Internment Camps: Violating The Constitution's Core Principles

The Japanese internment camps, also known as relocation centers, were established during World War II as a result of Executive Order 9066, issued by President Franklin Roosevelt in 1942. This order led to the incarceration of approximately 100,000-120,000 Japanese Americans, the majority of whom were U.S. citizens with roots in the country. The camps were a clear violation of the constitutional rights of these individuals, despite the government's justification of national security and military necessity. The conditions in the camps were harsh, with inmates living in makeshift barracks, guard towers, and barbed wire fences, stripped of their freedom and privacy. The Supreme Court's ruling in Korematsu v. United States upheld the detention as a military necessity, but was met with strong dissent from Justices who recognized the racial discrimination and violation of civil rights inherent in the policy. The Japanese internment camps stand as a dark chapter in American history, where racial prejudice and wartime fears led to the unconstitutional treatment of a minority group.

Explore related products

Infamy: The Shocking Story of the Japanese American Internment in World War II

$19.99

Farewell to Manzanar: A Powerful Memoir of Growing Up in a Japanese Incarceration Camp

$6.39 $10.99

Only What We Could Carry: The Japanese American Internment Experience

$15.19 $28

Impounded: Dorothea Lange and the Censored Images of Japanese American Internment

$18.05 $19.95

Looking Like the Enemy: My Story of Imprisonment in Japanese American Internment Camps

$9.52 $17

They Called Us Enemy

$14.15 $19.99

Violation of civil rights

The Japanese internment camps during World War II were a direct result of President Franklin Roosevelt's controversial Executive Order 9066, which incarcerated approximately 100,000-120,000 Japanese Americans in government-controlled facilities. This order and the subsequent incarceration of Japanese Americans violated their civil rights in several ways, despite many of them being US citizens.

Firstly, the order and its implementation were based on racial discrimination and the legalization of racism. Justice Frank Murphy described the government's actions as a "fall [into] the ugly abyss of racism," and Justice Robert Jackson stated that the internees had been convicted of "an act not commonly thought a crime." The order and the resulting incarceration were based solely on the ethnicity and ancestry of Japanese Americans, with the Court validating the principle of racial discrimination in criminal procedure.

Secondly, the internment camps violated the constitutional rights of Japanese Americans to freedom of movement and residence. They were forcibly removed from their homes and properties on the West Coast and placed in temporary assembly centers and relocation centers, often with only a few days' notice. The barbed wire fences and guard towers surrounding the camps restricted the movement of the incarcerated.

Thirdly, the living conditions in the internment camps violated the rights of Japanese Americans to basic humane treatment. The makeshift assembly centers were established in locations such as racetracks, with families living in horse stalls with dirt floors. The more permanent relocation centers offered little protection from the elements, and families were forced to live together with a lack of privacy.

Finally, the mass exclusion and indefinite detention of Japanese Americans in internment camps violated their constitutional rights to equal protection under the law. The governors of Montana and Wyoming feared the presence of Japanese Americans in their states would spark racial violence, and Idaho's Attorney General, Bert Miller, stated, "We want to keep this a white man's country." The Supreme Court's ruling that the evacuation orders were a "military necessity" failed to address the racial discrimination and civil rights violations inherent in the internment process.

In conclusion, the Japanese internment camps during World War II violated the civil rights of Japanese Americans by legalizing racism, restricting their movement and residence, subjecting them to inhumane living conditions, and denying them equal protection under the law. These actions by the US government constituted a dark chapter in American history, with the courts and subsequent criticism recognizing the clear violation of constitutional rights.

Racial discrimination

The Japanese internment camps of World War II were the result of an executive order issued by President Franklin Roosevelt in 1942, which sent over 100,000 people of Japanese ancestry to government-controlled facilities. This order, known as Executive Order 9066, was based on suspicions of Japanese Americans' loyalty and was justified as a military necessity during a time of war. However, the implementation and impact of these internment camps clearly violated the constitutional rights of Japanese Americans and set a precedent for racial discrimination in the United States.

The internment of Japanese Americans during World War II was a direct result of racial discrimination and anti-Japanese sentiment in the United States. Following the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor in 1941, a wave of anti-Japanese fear and suspicion spread across the country, particularly on the West Coast, where a large number of Japanese Americans resided. Both citizens and non-citizens of Japanese ancestry were targeted, despite the fact that approximately two-thirds of them were full citizens, born and raised in the United States. The government's decision to forcibly remove and incarcerate these individuals was based primarily on their race and ethnicity, rather than any evidence of disloyalty or security threat.

The living conditions in the internment camps further highlighted the racial discrimination faced by Japanese Americans. Families were given little time to dispose of their property and were held in temporary assembly centers, often in poor and inhumane conditions. The more permanent relocation centers offered little in terms of protection from the elements, and families were forced to live in close quarters with limited privacy. The camps were surrounded by guard towers and barbed wire fences, restricting the movement and freedom of those incarcerated. Despite their efforts to create a sense of normalcy within the camps, Japanese Americans were subjected to a loyalty test in 1943, further reinforcing their status as suspected enemies of the state.

The case of Fred Korematsu, a Japanese-American citizen who challenged the constitutionality of the government's order, brought the issue of racial discrimination to the forefront. While the Supreme Court ruled that the evacuation order was a military necessity, dissenting justices, including Robert Jackson and Frank Murphy, strongly argued that the order violated the civil rights protected by the Constitution. Justice Murphy went as far as to call the mass exclusion order "the legalization of racism," drawing parallels to the treatment of minority groups by dictatorial regimes. The Korematsu decision set a dangerous precedent, validating the principle of racial discrimination in criminal procedure and paving the way for future violations of constitutional rights.

