The period during World War II was no doubt a time of great panic in America. The United States home front was one filled with change and hysteria. Among questions of rationing, a possible war in America, and nuclear warfare, spies and treasonous activity was also one of great concern. In response to this question, politicians and army officials looked for an answer. They looked to find enemies within, and being greatly influenced by the legacy of Pearl Harbor, they looked to the Japanese Americans. They were easily spotted and they looked like the enemy, so Americans found it necessary to label them as the enemy, regardless of their past loyalty to the United States. This was the basis of Japanese-American Internment and just one example of how times of panic and war can cause mass hysteria and prejudice to overshadowed the values of civil liberty and justice.
             At the time of World War II, people of Japanese ancestry living in the United States were called Nikkei (Tunnell and Chilcoat 2). These Nikkei in the U.S. were either
             Issei or Nisei. Issei were all Japanese Americans of first-generation immigration, meaning they were born in Japan. Nisei were all Japanese Americans who were born on American soil. At the time Issei were denied U.S. citizenship, but Nisei could not be denied of their U.S. citizenship, since they were born in America (3).
             Nikkei were subject to a lot of discrimination even before the war had started. Signs and billboards of hatred were slung about the West Coast saying such things as "Japs keep moving. This is a white man's neighborhood." In buying their land, most Nikkei were only offered rocky, unfertile plots. Despite the quality of their land, most Nikkei were good farmers and they were able to convert the unwanted soil into a thriving farm. This, of course, made other white farmers jealous. The Nisei, who were generally the younger generation, tended to also be very p...