World War II was a time when racial minorities were used as scapegoats by United States government to provide a sense of security for their citizens. After the attack on Pearl Harbor in December of 1941 by Japan, a sense of fear and insecurity swept the United States. Japanese Americans were hated and treated harshly because of their Japanese ancestry. In February 1942, President Franklin D. Roosevelt issued an Executive order in response to the wartime hysteria and anti-Japanese constituencies. The executive order authorized “absolute power” over any persons deemed right by Stimpson and other commanders in their so called “military areas” (Daniels, 20). The executive order did not specify any minority or racial groups that it applied to, but it led to the military claiming much of west coast as a military area.
The army divided the West Coast area to be evacuated including California, Washington, Oregon, and some parts of Arizona after the approval of the statute by Congress. The order said that “all persons of Japanese ancestry, both alien and non-alien” to be ready to evacuate starting from 31st March in some areas to the end of October in other areas. The name “non-alien” referred to American citizens that were being evacuated and held at the relocation camps only based on their ancestry. The use of this particular word shows that the army was trying to hide the fact that what was being done to these Japanese Americans was unconstitutional but, they did it to prove victory over Japan. For Americans this meant that they did not have to fear espionage and sabotage. Although, there were no known cases of espionage and sabotage by Japanese Americans. This kind of military order, which was plainly unconstitutional, was not going to last much “longer than the military emergency.” As stated by Justice Jackson in the case of Korematsu vs. United States, if such actions were rationalized by the judicial opinion this would validate “the principle of racial discrimination” (Korematsu vs. United States).
While the military was relocating the Japanese Americans from their homes to “concentration camps” as said by President Franklin D. Roosevelt, there were a set of rules or guidelines that they had to follow while evacuating (Daniels, 19). Many of the rules and guidelines violated the human rights of the Japanese American citizens under the constitution. The Japanese Americans were not informed about their relocation sites and there were no laws that stated the protection of their property and homes while they were gone. This led to the loss of property and homes of many Japanese Americans that were held in relocation camps. This also gave the right to steal property under constitution from the Japanese Americans by the government while they were held unconstitutionally in the “concentration camps.”
There were many rights under constitution that were violated because the government failed to protect its citizens and uphold the very rights given by the Constitution of the United States. They were also denied the right to vote and free speech because it was severely restricted as to what they could say in newspapers and at meetings. This raises the question about how many of the interviews taken by a white man at the relocation camps under military watch were completely truthful in their opinion about the internment camps. The Japanese Americans’ homes were searched without a warrant and they were not given the right to a quick and speedy trial. They were also forced to remain in guarded relocation camps behind barbed wires. The relocation camps itself were far away from any civilized areas. They were small, unsanitary, and intolerable living conditions which was a cruel form of punishment. In some ways, this was how the Jews were treated in Nazi Germany at this time. This shows how far away from democracy United States got and how the citizens of United States who had a duty to overthrow a government that failed to protect the rights of its people also failed as citizens.
The failure of the government to protect its citizens led to the internment of Japanese Americans. The system of checks and balances failed to protect the rights of its Japanese citizens. The legislative branch approved the statute, which stated that the failure to obey military order will be punishable by a year in prison or a five thousand dollar fine, by unanimous consent. After it was passed, the army proceeded with the evictions of Japanese Americans from their homes. The judicial branch failed to deem the actions of the executive branch and the legislative branch unconstitutional. In the case of Kiyoshi Hirabayahi vs. United States, the supreme court ruled against Hirabayashi for the violation of the curfew order and the supreme court was unable to reject the findings of the military. This is the one time in American history that the government failed completely in its role and function to uphold the rights of its citizens.