Essays on Internment

Primary Sources

Connell, T. (2002). America's Japanese Hostages: The US Plan for a Japanese Free Hemisphere. Westport: Praeger-Greenwood.

De Nevers, K. (2004). The Colonel and the Pacifist: Karl Bendetsen, Perry Saito, and the Incarceration of Japanese Americans during World War II. Salt Lake City: University of Utah Press.

Karl Bendetsen who was an army major during these times gives us a clear account of what transpired in the camps that the Japanese hostages were being kept after the president had directed that they be held there. Americans were dreaded as a security hazard. Succumbing to terrible guidance and famous notion, President Roosevelt decided to bring forth an official request in February 1942 requesting the migration of all Americans of Japanese parentage to inhumane imprisonments throughout the United States. Departure requests were posted in Japanese-American groups giving directions on the most proficient method to agree to the official request. Most ...

Imagine being judged based on your ancestry; having to live in agony owing to matters you had no influence over can be quite unnerving. About 110,000 individuals of the Japanese origin got interned in relocation camps almost immediately after the Second World War. They were gathered from along the Pacific Coast in the United States. It is one of the periods in history where one has been judged on the basis of their race and had to suffer for something they had no control over. The period came after the Pearl Harbour was attacked by Imperial Japan. The ...

Question 1

The targeting of the Japanese Americans began immediately after the Pearl Harbor attack which occurred on December 1941 (Conrat & Conrat 45). The main reason they were targeted was because of the suspicion that they some were sympathizers of the Japanese government and army that had just bombed the Pearl Harbor. The Japanese people had, in fact, been treated with suspicion for a long time, and the Pearl Harbor attacks only helped to aggravate the suspicion and this time unfortunately, they were subjected to unimaginable oppression. Since they first immigrated into the United States, the Japanese had managed to create fairly ...

Critical Thinking of Anthropological Questions

The term descent group is associated with the term kin group. So it is important to know the term descent group, it is essential to know the kin group. A kin group is formed of the relatives both blood relationship and in-law relationship. A descent group is a kind of kinship group whereby being a linear descendents of a particular real or mythical ancestor is a criterion of membership. The Descendent may be considered exclusively through men, women or through both. Descent groups form from extended family organization. (p. 193) Unilineal descents are also called as unilateral descent. They establish group membership ...

Introduction

The Unites States of America has one of the most multicultural societies in the world. The nation is home to people from all races. In recent decades, the nation has become very democratic and racially tolerant. However, this has not always been the case. The United States has historically had a tendency of suppressing racially unique groups through racially motivated policies. The first example of this was the loss of liberty and land of the Native Americans to white settlers. The other action that comes to mind is the Jim Crow laws that enforced segregation between blacks and whites. There ...

The Unites States of America has one of the most multicultural societies in the world. The nation is home to people from all races. In recent decades, the nation has become very democratic and racially tolerant. However, this has not always been the case. The United States has historically had a tendency of suppressing racially unique groups through racially motivated policies. The first example of this was the loss of liberty and land of the Native Americans to white settlers. The other action that comes to mind is the Jim Crow laws that enforced segregation between blacks and whites. There ...

Dorothea Lange was already famous as a photographer of the Great Depression with her stark and harrowing images creating what can only be termed as a sensation. Her stark and no hold barred imagery of the sheer poverty and destitution found in the Depression rankled people’s hearts and created a sense of outrage. Lange was commissioned by the War Department to take photographs of the Japanese internment that took place just after Pearl Harbour. Although she was working for the War Relocation Authority, Lange was definitely not prepared for the sheer scale of civil rights abuses that were caused by ...

The World War II brought about significant developments and changes in the ideologies upheld by the United States government through race equality, economic shifts, population movements as well as the roles of the minorities. These changes were experienced through the vast range of efforts from the volunteers who submitted to the government strategies and policies in the economy. The labor market also experienced radical changes in accordance to labor and race diverted due to pressure emanating from other communities in the call for national unity. These changes brought about significant changes in the ideologies of race equality especially in ...

The historical destiny of the Jews is such that this folk have experienced constant persecution under various occupying or oppressive regimes that would deny them their right to enjoy human rights, national mentality and religion on a historically possessed or foreign territory, with the Jews assimilating into indigenous population, by virtue of by use of brute force or imposed legislation. Starting with the ancient Romans, who evicted Jews from Jerusalem by spreading them all over the world, obliterated any recorded memory from the annals of history, and severely persecuted the remaining minorities, the folk had not had at least a spell ...

Abstract

Yuri Kochiyama is a civil right activist who was born in 1921 in San Pedro, in California. He lived and stayed in San Pedro where she was involved with several activities such as sport and article writing. Her father was arrested and put in prison as a war prisoner. The father died a day after leaving prison due to sickness. She was married by Bill Kochiyama who was a Nisei Soldier, and they had six children. Yuri was engaged in many civil right movements some fighting for the rights of Japanese as well as the rights for the black people in the United ...

