Necessary Japanese Internment

Necessary Japanese Internment

On February 19, 1942, President Franklin D. Roosevelt issued Executive Order 9066 during World War II which resulted in the internment of Japanese American citizens, which sparked much controversy. Many question whether it was justified to internment them. This delicate issue has two sides, those who those who are against the internment of the Japanese-Americans and those who agree with it. However, I believe that it was a necessary act to ensure the safety of millions of Americans.

America, at first, was inactive while the World War II raged in the East. When The United States refused to ship supplies to Japan such as scrap metal and oil, Japan retaliated by attacking Pearl Harbor in Hawaii, only 4,000 miles away from Japan. This devastating, uncalled for attack, which took place on December 7, 1941, led to many soldiers’ deaths and millions of dollars of damaged army equipment, including planes and aircraft carriers. Resulting from this was Japanese-Americans turned away from their duty to this country and reporting to internment camps until the conflict ceased. Many disagreed this act because they thought it was hypocrisy that the Japanese were being interned while the Germans and Italians were walking around free in America, both countries that were U.S. enemies. Countless Japanese had lived in American for a while prior to these events. The first generation of Japanese people that immigrated to the United States from Japan, called the Issei, as well as another generation of Japanese children that had grown up in America, called the Nissei, should not have been interned, according to anti-interment activists who believed the Japanese were being robbed of their rights as U.S. citizens. But there are two sides to everything.

There are a number of reasons why the internment of the Japanese people had to take place. Japan was a major threat to the United States that made anyone of Japanese descendent a potential traitor and threat to the United State’s security. What they were capable of, no one knew. They had attacked the undefended Pearl Harbor unexpectedly, which triggered a chain reaction of distrust and discrimination towards them. If they were truly Americans, they would show patriotism by willingly going to the camps to eliminate the government’s concern about them. By respecting the United States government’s wishes, the Japanese-Americans were later on able to receive approval from the general public once again.

Many people against the internment of the Japanese didn’t realize that they had to be interned for their own safety. After the bombing of Pearl Harbor, many Americans had strong feelings against the Japanese people. A Navy officer stationed in Los Angeles reported in early 1942 that “outbreaks of riots and other civil strife” were directed against the Japanese-American population. Therefore, the removal of the