In conclusion, the Japanese internment camps of World War II were a clear example of racial discrimination against Japanese Americans. The incarceration of individuals based on their race and ethnicity, the inhumane living conditions in the camps, and the violation of their constitutional rights all contributed to a dark chapter in American history. The precedent set by the Korematsu decision continues to have implications for racial equality and justice in the United States, serving as a reminder of the importance of upholding the constitutional rights of all citizens, regardless of their race or ethnicity.

Inhumane living conditions

In 1942, President Franklin Roosevelt issued an executive order that resulted in the incarceration of over 100,000 Japanese Americans in government-controlled facilities. This order was based on the ethnic background of these individuals, with the Roosevelt administration citing national security concerns as justification.

The living conditions in these internment camps were inhumane. Families were given a short window to dispose of their property and report to temporary "assembly centers," which were often located in racetracks and had dirt floors. The more permanent relocation centers offered little improvement, with barracks that provided inadequate protection from the elements and a lack of privacy due to families being forced to live together.

The barbed wire fences and guard towers surrounding the camps restricted the freedom of movement for those inside. Despite these challenging circumstances, the incarcerated Japanese Americans established newspapers, markets, schools, and even police and fire departments within the camps. They also organized extracurricular activities for high school students, including sports teams, clubs, and events like senior prom.

The War Relocation Authority's decision to subject all Japanese Americans in the camps to a loyalty test in 1943 was a further violation of their rights. This test required them to reject allegiance to Japan, which was America's wartime enemy at the time.

The Supreme Court's ruling in Korematsu v. United States upheld the constitutionality of the evacuation orders, but this decision has been widely criticized for legitimizing racial discrimination and violating the civil rights of Japanese Americans. The dissenting opinions of Justices Robert Jackson and Frank Murphy highlighted the injustice of the Court's decision, with Justice Murphy referring to the "ugly abyss of racism."

Explore related products

Japanese American Internment: Prisoners in Their Own Land (Tangled History)

$10.99

Prisoners Without Trial: Japanese Americans in World War II (Hill and Wang Critical Issues)

$10.19 $16

American Internment: World War II Japanese American Internment Camps

$8.97

The Japanese Internment Camps: A History Perspectives Book (Perspectives Library)

$11.35 $14.21

When Can We Go Back to America?: Voices of Japanese American Incarceration during WWII

$13.62 $22.99

Enemy Child: The Story of Norman Mineta, a Boy Imprisoned in a Japanese American Internment Camp During World War II

$15.33

Loss of freedom of movement

The Japanese internment camps, also known as "relocation centers", were situated many miles inland, often in remote and desolate locales. These camps were surrounded by barbed wire fences and patrolled by armed guards, with guard towers that denied their residents the freedom to move about as they pleased. The incarcerated Japanese Americans were prohibited from taking more than they could carry into the camps, and many were forced to sell some or all of their property, including their homes and businesses.

The internment of Japanese Americans during World War II sparked constitutional and political debate, with three Japanese-American citizens challenging the constitutionality of the forced relocation and curfew orders through legal actions: Gordon Hirabayashi, Fred Korematsu, and Mitsuye Endo. Hirabayashi and Korematsu received negative judgments, with the Supreme Court ruling that the military had the authority to exclude and intern minority groups during times of war. The Korematsu v. United States decision upheld the constitutionality of the removals under the Due Process Clause of the Fifth Amendment.

However, the dissenting Justices in the Korematsu case stated that the constitutional rights of Japanese Americans had been clearly violated. Justice Owen Roberts said, "I dissent, because I think the indisputable facts exhibit a clear violation of Constitutional rights." Justice Frank Murphy added, "Such exclusion goes over 'the very brink of constitutional power,' and falls into the ugly abyss of racism."

While some camp administrations eventually allowed relatively free movement outside the marked boundaries of the camps, the internment of Japanese Americans in remote and isolated locations severely restricted their freedom of movement. The residents were subject to the authority of the camp administrations and the military, which had the power to exclude them from certain areas and restrict their movement. This loss of freedom of movement was a direct result of their incarceration in the internment camps and violated their constitutional rights.

Mass exclusion order

The mass exclusion of Japanese Americans during World War II was a direct result of Executive Order 9066, issued by President Franklin Roosevelt in 1942. This controversial order led to the forced removal and incarceration of approximately 100,000-120,000 Japanese Americans in government-controlled facilities, also known as internment camps. The majority of these individuals were US citizens, with two-thirds being full citizens by birth.

The mass exclusion order was justified by the government as a necessary measure to protect national security and address anti-Japanese sentiment following the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor in 1941. The War Relocation Authority was created to oversee the relocation and internment process, establishing "`assembly centers'" and 10 "relocation centers" across the country, mostly in the West.

Despite the government's justification, the mass exclusion order was widely criticized for violating the constitutional rights of Japanese Americans. Justice Robert Jackson, in Korematsu v. United States, argued that the act of being present in one's home state as a citizen did not constitute a crime. He contended that national security concerns were not sufficient grounds to strip individuals of their constitutionally protected civil rights.

Justice Frank Murphy strongly opposed the mass exclusion order, calling it "the legalization of racism" and a violation of the Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment. He compared the treatment of Japanese Americans to the abhorrent practices of dictatorial regimes, stating that the exclusion order fell into "the ugly abyss of racism."

The Supreme Court, however, ruled that the evacuation order violated by Fred Korematsu, a 23-year-old Japanese-American citizen who refused to comply, was valid. They asserted that it was a "military necessity" rather than a racially motivated decision. In subsequent years, the American internment policy has faced harsh criticism, and Congress awarded restitution payments of $20,000 to each survivor in 1988.

Frequently asked questions