Internment of Japanese Americans: As Fear Increases, Civil Liberties Decrease

Internment of Japanese Americans: As Fear Increases, Civil Liberties Decrease (2 of 8)

“The means of defence agst. foreign danger, have been always the instruments of tyranny at home.” (James Madison, Constitutional Convention, June 29, 1787)

 

December 7, 1941 – Japan’s attack on Pearl Harbor resulted in staggering losses and catapulted America into WW II. 2,403 Americans killed, another 1,178 wounded. 188 Aircraft destroyed and 158 damaged. Four battleships damaged and four others sunk. The USS Arizona began her service as a memorial to those we lost that day…and as a tomb for over 900 of our Sailors and Marines who were lost with her.

It’s both understandable and reasonable that Americans were angry. It’s neither understandable nor reasonable that the media and government created a crisis that would be used to unconstitutionally deny civil liberties to over 280,000 Japanese-Americans, 122,000 living on the west coast of the U.S. and the158,000 in the Hawaiian Islands. Yet that is exactly what happened.¹

The West Coast Of The U.S.

After Pearl, the press lost no time in coupling the fears of an invasion and sabotage with racism to whip America into a panic. A few examples:

• Los Angeles Times, February 2, 1942: “a viper is nonetheless a viper wherever the egg is hatched,” so a U.S. citizen “born of Japanese parents . . . grows up to be a Japanese, not an American.”
• San Francisco Chronicle February 21, 1942: “We have to be tough, even if civil rights do take a beating for a time”
• John B. Hughes (Mutual Broadcasting Company) ran a month long series attacking Japanese-Americans and spreading rumors of espionage and fifth column activities.²
• Henry Mclemore (Hearst syndicated columnist): “I am for immediate removal of every Japanese on the West Coast to a point deep in the interior. I don’t mean a nice part of the interior either. Herd ’em up, pack ’em off and give ’em the inside room in the badlands. Let ’em be pinched, hurt, hungry and dead up against it. . . Personally, I hate the Japanese. And that goes for all of them.”
• Westbrook Pegler (February, 1942): “The Japanese in California should be under armed guard to the last man and woman right now, and to hell with habeas corpus until the danger is over.”

State and federal officials, with few exceptions like Attorney General Biddle, were quick to join the parade, if not lead it, again just a few examples:

• December 15, 1942 Secretary of the Navy Knox speaking about Pearl to the press “I think the most effective Fifth Column work of the entire war was done in Hawaii with the possible exception of Norway.” There was never a fifth column or a single saboteur in Hawaii or the continental U.S.
• January 6, 1942, Congressman Ford (LA-R) wrote the Secretaries of War, Navy and the FBI Director that: “all Japanese, whether citizens or not, be placed in inland concentration camps…[if] an American born Japanese, who is a citizen, is really patriotic…by permitting himself to be placed in a concentration camp, he would be making his sacrifice and he should be willing to do it if he is patriotic…”
• California ordered all Nisei – second generation American citizens – barred from civil service positions, Los Angeles County fired all Nisei, and Portland revoked the licenses of all Japanese nationals doing business in the city.

The list of officials demanding Japanese-Americans be interned is long, however, one of the most vocal was Lt. Gen. Dewitt, Commander Fourth Army and Western Defense Command. He relentlessly pursued a policy of removing Japanese-Americans from the west coast and interning them in prison camps.³

Independent of the hysteria, the FBI arrested people on their A-B-C List, which were: “A – aliens who led cultural or assistance organizations; B- “‘slightly less suspicious’” aliens; and “‘C’”- those who were members of, or donated to ethnic groups, such as Japanese language teachers and Buddhist clergy.” By February 16, 1942, the FBI had arrested 2,192 Japanese; 1,393 Germans; and 264 Italians. FBI Director Hoover believed these arrests removed any threat alien nationals poised to the U.S., and therefore, there was no reason to remove Japanese-Americans from the west coast. The Office of Naval Intelligence (ONI) concurred with Hoover’s assessment.⁴

However, DeWitt and the War Department ignored Hoover and the ONI’s assessments, overcame Attorney General Biddle’s opposition, and convinced President Roosevelt (D) that it was a “military necessity” to forcibly remove of Japanese-Americans from the west coast. As a result, President Roosevelt (D) signed Executive Order 9066 (EO 9066) on February 19, 1942 authorizing the forced removal and detention of all people from the west coast deemed a threat to the U.S.

