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Quick-Write. How do you think Americans viewed people of Japanese ancestry during WWII? Why? -Before Pearl Harbor? -After Pearl Harbor?. Quick-Write. How would you feel if the police arrested you as a suspected terrorist with no evidence? What about if you were forced to move in
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Quick-Write How do you think Americans viewed people of Japanese ancestry during WWII? Why? -Before Pearl Harbor? -After Pearl Harbor?
Quick-Write How would you feel if the police arrested you as a suspected terrorist with no evidence? What about if you were forced to move in a short amount of time because of your race, ethnicity, or gender?
Japanese Internment A military necessity?
Pearl Harbor On December 7, 1941, the United States naval base Pearl Harbor was attacked by Japan, resulting in the U.S. entry into WWII. Many Americans turned their anger against Japanese immigrants and Japanese Americans Mobs attacked their businesses and homes. Banks would not cash their checks. Grocers refused to sell them food.
A question of loyalty… Newspapers began printing rumors of Japanese spies within the Japanese American community. Members of Congress, mayors, and many business and labor leaders demanded that all people of Japanese descent be removed from the West Coast.
A question of loyalty… It was believed that Japanese Americans would not remain loyal to the United States in a war with Japan…
Executive Order 9066 In February of 1942, President Roosevelt signed an order that gave the War Department the power to declare any part of the United States a military zone. This meant the military had the authority to remove people from any zone they declared as military.
Executive Order 9066 Secretary of War Henry Stimson declared most of the West Coast a military zone. All people of Japanese ancestry were ordered to evacuate to ten internment camps.
Life in Internment Camps "In the detention centers, families lived in substandard housing, had inadequate nutrition and health care, and had their livelihoods destroyed: many continued to suffer psychologically long after their release" - "Personal Justice Denied: Report of the Commission on Wartime Relocation and Internment of Civilians"
Resistance to Relocation Not all Japanese Americans gave in to relocation without a fight. Fred Korematsu argued that his rights were violated. He took his case to the Supreme Court.
Korematsu v. United States In December 1944, in Korematsu v. United States, the Supreme Court ruled that the relocation was constitutional because it was not based on race. They argued it was based on “military urgency”
Amendment V “No person shall be held to answer for a capital or otherwise infamous crime, unless on a presentment or indictment of a grand jury, except in cases arising in the land or naval forces, or in the militia, when in actual service in time of war or public danger; nor shall any person be subject for the same offense to be twice put in jeopardy of life or limb; nor shall be compelled in any criminal case to be a witness against himself, nor be deprived of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law; nor shall private property be taken for public use, without just compensation.”