Introduction
The bombing of Pearl Harbor by the Japanese was a devastating blow to the United States, and it sparked America’s entry into World War II. In 1941, tensions were already high between the U.S. and Japan. The two nations had been competing for power in Asia and trading partners in the area. Japan was running low on natural resources, such as oil, which it needed to continue fighting in its war with China and thus began a campaign of aggression against its neighbors for the supply of these resources. When the Japanese bombed Pearl Harbor, their goal was to destroy the U.S. Pacific Fleet and weaken the country’s possible entry into the second World War. The destruction at Pearl Harbor ultimately led to the United States joining forces with allies such as Great Britain and USSR against Japan, Germany, and Italy to end widespread destruction throughout Europe and Asia. After the attack, the U.S. government quickly responded with racist policies targeting Japanese Americans within U.S. borders. This included mass incarceration, forced relocation, and severe restrictions on their freedom of movement and speech. While it is arguable that these measures were necessary to protect national security during the war, others believe they were driven by racism and fear rather than legitimate concerns about security threats. The United States mistreatment of Japanese Americans was thus evident in the poor conditions of the internment camps, lack of fair trial, confiscation of property, unequal distribution of resources, and a mockery of the community’s previous support to America.
Poor Living Conditions in The Camp
After Pearl Harbor, the Japanese American community was subjected to discrimination and persecution by being forced to stay in highly surveyed camps. As part of the campaign to retaliate to the attack campaign, President Roosevelt signed Executive Order 9066 in February 1942, authorizing the military to remove anyone from any area deemed dangerous during WWII, forcing approximately one hundred and twenty-two thousand people of Japanese ancestry into relocation camps.1 These Japanese American internment camps were overcrowded and poorly managed, with inadequate housing and food supplies for the people living there. Many internees suffered from disease, malnutrition, and mental distress due to their confinement in these substandard environments. The conditions at some camps were so bad that they became known as “internment camps.”2 The camp’s officials also showed a lack of respect for basic human rights and civil liberties, with citizens of Japanese origins being denied the right to leave or even receive mail from outside the camp. This added to the Japanese Americans’ mistreatment and highlighted the discrimination they experienced after Pearl Harbor. The Japanese American families in these camps had to give up their homes, businesses, and possessions, often with little or no compensation. In addition, these camps, intended to be temporary, remained in operation for several years after the attack on Pearl Harbor. Thus it can be argued that the harsh treatment of Japanese Americans during this period is a stark example of American mistreatment and injustice towards its citizens.
Lack of Fair Trial Before and During the Internment
After the executive order, Japanese Americans were subjected to mass internment, where they were not given a fair trial. They were forced to accept internment without being able to mount a defense. This lack of fair trials and the unfair treatment of Japanese Americans during the Pearl Harbor incident is a stark reminder of the long-term effects of racism in America. The internment of Japanese Americans was a violation of their civil rights and a clear example of the mistreatment of a minority group because of their inability to defend themselves in court. Despite many Japanese Americans having no involvement with or knowledge of the attack, they were nonetheless subjected to mass incarceration, discrimination, and abuse with no opportunity to defend themselves. Instead of a fair trial to determine if the group was innocent, they were rounded up and placed in camps, with no opportunity for legal proceedings to challenge the legitimacy of their internment. This was a direct violation of the Fifth Amendment, which protects the right to due process that promotes fair trial and shows the clear mistreatment of Japanese Americans during this time. At the time of the internment, many Japanese Americans were actively serving in the United States military, while others had already become naturalized citizens. These facts were ignored in a rush to find and detain the group, as the government was more focused on preventing potential espionage than on upholding the rights of its citizens. In the landmark case of Korematsu v. United States, the Supreme Court ruled that the internment of Japanese Americans was done under “military necessity” and was constitutional.3 While this ruling has since been overturned, it provided the precedent for the U.S. government to continue violating Japanese Americans’ rights for years to come.
