Download INTERNMENT of Americans with Japanese Ancestry You need the

INTERNMENT
NAME: __________
of Americans with Japanese Ancestry
You need the pdf version of questions and website directions to answer these questions.
So, get both open, if need be.
1. As to the page you should be on now, “Causes of Incarceration,” explain how
Roosevelt’s statement matches his actions.
Click on the History-of-Racism link (out on the far left side of the page).
On this page it says that the time in which these actions occurred was “a time when discrimination
was accepted...” By either clicking on the hypertext or by remembering what you know from other
history classes,
2. generally when did America start to make serious headway at challenging its racist
social outlook? (Thus, this is a time of “accepted racism” because...?)
(To get back to the page you need, you might have to again click on “History of Racism” in the left column menus.)
3. Examples of “Institutionalized Racism” are found behind a hypertext on this
same page. (Again, to get “back” out of each linked info, you will have to again click on the “History
of Racism” link on the left. Sorry…)
A. Name some racist “institutions” that were listed as being prominent on the
West Coast at the start of WWII. Give a statistic or two to show their
popularity.
B. Click on “Read More” in the “What Do You Think” box, and look at the
section about today’s version of institutionalized racism. What are the
two examples mentioned?
4. Go to the links at the left of the page, and click on “Failure of Leadership.”
At the beginning of this page is the following question:
Certain principles and freedoms are
guaranteed by our Constitution. Yet,
without enforcement, the
Constitution is just a piece of
paper. Where does one turn if
national leaders fail to uphold
these fundamental rights?
Required parameters are missing or incorrect.
A. So, who is the one person in our government charged the most with
upholding or enforcing the provisions of our Constitution? (Answer is
based on your own knowledge.)
B. (Also based on your past studies...) To which branch of government can
U.S. citizens turn to get unfair laws or government policies reversed?
C. Concerning this branch’s decision, what was the reason it gave in
support of its decision on the internment?
D. How does the Korematsu decision affect today’s world? Does the
precedent still stand or not?
E. In post Sept. 11th America, what current situation may be somewhat
similar to the civil liberty dangers expressed in the Korematsu case?
F. Now, lets see if you can find a couple of killer quotes in this area on
“Leadership” against the internment. One is by a Supreme Court Justice.
Another quote is by a military leader. If you can find the quotes, write
them down. (They’re behind the hypertexts in the general writing on the
Failure of Leadership page.)
5. Now click on the link in the left column, called “Wartime Hysteria.” There,
you will find the hysterical views of journalists and the U.S. military.
a. What’s “habeas corpus” (you will have to find that on your own if you
don’t know), and where did a prominent journalist (Westbrook Pegler)
place it in this situation?
b. As to this fear of Americans of Japanese Ancestry spying for Japan, the
web site hints that there was an ulterior (or selfish) reason military
leaders like Secretary Knox or CA Atty General Earl Warren wanted to
proclaim such spies must have existed. Why? Why would it make the
military and politicians feel better?
(These examples are behind the hyperlinks. And, dang-it, to get back to find
more hyperlinks, you have to click again on Wartime Hysteria each time.)
6. Throughout these “Leadership” & “Hysteria” sections and behind their hypertext
links, the site’s creators have addressed the possibility of weather or not there really
may have been Japanese spies among the Japanese-American community.
A. What did the FBI, Naval Intelligence, and the FCC say about such
possibilities?
B. Back on the very first page (of Causes of Incarceration), the authors have a
1983 Congressional commission sum up the real causes of this mass, unjust
incarceration. What did this commission say were the reasons for it?
7. Then there is the ECONOMIC factor. Click on “Economic Motives” in the far left
menu. Here (and in the hypertext links in the paragraphs) we see the incarceration
was really RACISM mixed with economics.
What are the two elements of labor in white U.S. society that wanted to get rid of
the Japanese-Americans for economic reasons. And, describe the economic
angle involved in their jealousies.
Make sure you NOW look at the pdf to see what pages you should be
linking to for the next answers!
8. How did the L.A. times characterize U.S. Citizens of Japanese ancestry, as
compared with citizens of the Empire of Japan?
9. Executive Order 9066:
A. Well, this is the big bad document. So, generally, what is this document?
An “Executive Order” is what its name implies: It is when the President issues a
sweeping order, and some party gets it done, and that is that. Doesn’t this seem
a bit dictator-like? (Answer B & C from your own knowledge.)
B. Normally, what has to happen in our system of government, to get a major,
new, sweeping policy (like a law) implemented?
C. Normally (or “Constitutionally”), what process happens before society
takes away someone’s freedom and locks them up?
(Put another way, what is “Due Process”?)
D. Using your own knowledge of Constitutional Presidential duties, using what is
i. written in Executive Order 9066, and from the following hint-questions,
explain how the President can get away with such a dictatorial
proclamation.
Hint: Who are the people that Roosevelt is directing to carry out this measure?
Hint: Though we know differently, who does Roosevelt infer that this order is really
directed against? What kind of a move was this, as far as Roosevelt was
concerned?
Hint: Once war is declared, who directs the war strategy?
On this web page, there are some pretty good interviews of Americans who went and
Americans who resisted. If you feel inclined, take a look at some.
Again, check out the pdf to see what links and icons you need to click on
to move to the correct web page.
10. Hawaii:
A. How many Americans in Hawaii had Japanese ancestry in their bloodlines?
B. So, were the bulk of these Americans removed and placed in camps? Why?
C. Of what strategic importance is Hawaii to the American military and our war effort?
D. What does this confirm about the U.S.’s internment of Americans in California and
Washington state? (That is, besides being unnecessary or stupid...)
11. The web page mentions that Terminal Island, near Los Angeles, as the first place the
U.S. military removed Americans of Japanese decent. However, when massive
implementation of Executive Order 9066 was posted all around the West (March of
1942), where, then, was the first mass “exclusion order” posted and carried out?
12. A. As to what these Americans could take with them, as to how items might be
shipped to a new location, and as to the property and items these American
citizens would suddenly have to leave behind, . . . . what happened?
B. (And now to the tug on the heartstrings...) What happened to the dog?
13. Aside from the spy angle, many officials at the time said that this “evacuation” was
also for the Japanese-Americans’ own protection; that other Americans would not
trust Americans with Japanese bloodline and may hurt them as a result of what their
ancestral homeland had done to us. Use the physical characteristics and
environment of the Assembly Centers to dispute this “protection” angle.
14. Some have compared what we did to these American citizens to what the Nazi’s did
to Jewish citizens in Europe. So, using what is written on this page, and using your
own knowledge of the various stages of disenfranchisement that European Jews
went through, make the comparison yourself.
The answers to this question can be found in several places throughout this long web page.
By finding the following four pictures and reading the text under the picture, you will find
the information more quickly. That is, you do not need to click on these pictures. Rather I am
only using them as markers for you to find the necessary text quicker. You just need to read
the paragraph or so in the section under the picture.
the text section under Frank Y.’s picture and the text
the text under Francis F.’s picture
the text section under Matsu H.’s picture
the text under “the first paycheck”
15. In the section, “Dissent Within The Camps,” which generation of JapaneseAmericans was more apt to accept the internment on patriotic grounds?
Discern if they are a majority or a minority.
16. Eventually, the Supreme Court made another decision concerning internment.
What did they say about the mass internment this time around?
17. A. What year were the camps (or most of the camps) finally closed?
B. I don’t think it says on the web page, but find out when we finally
beat Japan and ended WWII.
C. So, with these two dates, what really adds insult to the incarceration years?