The Perception of Japanese Americans

Japanese Americans had already experienced discrimination before World War II. They were given curfews, unable to marry outside their race, unable to own land or property and were banned from possessing firearms and short-wave radio receiving and transmitting sets. There was also an Act passed in 1924 that prevented Japanese immigration to the United States.

The perception of Japanese Americans through categoric knowing was apparent. Categoric knowing is “the classification of others on the basis of limited information obtained visually and perhaps verbally. People make judgments and generalizations on the basis of scanty information, confusing an individual’s characteristics with typical group-member characteristics”(Parrillo,7) .

The Japanese military attacked Pearl Harbor on the morning of December 7, 1941. It was a surprise attack by the Japanese navy against the United States naval base at Pearl Harbor. The attack destroyed 18 United States warships, 188 airplanes and caused the deaths of 2,403 American servicemen, 68 civilians and wounded 1,178 Americans. This was the start of United States entering World War II.

The attack on Pearl Harbor affected the Japanese Americans in a tragic way. The American public along with the United States government perceived Japanese Americans as a threat and believed them to be spies for Japan. This resulted in an even tougher life for Japanese Americans and eventually internment camps.

In 1942, United States Army Lieutenant General John L. DeWitt stated “The Japanese race is an enemy race and while many second and third generation Japanese born on United States soil, possessed of United States citizenship, have become ‘Americanized,’ the racial strains are undiluted”. He stated that Japanese Americans would never be able to understand the American culture and would always be a different race. This was the start of anti-Japanese sentiments throughout the nation. A Gallup poll that was taken in 1942, it showed that American citizens thought that the Japanese were ‘treacherous, sly, cruel, and warlike’. Japanese Americans were considered to be dangerous and were expected to take part in sabotage of espionage.

The fears of the United States government and the American citizens led to the imprisonment or confinement into internment camps. On February 19, 1942, President Franklin D. Roosevelt authorized the internment with Executive Order 9066, which was justified as a “military necessity”. Approximately 70,000 American-born Japanese Americans (Nisei-second generation and Sansei-third generation) 40,000 Japanese immigrants (Issei-first generation) were placed in the camps throughout the United States. These individuals, whom half were children, were forced to evacuate their homes and leave their jobs. Some families were separated and put into different camps. Many died due to inadequate medical care and emotional stress while others were killed by military guards for allegedly resisting orders.

In addition to the Japanese interns, 11,000 individuals of German ancestry and 3,000 individuals of Italian ancestry and some Jewish refugees were also interned. Still, Japanese Americans were affected the most. They were removed from the West Coast and southern Arizona. However, in Hawaii where there were approximately 140,000 individual from Japanese Ancestry, only individuals that were considered high risk were interned. It was mostly on the mainland where individuals of Japanese ancestry were vulnerable.

J. Edgar Hoover, who was the FBI Director, was one that was opposed to the interments. He believed that Japanese spies were already arrested by the FBI soon after the attack on Pearl Harbor. Eleanor Roosevelt, the wife of Franklin Roosevelt was also opposed to the Executive Order of 9066 and had voiced her opinion to her husband, but was unsuccessful in convincing him.

On February 19, 1976, the Executive order 9066 was finally lifted by President Gerald Ford. Then in 1980, President Jimmy Carter signed legislation to create the Commission on Wartime Relocation and Internment of Civilians (CWRIC). It was created to study the Executive Order of 9066, related wartime order and how it impacted Japanese Americans in the West. In 1982, the CWRIC found that the incarceration of Japanese Americans was unjustified and not a military necessity. It also found that the incarcerations were based on race prejudice, war hysteria, and a failure of political leadership. The Commission recommended that legislation to give an official Government apology, redress payments of $20,000 to each of the survivors and start a public education fund to help make sure that this would not happen again. On August 10, 1988, the Civil Liberties Act of 1988 (Japanese American Redress Bill) was signed into law by President Ronald Reagan based on the recommendations of the CWRIC. On November 21, 1989 President George H.W. Bush signed an appropriation bill authorizing payments and signed apology letters to be made to surviving internees. Over 1.6 billion in reparations were distributed by the United States government to Japanese Americans or to the heirs of individuals who suffered internment.

Although reparations were made, the mental and physical health impacts of the interment experience continue to affect tens of thousands of Japanese Americans. Studies have found that two times greater incidence of heart disease and premature death among former internees, compared to Japanese Americans who were not interned.

Source:

Parrillo, V. (2008). Understanding Race and Ethnic Relations (3ed). Pearsons Education, Inc.