Japanese Relocation in WWII
In December of 1941 following the attack on Pearl Harbor, the United States went into a state of panic and war preparation. Among the panic, Americans began to feat that there were Japanese spies among the population of Japanese-Americans. Loyalty was a strong custom in Japan, and many feared that this loyalty would turn Japanese-Americans against the United States. The government became concerned with national defense as the war with Japan began, so General J. L. De Witt, the head of the western defense command, urged Congress to relocate thousands of Japanese Americans living in California to detention camps. He was not concerned with whether or not the person is an American citizen, just that they were of Japanese decent. De Witt wanted to move those of Japanese decent because the Western Coast was close to the Pacific Ocean, where most battles would be foug
Many historians and political analysts, however, believe that direct rights were violated (1). With the war in Iraq, should all Iraqi-Americans be relocated until the war's end? The United States would not even think of taking such a drastic measure at this point in time. It directly violated articles and amendments in the Constitution. The act also instilled racism and the fear of aliens in the American people. Section 1 of the Constitution declares that, "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. De Whitt request that congress relocate Japanese and Japanese-Americans was completely unconstitutional and set a dangerous precedent for future generations. With the precedent they set, ever descendent of a country we were at war with would have to be relocated. A warrant describing the place to be searched and the persons or things to be seized is needed to raid a home. No such warrant existed when the 120,000 people were seized from there homes. The relocation of the Japanese and Japanese-Americans living in the United States was not only unconstitutional, but it also set a dangerous precedent for the future. (1,2) Furthermore, no occupant of the detention camp was allowed legal representation, told of the crime they committed, nor could they call upon witnesses on their behalf, all of which violate the rights given to the people in the United States Constitution (1). Future generations look back on this and compare the United States to Germany and see striking similarities.
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Acceptance Essays
