Japanese Internment Camps in America during WW2: EDITED

Earlier today I posted a paper on the Japanese internment camps in America during World War 2. Thinking it was a good paper, I loosely threw it up in a post for others to read.

 A few minutes later I received a comment by a kind man who took the time to tell me that my viewpoint was wrong and that my paper was not college material. He left me a link to an irrefutable source on the subject and after reading it, I found out he was right. So rather than becoming upset at his criticism, I took it to heart and set out on writing a new paper. I used the same intro and few paragraphs. But the rest is totally different. Let me know what you think.

Japan Wars on U.S; and Britain; Makes Sudden Attack on Hawaii; Heavy Fighting at Sea Reported

The headlines of the New York Times on December 8 sent chills down every reader’s back and gripped their heart with fear. War. It had been going on in Europe, but Americans were promised we wouldn’t be involved. Now, there was no other option. Not only had we been thrust into war, but we had been attacked on our own soil for the first time since the Revolutionary War. War. Our country had just come through the first World War with great success. Wasn’t there supposed to be peace now? Obviously not.

The fear that gripped many Americans was born out in their everyday lives. Every Asian American was treated with caution, suspicion, and wariness. Mothers protected their children from Japanese Americans while at the grocery stores; grown men kept a careful eye on Japanese coworkers; and teenagers made high school unbearable for the children of these Japanese Americans.

An epidemic of fear and racism broke out among the American people and the government was forced to step in and take action. Rather than allowing this pandemonium to continue any longer, President Franklin Roosevelt signed into action the Executive Order 9066, ordering the removal and relocation of all Japanese Americans to temporary dwelling in ten designated internment camps.  This action has been debated through the years.

Was it constitutional to round up and “relocate” American citizens merely based on their ethnicity? Was it morally correct to assume every Japanese American was out to harm America simply because of their heritage?

The Fourteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution states: “All persons born or naturalized in the United States, and subject to the jurisdiction thereof, are citizens of the United States and of the State wherein they reside. No State shall make or enforce any law which shall abridge the privileges or immunities of citizens of the United States; nor shall any State deprive any person of life, liberty or property, without due process of law; nor deny to any person within its jurisdiction the equal protection of the laws.” This amendment was signed into law in 1868.

The first step in removing the Japanese Americans was to have them all registered. This gave the government a rough idea of how many housing units would be needed for the relocation. Next, they were given little time to gather what possessions they could and move out. They were only allowed to take what they could carry. Their daily lives and thoughts of normalcy were shattered.

For many Japanese American businessmen and land owners this relocation meant the loss of land, property, and their entire net worth. The total dollar value of the property loss has been estimated at as much as 1.3 billion dollars. Net income losses may have been as high as 2.7 billion dollars.

By 1943, more than 120,000 Japanese Americans were relocated to one of ten internment camps located around the United States. These camps were contrasted quickly by the Army and were very isolated. Many were located in places of extreme weather conditions and the housing resembled that of Army barracks.

Harold Ickes, Secretary of the Interior during President Roosevelt’s presidency told the Washington Post on September 23, 1946, “As a member of President Roosevelt’s administration, I saw the United States Army give way to mass hysteria over the Japanese…Crowded into cars like cattle, these hapless people were hurried away to hastily constructed and thoroughly inadequate concentration camps, with soldiers with nervous muskets on guard, in the great American desert. We gave the fancy name of ‘relocation centers’ to these dust bowls, but they were concentration camps nonetheless.”

Internee Mary Tsukamoto remembered, “The sound of the camp gates closing behind us sent a searing pain into my heart. I knew it would leave a scar that would stay with me forever. At that very moment my precious freedom was taken from me.”

So were these internees thrown into “prison camps” or were they simply “relocated?” Let’s examine some facts:

It has been said that these relocation centers had the highest live-birth rate and the lowest death rate of the wartime US and were exempt from rationing programs imposed across the country. And they were equipped with well-staffed hospitals and dental facilities. They were provided with food each day and were given free glasses and dentures. Some young people even received scholarships to outside universities to further their education.

While that may make these relocation centers seem desirable, also notice the downside of these camps. The internees were constantly watched by guards with rifles. They were fenced in by a protective border to prevent escape. The food they were served were things such as beef brains, tongue, liver, etc; items most Asian Americans were not accustomed to. The latrines were outside and so close to the housing that the stench often permeated the homes. The winters were cold and the summers hot; yet no extra clothing or protection was offered the internees.

