1. Was the treatment of Japanese Americans during WWII a setback for democracy?

2. Pearl Harbor
December 7, Japanese airplanes bombed U.S. Naval and Air force base
Killed over 3,000 Americans
Destroyed almost all U.S. airplanes at base
Sank or badly hurt most U.S. ships
Many Americans questioned the loyalty of Japanese Americans

3. Japanese Loyalty
FEW people felt that Italian-Americans and German-Americans were traitors
MANY people felt that Japanese-Americans were still loyal to the government in Tokyo
May act like spies
Help Japan invade the U.S.

4. FDR No evidence of disloyalty of Japanese-Americans existed
FDR Signs Executive Order 9066
Japanese-Americans move from their home to “relocation camps”
Many were American citizens by birth

5. Japanese Interment Camps
U.S. made no distinction between Japanese immigrants and Japanese-Americans born in the U.S.
All were deported
110,000 Japanese-Americans were forced to sell their homes, farms, and businesses
Conditions
Crowded barracks
Barbed wire
Guarded by the army
Freedom taken away

10. Korematsu v. United States

11. Korematsu v. United States
Korematsu refused to obey wartime order to leave his home and go to an interment camp
Arrested and found guilty
Appealed to Supreme Court
VIOLATION:
14th amendment: the right to be treated equally like other citizens, no discrimination.
5th amendment: Arrested without a reason.

12. Supreme Court’s Decision
The internment of Japanese Americans was legal because it posed a potential threat to the United States.
“Clear and Present Danger”
Society’s security is in danger
Suspends individual freedoms for the protection of society as a whole