Kelan Chanthasen

April 6, 2016
INTL-2040
Laura H. Bradford
Topaz: An Injustice?
In 1942 the Nation of Japan bombed an American military constitution
in Pearl Harbor, Hawaii. This attacked sparked fear in the Americans and a
cry for action from the masses. The U.S. Government hastily decided to
arrest thousands of Japanese-American community leaders and anyone that
was deemed important. Eventually President Franklin D. Roosevelt signed
Executive Order 9066 in February of 1942. This ultimately led to over
120,000 innocent Americans being imprisoned despite the American
government having no evidence of any conspiracy or any act of sabotage
(Dr. Satsuki Ina, Children of the Camps). The question of constitutionality of
this decision quickly rose from the dust and is often debated. Its important
to examine the origins for hostility against the Japanese-Americans, the
injustice of uprooting families and involuntarily evacuating them, the
conditions of the camps and the families after relocation, and the many acts
of racism against these American citizens.
Prior to World War II there was still a lot of hostility towards the
Japanese immigrants in America. In the late 19th and early 20th centuries
there was an increase demand for Japanese laborers in Hawaii and the West
Coast. The Alaska gold rush and the railroad constructions demanded the
cheap labor that Japanese immigrants provided. American citizens began to
feel these new immigrants as a threat to the economy, and is often thought
as the precursor to the feelings that led to the evacuation of thousands of
Japanese Americans.

In many instances Japanese Americans were not allowed to own or purchase

land. In many ways their rights were stripped away and werent even
considered citizens. After the construction of the railroads there was nowhere
for them to go. The flood of Japanese immigrants in the job market made
many people afraid and was the cause for several riots in the early 1900s.
These feelings were brought about again in 1942 after the attack on
Pearl Harbor. The American citizens of Japanese descent were seen as
scapegoats and were viewed as a threat to society. Political journalists
attacked the Japanese descendants in order to shift blame away from the
military officials responsible for protecting America. It was in February of
1942 that President Franklin D. Roosevelt signed Executive Order 9066 and

evacuated and imprisoned over 120,000 American citizens (Dr. Satsuki Ina,
Children of the Camps).
The first unrest in the Japanese-American society came when the FBI
deliberately and hastily arrested and searched hundreds of JapaneseAmerican men who were seen as figureheads or cultural leaders. The FBI
made many arrests and searched for weeks for any evidence of JapaneseAmericans contacting and conspiring with the Japanese government.
Possessions were thrown out, destroyed, and even burned in hopes that the
FBI couldnt find the most remote evidence linking a family to thoughts of
espionage (PBS Home Video, Time of Fear). Nothing was ever turned up, but
the effects of the unwarranted searches were already felt. Any American
citizen of Japanese descent immediately felt the media impacts and the
economic impacts of the accusations. The children who were Japanese
werent welcome in extracurricular school activities, they werent accepted
at motels or restaurants. Many stores refused to sell to these people as well.
(Verdoia, Ken, Topaz.) It was another instance of racism in the American
history books.
After the arrests of the leadership of Japanese-Americans they were
then told to relocate to many temporary camps. These camps consisted of
reworked fairgrounds or horse racetracks. Many of the living quarters were
just repurposed horse stables. When these families were uprooted they had
to leave behind old friends, their pets, almost all of their belongings. They
left into a world of unknown filled with betrayal. These temporary camps
were far from luxurious. They resembled, in many ways, military camps but
also had guard towers and barbed fences to remind the inhabitants that they
were no longer free, they were prisoners. Stripped of their liberties by the
government of the very country that they called home. These camps
separated families and tore apart relationships.
While the initial evacuation wasnt mandatory, very few Japanese
families chose to stay at home. The few who stayed were met with
increasing hostility from neighbors and other fellow citizens filled with fear
and racism. The constant term of Jap was thrown around, harmful to the
ears of those from Japanese descent. Many signs and banners were hung in
towns. They advertised Jap Hunting Licenses or compared the Japanese to
dogs. The Japanese were no longer welcome in their own homes. Uprooted
and disheveled, these families faced the hardships of throwing their entire
life away. Photographs, heirlooms, clothing and other belongings filled the
streets in front of empty houses. The families were only allowed to bring
what they could carry. Small reminders of the life they once had, destroyed
by the betrayal of their government and the false accusations of sabotage
and espionage during a time of social unrest.
Of all the people put into camps, 40% were children and 70% were
American citizens (PBS Home Video, Time of Fear). 11,000 of these internees
were sent to live in Topaz, Utah which opened in September of 1942. The

