Question about the Japanese rounded up in the US in '41

O

Oleg Volk

Staff Alumnus
Considering they have had access to arms and couldn't have known in advance that they'd come out alive...how is it that no recorded resistance happened? Had all able-bodied adults already enlisted in the US Army? Has anyone links to relevant resources?

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Oleg "peacemonger" Volk

http://dd-b.net/RKBA
 
JAPANESE-AMERICAN RELOCATION

The relocation of Japanese-Americans into internment camps during World War II was one of the most flagrant violations of civil liberties in American history. According to the census of 1940, 127,000 persons of Japanese ancestry lived in the United States, the majority on the West Coast. One-third had been born in Japan, and in some states could not own land, be naturalized as citizens, or vote. After Japan bombed Pearl Harbor in December 1941, rumors spread, fueled by race prejudice, of a plot among Japanese-Americans to sabotage the war effort. In early 1942, the Roosevelt administration was pressured to remove persons of Japanese ancestry from the West Coast by farmers seeking to eliminate Japanese competition, a public fearing sabotage, politicians hoping to gain by standing against an unpopular group, and military authorities.

On February 19, 1942, Roosevelt signed Executive Order 9066, which forced all Japanese-Americans, regardless of loyalty or citizenship, to evacuate the West Coast. No comparable order applied to Hawaii, one-third of whose population was Japanese-American, or to Americans of German and Italian ancestry. Ten internment camps were established in California, Idaho, Utah, Arizona, Wyoming, Colorado, and Arkansas, eventually holding 120,000 persons. Many were forced to sell their property at a severe loss before departure. Social problems beset the internees: older Issei (immigrants) were deprived of their traditional respect when their children, the Nisei (American-born), were alone permitted authority positions within the camps. 5,589 Nisei renounced their American citizenship, although a federal judge later ruled that renunciations made behind barbed wire were void. Some 3,600 Japanese-Americans entered the armed forces from the camps, as did 22,000 others who lived in Hawaii or outside the relocation zone. The famous all-Japanese 442nd Regimental Combat Team won numerous decorations for its deeds in Italy and Germany.

The Supreme Court upheld the legality of the relocation order in Hirabayashi v. United States and Korematsu v. United States. Early in 1945, Japanese-American citizens of undisputed loyalty were allowed to return to the West Coast, but not until March 1946 was the last camp closed. A 1948 law provided for reimbursement for property losses by those interned. In 1988, Congress awarded restitution payments of twenty thousand dollars to each survivor of the camps; it is estimated that about 73,000 persons will eventually receive this compensation for the violation of their liberties.
http://www.thehistorychannel.com
 
Not only Japanese but allso about 10,000 Germans and I don't know how many Italians.You only hear about the Japanese.

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beemerb
We have a criminal jury system which is superior to any in the world;
and its efficiency is only marred by the difficulty of finding twelve men
every day who don't know anything and can't read.
-Mark Twain
 
The difference was that the Germans and Italians that were interned were not US citizens, while most of the Japanese were.
 
Blind obedience to arbitrary authority is an ingrained Japanese "virtue." This is probably the best argument that can be made against the entire "hyphenated American" thing. Culture is for the old world. America has liberty.
As Americans, these people were treated like s---, and outrage is the only appropriate response.
As Japanese, to resist or to protest would have been "immature," and there was nothing to complain about.

The government obviously took advantage of this, whipped up racist frenzy to a fever pitch, and scared everyone to death.

Psychological warfare, attitude manipulation and brainwashing explain a lot.
 
I would have to agree that interning the Japanese-Americans during WWII was a MAJOR Violation of Civil Rights!!!! This horrid act being upheld be the Supreme Court only that they were, and still are, just people who for the most part follow the crowd. Whatever happened to "Land of The Free", I guess that only applies to "certain" people, or something. ahhhhhhhh.


I wonder what would happen in the country if this, lets say, all the Cuban-Americans were interned in Camps.

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-AoW[t]-Dead [Black Ops]
 
This whole mess is rarely taken in context. The Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor was an incredibly traumatic event for the United States. The historians would have us believe that all Americans of Japanese Heritage were interned in Hitler Like concentration camps. This is not so, only West Coast citizens were interned.

The Americans of Japanese Heritage in Hawaii were never interned, and they would perhaps have posed the greatest threat to the war effort had they been inlclined towards sabotage. Other similar citizens throughout the country were not interned. Many German and Italian nationals were interned throughout the country.

The government was worried about an invasion of the west coast where we were most vulnerable. Interning the people of Japanese heritage was a prudent thing to do considering the public sentiment at the time. Had the Japanese invaded the Japanese Americans would have been in great danger not only from the Japanese but american citizens bent on revenge after the treachery of Pearl Harbor.

Yes their rights were trampeled on, but consider the situation the country was in, weak army unprepared for war, Navy crippled and reeling from several defeats, most of our combat aircraft destroyed in the initial air raids at pearl, Phillippines etc. We could have easily lost the war at this time. People who lived through this time will tell you how traumatic an event it was, this is hard for us who were not there to comprehend.

Throughout our history different groups of people of diverse heritage have been abused and wronged. This is a part of our growth as a nation and out of this we have forged a culture where everybody has an equal chance to excel.

Personally I am tired of all this whining about things done wrong in the past. Yes there were wrongs, but they have been righted and out of it we are a stronger people.

I suppose next we will have to compensate Americans of Irish or Italian heritage for the wrongs done to them. Every group has taken its lumps at one time or another, some suffered worse than others it is true.

How about the abuses heaped on people who are overweight today :)

Oleg to answer your question, the Americans of Japanese heritage did not fight internment because they believed it was in the best interests of the country at the time and were willing to sacrifice for their country.


Geoff Ross
 
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