Confiscation of Property
The Confiscation of Property by the U.S. Government after the Pearl Harbor Attack was an egregious mistreatment of Japanese American citizens. This policy, started by enacting Executive Order 9066, authorized the military to remove any persons of Japanese ancestry from the West Coast states of California, Oregon, and Washington. In the process, the United States government confiscated the assets of companies and individuals it considered enemies of the State, and most victims were Japanese and Germans.4 For many Japanese American citizens, confiscating their property was just the beginning of the mistreatment they experienced due to the attack on Pearl Harbor. The process was often conducted without legal or due process, and the property was sold at a fraction of its true value. This was especially true of fishing vessels, businesses, and other properties owned by Japanese American citizens living in the western United States. The U.S. government’s confiscation of Japanese American property was not only unjust, but it was also illegal. The country’s Constitution protects the rights of citizens to own property, regardless of race or ethnicity. Despite this, the U.S. government ignored its laws in favor of a policy of racial discrimination. The confiscation of Japanese American property was also a violation of international law. The policy was in direct violation of the Geneva Convention, which states that “all persons who are not combatants or part of a military force shall be treated humanely and with respect for their personal property.” The U.S. government’s confiscation of Japanese American property disregarded this treaty, and mistreating Japanese Americans violated human rights. In addition to the confiscation of property, Japanese Americans were also subjected to a variety of other forms of mistreatment.
Unequal Distribution of Opportunities and Resources
After the attack, the United States government denied Japanese Americans access to public services, including housing and employment opportunities, regardless of their citizenship status. This practice, known as exclusion, was based on the belief that Americans of Japanese descent posed a national security risk and was also implemented through Executive Order 9066. After the attack, the United States government implemented discriminatory measures that denied Japanese American citizens access to public services and subjected them to discriminatory practices regarding housing and employment. For example, despite the lack of evidence of espionage, the Japanese Americans were evicted from their West Coast settlements until 1944, when Major General Henry announced of the federal government to end the executive order preventing the community from returning to the region.5 These policies were based on the false assumption that all Japanese citizens were dangerous to national security and did not deserve equal opportunities in some sectors. These policies were morally wrong and unconstitutional, as they violated the 14th Amendment and the Civil Rights Act of 1964, which protects individuals from discrimination based on race, color, religion, or sex. Because of this act, thousands of law-abiding citizens were denied access to public services, including schools and hospitals, and were forced to move to a limited number of internment camps. As a result, many were unable to pursue their educational and career goals and were forced to live in poverty and isolation. This mistreatment also impacted the Japanese America community’s economic, social, and cultural progress in the United States. Notably, the exclusion order created an atmosphere of fear and mistrust that has had lasting effects on the Japanese American community.
Form of Racial and Xenophobic Attitudes
The mistreatment of Japanese Americans was part of a larger pattern of racial and xenophobic attitudes toward immigrants in the United States. This mistreatment was largely driven by the belief that all Japanese were responsible for the attack, regardless of their involvement.6 Meanwhile, newspapers and popular magazines published articles that portrayed Japanese Americans as untrustworthy and disloyal to the United States. This belief was rooted in long-standing hatred and mistrust of the Japanese, which had been present in the United States. As the war began, the U.S. government undertook a campaign of mass internment of thousands of Japanese Americans, many of whom were U.S. citizens. This was done without due process or individual assessment and was based solely on race. Japanese Americans were seen as a threat to the country, and even though most of those interned were innocent of any crime, they were treated with suspicion and distrust. This mistreatment reflected the racism and xenophobia in the United States at the time, considering they were not given any due process or basic civil rights when they were rounded up and put into internment camps. This rampant racism led to thousands of innocent people being stripped of their livelihoods and robbed of their freedoms and further compounded by the fear-based mentality of war-time politics, resulting in a blatantly discriminatory attitude towards Japanese people, which arguably continues to this day.