Under the authority of EO 9066 DeWitt designated all of California, the western portions of Washington and Oregon, and the southern part of Arizona as exclusion zones or restricted areas. Initially DeWitt ‘encouraged’ Japanese-Americans to “voluntarily” relocate from the exclusion zones, which over 4,800 did. However, most could not relocate, even if they wanted to, because the government froze their assets.⁵

On March 24, 1942 the first forced relocation of Japanese-Americans occurred from Bainbridge Island, WA and on the 29th, DeWitt issued Public Proclamation no. 4 (Proclamation 4) prohibiting Japanese-Americans from leaving the Exclusion Zones without authorization. Proclamation 4 was quickly followed by 107 “Civilian Exclusion Orders” ordering Japanese-Americans to be removed from the Exclusion and Restricted zones and sent to prison camps. Those forced to relocate were allowed to bring only “‘that which can be carried by the family or the individual’” including bedding, toilet articles, clothing and eating utensils.” The people were given about 6 days’ notice to report for relocation, causing them to sell property they couldn’t carry at far less than market value.

By the end of the summer of 1942 an estimated 122,000 Japanese Americans were forcibly removed to ten prison camps located in some of the most isolated parts of the country. Though they differed in size and specifics, the camps were built to the same general plan. For example, Heart Mountain, Wyoming consisted of 30 blocks each of which had 24 barracks, each one was 2,400 square feet (20’x120’) and consisted of 6 rooms. One family was assigned to each room. Each barrack held an average of 25 people.

The barracks had no insulation, electricity, or running water. Coal stoves were the only source of heat. Toilets, laundry, and bathing facilities were communal. Meals were taken in mess halls. Medical services were provided by general practitioners who were also prisoners…there were no specialists such as surgeons. All camps were encircled by barbed wire and guard towers manned by armed military guards. The prisoners, and that’s what they were, could leave the camp only with the permission of the authorities.⁶

Japanese-Americans interned in prison camps suffered an estimated $159 to $370 million in lost income and property damages – in 1945 dollars. These losses in 2022 dollars are $2.4 to $5.96 billion. It is not possible to place a dollar amount on the intangible losses suffered by these Americans.⁷

The 1982 congressional report Personal Justice Denied: Part 2 found that “All this was done despite the fact that no documented acts of espionage, sabotage or fifth column activity were shown to have been committed by any identifiable American citizen of Japanese ancestry or resident Japanese alien on the West Coast.”

Hawaiian Islands

Most of the Japanese-Americans in Hawaii were spared being sent to prison camps. However, approximately 2,000 Japanese-Americans in the Hawaiian Islands were taken into custody after the attack on Pearl with most being interned in Hawaii or sent to the prison camps in the continental U.S. But that does not mean there was not a wholesale revocation of civil liberties in the Hawaiian Islands, there were.

Following the attack on Pearl, martial law was imposed on all of the islands and General Emmons took over as the military governor. All of Hawaii’s population were fingerprinted and registered with the military government, everyone was required to carry identification cards at all times. Jury trials were suspended and replaced with military courts. The army censored the press, radio broadcasts, long-distance telephone calls, and civilian mail. Japanese language schools were permanently closed. Hospitals, food and liquor sales, parking and traffic, and even prostitution was under direct Army control.

Additional restrictions were placed on American citizens of Japanese, German and Italian ancestry. They couldn’t travel or change their residences without permission, couldn’t conjugate in groups of more than ten or be outside during blackout hours. They were required to turn in all firearms, flashlights, portable radios, cameras, and other items the government deemed could be used in espionage. Japanese-American fishermen were forbidden to fish because of the unfounded fear they would contact Japanese Naval units.

Jury trials were prohibited, and habeas corpus was suspended until 1944. Violations of military orders and civil crimes were tried by military courts. Civilians brought before military courts were denied even the basic constitutional guarantees of due process and though not prohibited, retaining legal counsel was discouraged. It was common for an individual to be arrested, tried, and sentenced in the same day.

By the end of the war 55,000 civilians were tried by military courts where a single officer served as judge and juror. Most defendants faced fines of up to $5,000 and/or imprisonment for up to five years. However, there were eight capital cases tried before seven-member military courts. In all, military courts collected more than $1 million in fines from civilians (over 17.23 million in 2022 dollars) and imprisoned hundreds.

