Japanese-American Internment Essay Example

with strict rules for confinement. All residents had to be in their quarters by nine o'clock and lights were turned off at ten o'clock. Guards stationed around the perimeter of the centers were explicitly ordered to shoot anyone who approached within 20 feet of the 15-foot barbed wire fences. The limited food supply in the centers barely sufficed for everyone, and the sanitary conditions were extremely unsatisfactory. According to Nakashima, he and many other Japanese Americans had been born and raised in America without any connections to Japan.

The American government prevented numerous loyal and capable individuals from assisting in the war effort. The Supreme Court majority justified the internment by maintaining that evicting citizens from their residences contradicted United States principles. Nonetheless, given the threat posed by enemy forces in contemporary warfare, it was imperative for the government to possess sufficient authority to safeguard the shores commensurate with the danger encountered.

The Supreme Court emphasized the significance of safeguarding national defense, including defense materials and utilities, against espionage and sabotage during the war. Although acknowledging that the majority of individuals with Japanese ancestry were loyal to the United States, they concluded that due to a few disloyal members within this group and the inability to promptly distinguish between the loyal and disloyal, it was essential to relocate all members from the military area. The Supreme Court justified measures like internment as necessary precautions to protect the military from sabotage and espionage given the prevailing circumstances.