internment camps faced harsh criticism from the Americans. They criticized the negative implications of such inhumane orders on the Japanese. American activists claimed that the decision of state is unfair and based on racial ideology. They also stated that relocating people of non-American decent is unjust and inhumane. The Department of Justice also denied the executive orders and claimed that it is unjust to move innocent out of their homes and put in distant locations.

The executive order of keeping Japanese in internment camps was rescinded by Roosevelt in 1944. This allowed Americans to close the camps and free people of Japanese descent. The last camp was closed in 1945 that resulted in the freedom of these people. The Japanese in internment camps were kept under the state's supervision until 1945. The revocation of the order removed the camps that resulted in their freedom.

The Japanese activists that stood against the execution order of internment camps include Gordon Hirabayashi, Fred Korematsu and Minoru Yasui. They presented their concerns in the supreme court and demanded freedom. Korematsu was arrested by the police in violation of the execution order.

Korematsu v. the United States in a historical case that is associated with the executive order 9066. Korematsu was a Japanese American who was also forced to leave his home. He filed suit against the US government and claimed that it is the violation of the Fifth Amendment CITATION Liz17 \l 1033 (Mineo, 2017). The court analyzed the case and considered the elements of the Fifth Amendment. The court ruled that the executive order did not represent racial prejudice. They also stated that the reason was to keep the West Coast safe from invasion.

During the 1980s the government decided to pay reparations to the people for their unjust actions of World War II. The Civil Liberties Act was signed by President Regan that claimed to pay Japanese for their loss and damages. “The legislation offered a formal apology and paid out $20,000 in compensation to each surviving victim” CITATION NPR13 \l 1033 (NPR, 2013). congressional approval was attained for this act that is seen as an apology of the American government from Japanese who suffered the consequences of internment camps. The decision of the state reflected that $500 would be paid to the victims of the executive order 9066. People of Japanese descent benefited from the reparation because it provided them with some monetary relief. Although the purpose was to compensate for the damages experienced by the Japanese but the implications of such order are long-lasting.

References

BIBLIOGRAPHY NPR. (2013). From Wrong To Right: A U.S. Apology For Japanese Internment. Retrieved 04 09, 2019, from https://www.npr.org/sections/codeswitch/2013/08/09/210138278/japanese-internment-redress

Mineo, L. (2017). First interned, then left behind. Retrieved 04 09, 2019, from https://news.harvard.edu/gazette/story/2017/08/location-of-wwii-internment-camp-linked-to-long-term-economic-inequality/