WORLD WAR II: THE INTERNMENT OF JAPANESE AMERICANS

The topic of Japanese American Internment during the Second World War is a very important part of American history.It happened during the Second World War when nations were against each other and after the Japanese attack on the Pearl Harbor in Hawaii, Japan automatically became an enemy to the United States thus leading to the government of the day led by President Franklin D. Roosevelt in 1942 to take several measures against Japan and its origins mainly living in the United states. What followed was an executive order by the president to allow forceful removal of Americans of Japanese origin ...

Book Review

Introduction Farewell to Manzanar is a frank, and sometimes, heartbreaking story that many people living in the United States are not aware of. The events described in the book occurred during the World War II when American Japanese were sent to the internment camp after bombing Pearl Harbor. The author brought up several themes including economic and legal injustice done to peaceful Japanese Americans, survival requirements in the internment camps, contradictions inside families based on generational differences, and difficulties experienced by Japanese Americans when they aimed to rebuild their lives after being imprisoned in the camps. - Brief ...

Methods Used

In addition to the random sampling, this student decided to use the systematic sample strategy. Systematic was used so that there would be an objective and unbiased identification of which plots are used. The entire site was covered because there were representatives from all the parts of the cemeteries.

Data Interpretation

Site Chronology. Results of the two sampling strategies show that people were burying their dead at the Evergreen Cemetery for a period of 131 year. The earliest burial took place in 1859 and the latest was at the end of the 20th century, in the year 1990. Within the entire period ...

The events of 9/11 dramatically changed foreign policy and the treatment of national security in America. Given the organized and terror-based nature of the attacks, it was decided that a unique facility had to be created, isolated from the rest of the world, that would detain people of interest and enemy combatants. That place became the facility at Guantanamo Bay, where the United States maintains territorial control and has complete jurisdiction, despite the territory not being part of the United States. Since its creation and occupation by enemy combatants, questions have been raised as to the ethical treatment of prisoners ...

Introduction

This historical account of the Japanese internment at Manzanar traces its genesis to the World War II. The war had been raging in Europe for three years, Adolf Hitler hoping to capitalize on his war machinery to give the Axis victory. All this while, public opinion about a direct involvement of the US in the war is divided. Japan, hoping to assert its significance in global politics and to advance a claim in the Far East; joins the Axis. The US is alarmed, but an ongoing negotiation with Japanese authorities is an assurance that war is not on the cards just ...

Introduction

The government of the United States (US) regards the civil rights of each of its citizens with utmost importance, regardless of race, gender, or affiliation. The recognition of the importance of protecting the civil rights of every citizen renders the US government as the single largest protector. Yet, in cases where the US government requires the waiving of such duty, it has to provide compelling reasons subject to the strict scrutiny test of the US Supreme Court (SC). The case of Fred Toyosaburo Korematsu v. United States (Korematsu v. US), decided in 1944, served as the first instance where ...

WW II has long been considered a watershed moment in American history where democracy prevailed. The experiences of Japanese Americans pose a challenge to this interpretation. Why? Although Americans regards World War II as the watershed moment in American history, the experience of Japanese Americans has posed a challenge to this interpretation. According to the then United States president, Franklin Delano Roosevelt, the internment aimed at facilitating national security. However, by considering the manner in which America soldiers mistreated the Japanese Americans during internment process and the WWII, it was clear that the internment aimed at meeting other economic, political, and ...

The text “When the Emperor was Divine” is recent literature by work by Julie Otsuka providing a historical account of a Japanese American family that experienced hardships during World War II as they were sent to detention camps for three and a half years. “The literature is written via the point of view of five family members over five chapters who reveal their incident of relocating from their home, the period they spent in internment camps and finally when they try to adjust to their prior life when the war is over” (Felice, par. 1). This paper answers Sonsyrea Tate’s statement “ ...

Introduction

Throughout World War II many interned Japanese Americans actually volunteered for service although their draft eligibility had essentially been revoked. The number of Chinese Americans who participated in this war is estimated to be between 12,000 and 20,000. Of those serving roughly 40% were basically not citizens, and not like the Filipino and Japanese Americans, 75% served in units that were non-segregated. It is interesting to note that these Chinese Americans in fact distinguished themselves from the Japanese Americans hence they suffered less discrimination. Therefore, this essay explores how the Second World War changed these two Asian ...

Introduction

After the Japanese attacks at the American naval base at Pearl Harbor, US declared war on Japan It become necessary to keep a sharp eye on the Japanese citizens who lived in pacific coast and were perceived to be threat to the national security of the US. It became necessary to relocate all the Japanese who were living in Pacific coast since that was a potential combat zone. Thousands of Japanese lived in this zone and Americans were worried on the impact on its citizens if Japan decided to attack US from that zone. The War Relocation Authority together with the ...