Conclusion

There is no doubt that WW II was a time of extreme danger to the U.S. and the time immediately after the devastating attack on Pearl Harbor was one of confusion and belief that the west coast and Hawaii could be attacked. However, the Congressional Report Personal Justice Denied (1983) found that in spite of DeWitt’s claims, there was no “military justification” for the internment of Japanese Americans. In fact, “no documented acts of espionage, sabotage or fifth column activity were shown to have been committed by any identifiable American citizen of Japanese ancestry or resident Japanese alien on the West Coast.”

There was also no reason to believe that the Japanese-Americans living in the Hawaiian Islands were not loyal to the U.S., let alone posed a threat. Like the west coast, not a single Japanese-American spied for, or engaged in sabotage for Japan.

To the contrary, 33,000 Japanese-Americans served in the military during WW II, 800 of whom were killed in action. They served as interpreters, in the intelligence services, and of course the famous 442nd Regimental Combat Team. The men of this unit earned 14,000 awards, over 4,000 of which were Purple Hearts, and is the most-decorated unit in U.S. military history for its size and length of service. These Americans served and died while many of their families lost their homes, farms, savings, and all their civil liberties while being forced to live in prison camps complete with armed guards.

To be fair, from 1942 through 1944, 18 people were tried for spying for Japan, at least ten were convicted…All 18 were Caucasians.

Forty-three years after the end of WW II and the closing of the prison camps, President Reagan signed the Civil Liberties Act of 1988. This act apologized for unconstitutionally imprisoning Japanese Americans for three years and paid $20,000 restitution to each of 82,219 eligible Americans. While this legislation is important, it cannot make up for being sent to prison camps without a trial, nor can it make up for the loss of every civil liberty guaranteed by the Bill of Rights…all for the non-crime of being the “wrong” kind of American.

I find it concerning that a mere 20 years after the “First Red Scare” the media and government again teamed up to create a crisis where one didn’t exist in order to deny civil liberties to American citizens and those legally residing in the country. The only difference between these two made-up crises? The First Red Scare targeted eastern European immigrants for deportation, this one targeted American citizen of Japanese descent and Japanese immigrants who were legal residents for imprisonment. Unfortunately, like the First Red Scare, no one was held accountable for ignoring our Constitution and denying people their civil liberties. To the contrary, by a special act of Congress, Lt.Gen DeWitt was promoted to General on July 19, 1954, seven years after he retired.

1  The number of Japanese-Americans interned in WW II seems to be in dispute. I’ve seen numbers ranging from 110,000 to over 122,000. Of these it is estimated that two-thirds were American Citizens and one-third legal immigrant residents.

The Naturalization Act of 1790 prohibited Japanese, and many others, from obtaining U.S. citizenship and the Immigration Act of 1924 prohibited immigration from Japan. However, the 14th Amendment (1868) provided that children of non-U.S. citizens born in the U.S. were U.S. citizens by birthright. As a result, first generation Japanese-Americans (Issei) were not U.S. citizens, but their children (Nisei) were by birthright. Therefore, it’s customary and correct to include Issie as Japanese-Americans.

2  U.S. Commission On Wartime Relocation And Internment Of Civilians, Personal Justice Denied Part 1 (1983) pp. 55- 71.

3  Many refer to the internment camps as “concentration camps.” I think this is inaccurate given the term is normally used to describe German extermination camps. I also find the term “relocation camps” to be inaccurate. These camps were surrounded by barb wire, armed guards, and guard towers. The people were forcibly removed from their homes, forced to live in these camps against their will, and they were not free to come and go as they pleased. That makes them prisoners, and the camps they were forced to live in ‘prison camps,’ which is how I refer to them.

4  U.S. Commission on Wartime Relocation And Internment Of Civilians, Personal Justice Denied Part 1 (1983), p. 54-55.

5  Lt.Gen. DeWitt, Final Report Japanese Evacuation From The West Coast 1942, (1943), pp. 102-112

6  Sam Mihara’s first hand account of being interned at Heart Mountain prison camp.

7  U.S. Commission On Wartime Relocation And Internment Of Civilians, Personal Justice Denied Part 2: Recommendations (1983), p. 3

 

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