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Originally Posted by Jim O
There was real fear among the populace, especially on the West Coast, that Japan would attempt an invasion. Instead of putting in the effort to alleviate those fears, the government, in its infinite wisdom, decided to intern these people. Of course it didn't help that they "looked" different and so therefore "could not be trusted".
The sad thing is it could easily happen again. During a state of war or rebellion the President can suspend habeas corpus indefinitely.
From Article I, Section 9 of the Constitution:
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The privilege of the writ of habeas corpus shall not be suspended, unless when in cases of rebellion or invasion, the public safety may require it.
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Roosevelt's decision was upheld in several Supreme Court rulings.
Lincoln suspended habeas corpus in the Civil War as well. |
That is just rationalization by the US Government to justify it's illegal treatment of their own citizens. The Japanese reached the Hawaiian Islands and the Aleutian Islands, no serious threat of invasion of the 48 states by the Japeanese ever existed. In fact, it was the paranoia of sabotage by ethnic Japanese that allowed the US Army Air Corps to be so easily destroyed during Pearl Harbor, and the Pacific Fleet to be manhandled.
Simple fact is that the US citizenry of Japanese descent was easily identified and stood out like a sore thumb compared to citizenry of German and Italian descent. How was the US any less safe from the ethnic Japanese than German or Italian saboteurs? German U-boats were sitting off the coast of the US eastern seaboard and in the Gulf of Mexico, and within distance of light signals. A German or Italian spy on the east coast would have a much better chance of fowarding intelligence than some Japanese guy in San Francisco or Los Angelos.
The internment of the Japanese were wrong. I understand it was a different time then, but I pray that we never again make such a mistake.