http://www.pbs.org/wnet/supremecourt/personality/landmark_korematsu.html
Summary:
During WWII, February 19th, 1942, President Franklin Delano Roosevelt issued an executive order forcing all US-Japanese citizens alien or non alien into internment camps for the remainder of the war. This precaution was taken in order to insure that the Japanese did not attempt to sabotage the US in anyway especially since Japan had just declared war on the United States by joining the Axis Forces. "In a 6-3 court decision the supreme court upheld Korematsu's conviction." The Supreme Court sided with the military in that the country's national security outweighed the constitution's promise of equal rights.
Question(s): Is it fair to the Japanese American citizens to be wrongfully justified as enemies of the country if the ancestral country was the one that declared war? Does the president issuing an executive order to intern the Japanese American people considered an emergency power or was his decision a little too hasty?
It was not fair of them to all be wrongfully justified as enemies of the country just because their country of origin was the one who declared war. You can't just assume that all people are guilty because where they are from has done something, especially since the United States is supposed to be the melting pot where everyone is accepted no matter the race, religion or anything. However, I'm not sure when the idea of the melting pot came around, but still, this was really extreme. I don't think that he really thought this law through, and was overly paranoid. If there was physical and real proof that something was happening, I think an investigation of that person and their connections is reasonable, but it is absolutely unreasonable and ridiculous to suddenly assume that every single person who has that same race is automatically guilty. It was very hasty, and totally unfair. I don't think that you can make a decision regarding the individual rights of a person (or in this case, a whole ethinicity) like this so quickly without a lot of thought.
ReplyDeletelooking back,obviously not every Japanese citizen in the US was planning on retaliating against the US so this would seem like an irrational decision, at the time this could have still been an irrational choice however they felt it was necessary to provide safety. Back then I would have probably seen it as an emergency necessity but today I view it as something that could have been prevented or done in a different way.
ReplyDeleteit is not fair because its putting the blame on everyone from the country and not actually focusing on who actually is causing the problem
ReplyDeleteI do not think it is ok, citizens should not be penalized because of the wrong doings of their ancestors. They should not have to be affiliated with it at all
ReplyDeleteThat is not right to accuse and judge a group of people because of their race. I think the president was being to hasty and at the time racial discrimination was popular and now this issue would never happen again.
ReplyDeleteThis is unfair to the Japanese American citizens to be wrongfully justified as enemies of the country if the ancestral country was the one that declared war. It goes against their constitutional rights. It also discriminates against them because of their heritage and denies them equal protection under the constitution. I believe the president's decision was a little too hasty because even though it was a time of war it was unfair to people that were of Japanese heritage.
ReplyDeleteThe us was taking pro cautions about this whole situation. Its better to be safe than sorry at that point in time they felt like that was the right decision to provide safety to the country. It was hasty but its better to be safe.
ReplyDeleteThe us was taking pro cautions about this whole situation. Its better to be safe than sorry at that point in time they felt like that was the right decision to provide safety to the country. It was hasty but its better to be safe.
ReplyDeleteThe us was taking pro cautions about this whole situation. Its better to be safe than sorry at that point in time they felt like that was the right decision to provide safety to the country. It was hasty but its better to be safe.
ReplyDeletelive in the present not the past
ReplyDeleteIt isn't fair to the Japanese citizens to be held during the time of war with their home country. His decision was hasty and racist.
ReplyDeleteIt was out of fear.
DeleteIt is not fair for Japanese American citizens to be justified as enemies. They did not do anything wrong. The fact that Japanese American citizens were put in camps, even though there was no proof of them individually doing anything wrong, it not fair. This is segregation against their race and this should not have happened. We were not taking the time out to find out who was specifically helping the war effort, instead we just accused every japaneese of being a part of the war effort.
ReplyDeleteit is not fair to judge a group of people because of their race.
ReplyDeleteThis is fair because the executive order is being made with the intentions of protecting the commen wealth, a prime example is how there was a large populations of japanese people on the west coast which was the front line of the war. So in conclusion I think the presidents executive action was justidied due to him trying to protect the comment wealth. Lessss gi
ReplyDeleteNo, it's not fair to the Japanese because they were denied their equal protections. The executive order was an insurance for the U.S. in case their citizens betrayed them. However, several decades later, the people who interned got reparation payments and an apology from the president.
ReplyDeleteI believe that the US was taking the safer route because you would never know what will happen. Just like Barry said Its better to be safe than sorry.
ReplyDeleteIt was completely unfair that the Japanese people were held against their will, solely based on the fact that they were of Japanese decent. This was a racist act that should have never been put into play. Many lives and families were uprooted, resulting in job loss and separation. After the years of containment, families in the camp had to try and reclaim their lives,even though their entire livelihood might have been lost. This separation created a horrible social stigma for the Japanese, and they would have many hard years to come after their time in internment camps. Admitting an apology and then paying only $20,000 per family was not good enough to erase the past.
ReplyDeleteGrouping the Japanese like they did is like putting all middleastern people in interment camps today. It would be shocking and no one would be on board with it. It also would not have been effective at all. What could average working people have done that would be so critical that they might cause intense damage for the americans in the war? nothing.
ReplyDeleteIt is not fair to the Japanese American citizens to be wrongfully justified as enemies of the country, even if the ancestral country was the one that declared war. The president issuing an executive order to intern the Japanese American people was too hasty of a decision. They did not do anything that justified being restrained in these internment camps.
ReplyDeleteIn the beginning American government said that they wanted to put the all the Japanese, whether or not they where foreign born, in the internment camps for their own safety of extremist and paranoid Americans. In reality the Japanese were put in because the Americans were untrusting of the Japanese thinking that they would side with the Japanese from Japan. I think the executive order to intern the Japanese was too hasty. There was no justification for the executive order.
ReplyDeleteIt is not fair for the Japanese Americans to be associated with their races wrong-doings. They were not proven of doing anything to support the war effort. The fact that we put them in holding camps is just wrong. We were not protecting anybody by doing thi, it is just pure racism. The U.S executive order was way too harsh. I think that the U.S was too lazy to go out and find the people who really did pose a threat to us and we just wanted the quick and easy way out, which was to just accuse everybody. This decision was WAY too hasty. It has no reasoning and it was not fair at all.
ReplyDeleteIn todays world what the US did was wrong. However during the war that was what America thought would protect us and as it wasnt a nice idea it was "right" at the time. If you look at the war today we have people in this country trying to destroy us from the inside out, bosten, the kid with the clock and more. There are people in this country ready to blow it up from the inside out. The goverment lets illegals in and then wonders why the economy sucks ass.
ReplyDeleteObviously, it seems unfair to deem this action immoral today. However, we need to realize the context in which these camps were created. We were in the middle of an influential war, and drastic measures were taken to ensure the safety of the country. Again, many Japanese-American citizens were treated unjustly and we must recognize that. However, it is important to note that sometimes drastic measures call for drastic action.
ReplyDeleteIt isn't fair to justify an argument just based on race. We need to see beyond race and gender to find the route of our problems. We need to learn from our mistakes and not repeat history again
ReplyDeleteIt is not fair for the Japanese American to be wrongfully justified as enemies of the country. Government should look beyond the race of the people to make their decisions. They can't assume that all Japanese are enemies just because we were in war with them.
ReplyDelete