prisoners were forced to move at dusk as not to be seen by the local

populations. Utah was the chosen destination because it was far away from a
large population center. Despite opening in September, many of the
barracks and other resources werent completed until well into October of
1942. The camp consisted of living spaces that resembled barracks, a mess
hall, a latrine and a building for laundry, and even a recreation hall. The
entire camp was surrounded by a 4 foot high, barbed wire fence with several
guard towers (Leonard Arrington, The Price of Prejudice).
Life in the camps was grueling. There was no privacy. The buildings
were poorly and quickly constructed with very thin walls that made little to
no effort to block sound. There was a lot of physical illness, lots of filth. Topaz
was festering with dust. Some of the survivors of the camps recall the dust
and how their parents would attempt to sweep, but within seconds the floors
would be covered with dust. Eyes and throats were filled with dirt, clothes
dirtied from the endless barrage from the desert. (Verdoia, Ken, Topaz.)
Winter was devastating. The buildings were very ill-fitted for the weather and
the local environment. Temperatures in the area were usually around and
even below zero degrees. The houses were only heated by small coal stoves
(Topazmuseum.org).
This wasnt the life the interned Americans were used to, but it was the
one they were thrust into. There was a constant feeling of fear that hovered
around the camp. I wonder if today is the day theyre going to line us up
and shoot us. (Dr. Satsuki Ina, Children of the Camps). While some people
would spend their time festering in anger and betrayal, life would continue
for others. Sports teams would be formed and some people would seek work
in the camps. You could usually find work in the camp that paid only $12 a
month. While its not a lot of money, the Japanese-Americans found it
necessary as they would need new clothes or other household items.
To revisit the question of was this constitutional? we can say that the
United States government definitely thought so. Entrapping the many
thousands of American citizens was seen as a necessary to declare war on
Japan. The Constitution offers the power of declaring war to the Federal
Government, and in doing so allows the government to take whatever
necessary steps in waging war. (United Sates War Relocation Authority, Legal
and Constitutional Phases of the WRA Program). While what was done may
be constitutional, the argument can be presented that it wasnt just.
Merriam-Webster defines the word injustice as unfair treatment; a
situation in which the rights of a person or a group of people are ignored.
With the information presented above we can say, without a doubt,
that the imprisonment of 120,000 Japanese-American citizens was an
injustice. We stripped our own citizens of their rights to own land, their rights
to privacy. We forced them to relocate and leave behind almost everything
from their old lives. We did this out of fear, and who is to say that we wont
do it again, or havent already? The U.S. Patriot Act made several changes to

existing laws that made it easier for our government to commit such
atrocities and violate the citizens privacy with the excuse of the acts being
to help prevent acts of terrorism, or to protect the home front. The Military
Commissions Act states that the government can arrest non-U.S. Citizens for
as long as deemed necessary. They dont provide any right or appeal to a
court of law, the citizens cant challenge their arrest. Both of these laws were
produced after the Japanese internment camps, but similar ideas can be
derived. The question of constitutionality can finally be answered because
the government created laws that covered themselves in the case of another
of these events happening.
The Japanese Internment camps were in no way a just thing to do.
American citizens had their rights stripped away, privacy was broken,
possessions were lost and families were torn apart. Imprisoning our own
citizens out of fear is a horrible thing to do. The government broke the trust
between thousands of its own citizens. The people imprisoned were more
afraid of their government than their government was afraid of them. Not
one single case of espionage or sabotage was ever discovered during the
investigations completed by the government. The results saying that
nothing has happened were taken as a sign that things were going to
happen. Filth and Illness were just a few of the poor conditions that Japanese
Americans had to endure while trapped during the war. Very few attempts
have been made to right the wrongs that we committed during this horrible
time.

We can easily compare the interning of Japanese-Americans to the

second step on Milton Bennetts Intercultural Sensitivity model. The ideas
being that there is a superior culture exercising their rights to improve
upon another. Citizens of Japanese descent were targeted because of their
differences and the different values that they hold. They were strange ideas
for other Americans to believe, and made it easy to ridicule the Japanese
culture. This assignment illustrates my experience in the class by showing
my understanding of both sides of the story. I definitely hold a strong opinion
toward this event being an injustice, but I show the reasons behind it
happening and the events going on in the world. The class has made me
understand that just because someone is different I shouldnt stop my
examinations there. I should understand why they are different, what makes
them that way. I should respect those differences and even learn from them.
I hoped to illustrate that point in my paper with the research that I have
done.

Bibliography:
Verdoia, Ken. Topaz. KUED, 1988
PBS Home Video. Time of Fear. PBS Home Video, 2004

Dr. Satsuki Ina. Children of the Camps, 1999.

<http://www.pbs.org/childofcamp/index.html>.
United States War Relocation Authority. Legal and Constitutional Phases of
the WRA Program. 1946.
"Topaz Japanese American WWII Internment Camp Museum." Topaz Japanese
American WWII Internment Camp Museum.
<http://www.topazmuseum.org/node/1>.
Arrington, Leonard J. The Price of Prejudice: The Japanese-American
Relocation Center in Utah during World War II. Logan, UT: Faculty Association,
Utah State U, 1962. Print.