The Japanese American internment was as a result of the Japanese outrageous attack on Pearl Harbor (Greenberg 1995). The attack thus fueled a lot of sentiments from the Americans and led to the signing of an order namely, 9066 which saw to it that Americans of Japanese ancestry were brought under key and lock. The Japanese Americans were rounded up, and thrown into internment camps that had been specifically created for that purpose. These camps had been officially dubbed the ‘relocation centers' (Thornton 2003).
Most of the Japanese who were ‘relocated' were official citizens of America and despite that; they were ‘relocated' without a trial. Being of a Japanese heritage, they had officially signed their arrest warrant and won a ticket to this internment. The decision was thus made judging by their race. They were unfairly and ill-treated to say the least. The same thing happened in Canada, where the Nikkei (Canadians of a Japanese heritage) were also sent to camps in British Columbia. This was recorded as the most prime mass movement in all of Canadian's history.
Despite the order not mentioning any particular race, most people in the confinement were of Japanese, Italian and German decent (Park 2008). Americans were blinded to the point of deeming a whole group guilty and punishing them for crimes committed by only a few. The United States of America, again in war was faced with the most contentious issues of loyalty. The Japanese attack was somewhat viewed as a win on the Japanese side and America feared that the Japanese might win the war. Both the government and the Americans' vision was clouded with a feeling of betrayal from the Japanese side that they failed to heed to the premonition of their actions. Their judgment clouded once again by their fear of losing the war, they set out to get ahead in the war. Using National security as their excuse, they set out to round up people who were seen to be a threat. Their target though was a minority racial group, once again bringing up the issue of race and thus human rights.
[...] They were practically helpless and at the mercy of the Americans. It is thus safe to say that the CSDSW, which is supposed to protect the rights of the minority groups failed to do so in their accepting to facilitate the evacuation program. He program saw families break; people lose their loved ones, their jobs, land and source of income altogether which is the direct of what Social service welfares stand up for. There were people who on the other hand, actively proposed the whole program and enlightened others on the injustices being committed by the government. [...]
[...] Conclusion The Japanese American internment saw the relocation of the larger part of the Japanese Americans sent to ‘relocation camps'. The relocation camps were initially military bases that were turned into camps solely to have the Japanese Americans on lockdown. Despite the government's attempt to term it as a step towards ensuring public safety, it clearly was a violation of the rights of the Japanese Americans who were mostly legal citizens of America. Works Cited Greenberg, Cheryl. “Black and Jewish Response to Japanese Internment”, Journal of American Ethnic History, (1995): 14. [...]
[...] Their pleas for better living conditions for the people in the ‘relocation camps' were though waived away. The Committee on Minority Groups, overseers tried to explain the difficulties and turmoil facing those in the detention camps to the California Department of Social Welfare (CSDSW) which were also ignored altogether. Nothing was done to make their lives any easier. There were actually curfews to beat, and their telephone prices hiked. In addition, their funds were frozen all through the war and their Insurances revoked. [...]
[...] Relation to Racism Most of the Japanese who were ‘relocated' were official citizens of America and despite that; they were ‘relocated' without a trial. Being of a Japanese heritage, they had officially signed their arrest warrant and won a ticket to this internment. The decision was thus made judging by their race. They were unfairly and ill-treated to say the least. The same thing happened in Canada, where the Nikkei (Canadians of a Japanese heritage) were also sent to camps in British Columbia. This was recorded as the most prime mass movement in all of Canadian's history. [...]
[...] An enemy of America could also be one of American descent. But their judgment was obvious without reason. The rule seemed to clearly highlight that an enemy of America is any person of Japanese descent. Judging a persons' loyalty based only on their race, color, or decent is an injustice and unfairly done. Public Reaction The signing of the executive order 9066 was received with mixed reactions from both the public and other active movements. There were farmers who competed against the Japanese labor and thus saw this as an opportunity to finally get ahead of them. [...]
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