Mocked Effort
As far as American history is concerned, the Japanese American contribution to the United States has largely been ignored or mistreated. The community has long been an integral part of the United States. From the early 20th century to the present, they have made invaluable contributions to American society, from the railroads to their role in the Pacific War, and have grown to represent forty percent of Hawaii’s population.7 The Japanese American community was further mistreated by their exclusion from the reparations granted by the United States after the war. While German and Italian Americans were able to receive compensation for property loss and other damages, the Japanese American community was denied any compensation. Before the attack on Pearl Harbor, Japanese Americans were a vibrant part of American society. They had started to establish businesses, farms, and other organizations. They were also the first Asian-American group to enlist in the U.S. military and were part of the U.S. Navy, Army, and Marines. The Japanese American internment violated human rights and had a long-term negative effect on the Japanese American community. Despite the Japanese Americans contributing to the United States, they were treated with suspicion and were not allowed the same freedoms as other citizens. After the war, the Japanese Americans were released from the internment camps but were not allowed to rebuild their lives the same way.
Counter Argument
The mistreatment of Japanese Americans is often justified by citing the government’s belief that some Japanese Americans, particularly those living on the West Coast, posed a security risk to the United States. However, the government had scant evidence to support this claim and did not take steps to limit the activities of those suspected of posing a security risk. Instead, they opted to incarcerate all Japanese Americans living in certain areas, regardless of their loyalty or lack thereof to the United States. Moreover, the U.S. government and public opinion failed to recognize that Japanese Americans had significantly contributed to the U.S. war effort. Many Japanese Americans served in the U.S. military and the Women’s Army Corps, and Japanese American farmers grew crops and raised livestock to help keep the U.S. armed forces supplied. In the end, the mistreatment of Japanese Americans was an act of discrimination and a violation of the basic principles of American democracy.
Conclusion
The mistreatment of Japanese Americans through poor conditions in the internment camps, lack of fair trial, confiscation of property, unequal distribution of resources, and a mockery of the community’s previous support to America was a clear demonstration of the U.S. government’s failure to uphold its constitutional values and civil liberties for all citizens. This blatant disregard for the rights of Japanese Americans was a step backward in a period of history when the United States was supposed to be pushing forward, understanding, and protecting its citizens regardless of race or ethnicity. The actions they subjected the community were unjust and created economic hardships for many people who had done nothing wrong other than being born into a certain ethnic background.
Bibliography
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Nakayama, Clarisse. “Democracy Revoked: How Foreign Relations and Domestic eign Relations and Domestic Opinion Led to the Internment of Japanese Americans During World War II.” Undergraduate Student Research Awards 5 (2019), 1-24. Web.
National Archives. “Executive Order 9066: Resulting in Japanese-American Incarceration (1942).” National Archives. Web.
Pandya, Meera. “The Transcontinental Railroad and the Asian-American Story.” National Postal Museum |. Last modified November 18, 2019. Web.
Speidel, Jennifer. “After Internment: Seattle’s Debate Over Japanese Americans’ Right to Return Home – Seattle Civil Rights and Labor History Project.” U.W. Departments Web Server. Last modified 2005. Web.
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Footnotes
- National Archives. “Executive Order 9066: Resulting in Japanese-American Incarceration (1942).” National Archives. Web.
- National Archives, “Executive Order 9066”, 2
- United States Courts. “Facts and Case Summary — Korematsu V. U.S.” United States Courts. Web.
- Choudhury, Najiba H. “Seizures and Liquidation Sales in the United States during World War II: Tracking the Fate of Japanese Art Dealership, Yamanaka & Company, Inc.” Journal for Art Market Studies 4, no. 2 (2020), 1-18. Web.
- Speidel, Jennifer. “After Internment: Seattle’s Debate Over Japanese Americans’ Right to Return Home – Seattle Civil Rights and Labor History Project.” UW Departments Web Server. Web.
- Nakayama, Clarisse. “Democracy Revoked: How F ed: How Foreign Relations and Domestic eign Relations and Domestic Opinion Led to the Internment of Japanese Americans During World War II.” Undergraduate Student Research Awards 5 (2019), 1-24. Web.
- Pandya, Meera. “The Transcontinental Railroad and the Asian-American Story.” National Postal Museum |. Web.