From the words of one internee: “We had to live under the constant pressure that the food might all stop one day, and it gave me very uneasy and uncomfortable feelings to see the guards watching us from the tower. We were fenced in. I couldn’t take my eyes off my children for even a moment so that they would not go outside the fence. The guards were to shoot anyone that did.”

Although there seem to be pros and cons to these camps I believe the real story can be heard from the mouths of the internees themselves, as we have seen. Not only were these camps unconstitutional, but they were morally and ethically wrong.

When our nation lets fear and prejudice outweigh her good judgment is when our nation ceases to be good. As a nation we stripped these people of their land, their possessions, their freedoms, and their lives. Many were scarred emotionally and mentally and never fully recovered.

What President Roosevelt and our nation did was wrong. May we never come to that point again.

Expelled: No Intelligence Allowed

This is the trailer to a new movie coming out this February entitled, Expelled: No Intelligence Allowed. It is Ben Stein’s story of how scientists today are discovering that the age-old belief that our world was formed over millions and billions of years may be wrong. They are finding signs of intelligent design in creation, yet they are being silenced. Their studies are hidden, their lives threatened, and their thoughts silenced.  Yet if these findings are supposed to be false, why are the “science heads” trying so hard to cover them up. Could their be truth in it? Could they have been wrong all these years? See for yourself.

History Lesson: Athens vs. Sparta

As I sit here researching the differences between the city-states of Athens and Sparta around 450 BC, I am reminded that I haven’t posted on my blog in a while. So why not give a you a sneak peak of the history lesson I am going to be teaching in class tomorrow? (You may not care, but hang with me for a little while. It gets interesting, I promise.)
So I posed the question “Which was a better city overall, Athens or Sparta” to a friend of mine. Surprising to me, he chose Athens. He explained that they were thinkers, philosophers, politicians, and writers. Many of the great authors of the time (Pericles, Aeschylus, Oedipus, and Antigone) lived in Athens which made it the center for all philosophical learning and training.

Also, because Athens was a sea city with a large port, they were highly involved in the trading industry. Its leading exports were manufactured goods and olive oil, and its main import was grain. Athens held a high standard of living for its citizens. Most people were very wealthy and enjoyed the finer things of life at that time.

But as you study Athens’ way of life, you can’t help but notice that while they employed a democracy form of government,  fewer than ten percent of the population enjoyed voting rights. Political decisions were made by a body of men called “The Assembly.” These men were chosen from the “elite” class of men in society (those men of great wealth and wisdom, who were over thirty years of age). Women were looked down upon and had little to no worth or value in life. They were the possession of their father until he “sold” them to their husband for a dowry. Their main purpose in life was to tend the house and teach the children.

On the other hand, Sparta couldn’t have been more different. The main focus of this city-state was that of war. At age seven, boys were taken from their homes and were trained in the art of warfare. They were only given a cloak and little food and were expected to steal to survive and develop their skills in fighting. The women were trained in reading, writing, gymnastics, and weaving. The woman was treated with respect and her main duty was to produce healthy children, manage her husbands affairs, and protect her property and her household while her husband was at war.

The political aspect to Sparta was also different. They used an oligarchy (rule by few) form of government, headed up by five men, called ephors, who were essentially the “elders” per se, of the city. They ran the day-to-day affairs of the city and had the right to veto anything the council or assembly decided.

Trade in Sparta was seemingly non-existent, not because their economy was weak (which is not true at all because they were self-supporting) but this was an act of military strategy. By not allowing any outside influence or foreign visitors, their enemies had no idea their military strength or tactics. This proved key in many of their victories over the years.

So in summary, we see Athens with more freedoms, more wealth, and more influence in the world through the arts. And Sparta had more military strength and independence, as far as their economy. So which one would you choose?  It may not be as easy as you think.

Most of us after looking at these facts would choose Athens. I mean, who doesn’t want freedom, wealth, and influence. But these were in fact the downfall of Athens. Rather than focusing on the good of the people, this city tried to develop itself into a political powerhouse. While Athens did have a larger city, Sparta was the one who flourished.

Athens was blinded to the times in which they lived. You see, the other countries surrounding Greece were building their armies and overtaking cities at that time. Athens didn’t need more thinkers but more fighters. They needed to focus on their military rather than their money. Which is where Sparta comes in. Sparta was more prepared for the dangers that surrounded them and the threats possible. They embraced the topics and culture relevant to the times. They were prepared.

Athens and Sparta eventually fought in what is known as the Peloponnesian Wars and in 405 BC Athens surrendered to Sparta after facing poverty and starvation. So in the end, Sparta was the stronger city-state.

Now you know. So whenever anyone asks you, Sparta or Athens, you can reply, “Sparta. And let me tell you why…”