Work Cited 7

The Minority (American Immigrants) In World War II Participation, Efforts and Results 1.0 The Background 1.1 Introduction to the Second World War The Second World War involved a number of nations and it lasted from 1939-1945. The war involved all the great powers, and it led to the formation of two military alliances, the Axis and Allies. It is essential to note that the war was the most devastating and widespread in human history. The war led to the deaths of millions of people, both military and civilians. The war involved more than 100 million service men ...

Introduction

Edgar Hoover was the director of FBI who was the first time that against of Executive Order 9066. According to him that the detention of Americans and Japanese was believed as unconstitutional and considered that all the actual 'detectives' we required to hold were wedged in a while after the violence of Pearl Harbor. Many of the peoples encouraged that it was not the right way to implement as well as such Japanese camps were 'brutal'. Various individuals believed that such camps were erroneous but were moreover frightened to protest. The devastating greater part of US citizens considered the Japanese ...

The main reason for the for sequestering of Japanese Americans in camps was to set the exclusion zones in which all the Japanese people were declared to be excluded from the entire pacific coast. They were also excluded from the California areas and Washington and consequently were only allowed in the internment camps. It was in the year 1944 that the order from the supreme court specified that the constitutional articles and clauses that singled out the people of the Japanese ancestry were definitely factored out of the agenda regarding the scope of the proceedings. This was in relation ...

Rentel (619) talks of the internment of the Japanese people during the World War II. During this time, the American government evacuated the Japanese from America due to what was seen as the fear of the Japanese that they would outdo the Americans economically, as well as the projections against their sexual characteristics. Rentel (620) gives the evidence and argues that these acts could have been among the worst discriminatory acts that the American government got involved in.

The film “Snow Falling on Cedar” can be a theatric projection of Rentel’s argument. According to Barbre (2), the film tells ...

The Snow Falling on Cedars film provides an insight of how the sex projection is portrayed by forgiveness. During the second world war, the Japanese-Americans’ culture experienced troubling and enduring effects of cultural prejudices. During this period love affairs and relationship between American and Japanese were critically affected by war. For instance love affair between a Japanese lady, Hatsue, and protagonist Ishmael chambers was challenged by condition of bigotry and war. However, the issue of forgives is raised by the film where the Japanese-American find a way to forgive despite the tribulations and suffering they had experienced in foreign country. ...

Toyosaburo Korematsu v. United States, 323 U.S. 214 (1944)

The Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor in 1941 caused the wholehearted participation of the USA with World War II. The experience of war turned American culture into one predominated by nationalism and paranoia. A good example of this is the Supreme Court case Toyosaburo Korematsu v. United States, 323 U.S. 214 (1944). The Supreme Court made a decision in this case that reflected the atmosphere in the country more than the intentions of the American Constitution.

Toyosaburo Korematsu was an American living in California at the time that President Roosevelt designated parts of the country ‘military areas.’ Japanese and Japanese-Americans ...

The museum I visited was the Japanese-American National Museum in Little Tokyo, Los Angeles, California. Although I have been to Little Tokyo a few times before, I never had the chance to visit the museum. Upon entering the Japanese-American Museum, I noticed its delicate presentation. The way the respective heritages were presented made the museum very interesting. It has been a great establishment for thousands of people and given them a place to study history. One of the places I visited in the Museum was the ongoing exhibit called “Common Ground: The Heart of Community.” This exhibit gave viewers an ...

1. Executive order 9066

This was permission given to war secretary and the military leaders on February 19th, 1942 by the then United state president Franklin Roosevelt to designate military areas in regions which they may deem appropriate and from which people may be excluded and whose authority to remain, enter or leave lied on the discretion of the war secretary or the military commander in charge.

“Federal Register.” Federal Register, 75.235 (2010), preceding 467. Print.

2. War relocation authority

This was an order by President Franklin Roosevelt on March 18th, 1942 that created an agency to look into ...

INTRODUCTION

The events of 9/11 dramatically changed foreign policy and the treatment of national security in America. Given the organized and terror-based nature of the attacks, it was decided that a unique facility had to be created, isolated from the rest of the world, that would detain people of interest and enemy combatants. That place became the facility at Guantanamo Bay, where the United States maintains territorial control and has complete jurisdiction, despite the territory not being part of the United States.

Since its creation and occupation by enemy combatants, questions have been raised as to the ethical treatment of prisoners ...

Japanese people lived in Canada since 1877 when the first Japanese arrived in Canada. They were liked by the Canadians compared to Chinese immigrants. However, as strings of time passed, more and more Japanese people arrived in Canada. Arriving in Canada was not a problem compared to how they changed the Canadian society at the time. Japanese immigrants were willing to work for long hours for relatively low wages. This made the Canadians to complain about unfair competition and racism towards the Japanese immigrants was magnified. As much as Canadians discriminated against the Japanese, there were no legal restrictions towards ...