Why US government believed it was necessary to place Japanese americans in internment camps?
They assumed that since they were Japanese in ancestry they might help the enemy Japan. It turned out to be nonsense.
{ My story: I was in Kindergarten in Honolulu when the Japanese bombed us. Many of my school mates and friends were Japanese Americans. In fact I think the city would have ground to a halt if all the Japanese Americans stopped working. It never crossed the minds of my parents or others on the island to put them in jail. However in January 1942 my mother and I flew to San Francisco on the China Clipper seaplane. California was a whole different world. There were very few Japanese Americans there and the locals were afraid of them. They made them go to internment camps like prisons. We still have a lot of crazy scared people in America. )
By the way, during most of WW2, I never really understood that the Japanese were enemy. I thought it was just Germans because I did not know any Germans. Japanese people were friends and neighbors in my life. It was impossible that they were bad guys.
The decision to place Japanese Americans in internment camps during World War II was based on a combination of factors and concerns by the US government. Here are the steps that led to this decision:
1. Attack on Pearl Harbor: On December 7, 1941, Japan attacked the US naval base at Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, leading to the US joining World War II against the Axis powers, including Japan.
2. National Security Concerns: The US government feared that people of Japanese descent living on the West Coast, where the majority of Japanese Americans resided, could assist Japan's war efforts due to their cultural connections, language skills, or loyalty to their ancestral homeland. This fear was heightened by the government's belief that there was a potential for spying, sabotage, and disloyalty among Japanese Americans.
3. Executive Order 9066: On February 19, 1942, President Franklin D. Roosevelt signed Executive Order 9066, which authorized the forced relocation and internment of Japanese Americans living on the West Coast. The order was justified as a measure to protect national security and prevent potential acts of espionage and sabotage.
4. Removal and Internment: Over 120,000 Japanese Americans, including citizens and non-citizens, were forcibly relocated from their homes and placed into internment camps. They were often given only a few days' notice to gather their belongings and were transported to remote locations, where they lived under strict military control.
5. Lack of Evidence: Despite the government's concerns, there was no substantial evidence indicating that Japanese Americans posed a genuine threat to national security. However, public opinion and political pressure played a role in influencing the decision to intern Japanese Americans.
6. Supreme Court Ruling: The internment camps and resulting violations of civil liberties were challenged in court. In the landmark case Korematsu v. United States (1944), the Supreme Court upheld the legality of the internment on the grounds of military necessity, despite acknowledging that it was based on "race prejudice" and had no basis in individual guilt.
It is important to note that the internment of Japanese Americans was widely criticized as a violation of their civil rights and a stain on American history. In later years, the US government formally apologized and provided reparations for the internment.
The decision to place Japanese Americans in internment camps during World War II was based on a combination of factors, including fears of espionage, racial prejudice, and national security concerns. However, it is important to note that this action was widely criticized and is now seen as a dark chapter in American history.
To understand why the US government believed it was necessary to intern Japanese Americans, you can consider the following points:
1. Security concerns: Following the attack on Pearl Harbor by the Imperial Japanese Navy in 1941, there were concerns about potential espionage and sabotage within the United States. The government believed that individuals of Japanese ancestry, including Japanese Americans, could pose a threat to national security.
2. Racial prejudice and discrimination: Anti-Japanese sentiment was pervasive in American society at that time. There was a prevailing belief that Japanese Americans had divided loyalties and could not be trusted, regardless of their citizenship or loyalty to the United States. Prejudice and discrimination played a significant role in influencing the government's decision.
3. Lack of evidence: While there were isolated incidents of espionage by individuals of Japanese descent, the vast majority of Japanese Americans were innocent and posed no threat. However, the government's actions were not based on individual guilt or evidence, but rather on a broad-based suspicion cast on an entire ethnic group.
4. War hysteria and political pressure: The country was caught in the midst of wartime hysteria and fear, which led to heightened anxiety and a desire for strong actions to address perceived threats. Politicians and military officials faced pressure to take dramatic steps to protect national security, and internment camps became a way to alleviate public fears and demonstrate governmental action.
It is important to note that the internment of Japanese Americans violated their civil liberties and constitutional rights, particularly the Fourth and Fourteenth Amendments. In 1988, the US government officially apologized for this injustice and provided reparations to surviving victims as part of the Civil Liberties Act.