Think of living in a world where you are beaten and segregated due to your ethnicity.
This is exactly how the Japanese lived after the bombing of Pearl Harbor. They were forced to
leave their homes, their possessions, and their comfortable beds behind and live in internment
camps. They were living in conditions that were even unfavorable for animals. When you hear
about these internment or concentration camps, you may think of other countries, such as Russia
or Germany. What people don’t realize that there were camps like this right here in the United
States.
The American government, under the orders of President Franklin Roosevelt, singled
out anyone who looked Japanese and put them in the internment camps. There were rumors that
the Japanese were planning …show more content…
”However more than two thirds of those interned were American citizens
and half of them were children. None had ever shown disloyalty to the nation. In some cases
White 4
family members were separated and put in different camps. During the entire war only ten people
were convicted of spying for Japan and these were all Caucasian.” (World War Two, par. 3).
In March of 1946, the last camp closed. Even though the camps had closed, people
were still prejudiced against the Japanese-Americans. Americans still did not trust Japanese-
Americans, even though they did nothing wrong. There continued to be judged by their
appearance, not by their actions. Even after they were released, the Japanese had suffered acts
of violence against them. Some Americans vandalized the Japanese-American’s homes. The
Japanese were at one time thought of good citizens, but after Pearl Harbor, Americans began to
see them as a threat. George Takei pointed out, “We had nothing to do with the war. We simply
happened to look like the people who bombed Pearl Harbor.” He also said that the camps were
home for the children who were grew up there, and moving from the camp was terrifying.
This is exactly how the Japanese lived after the bombing of Pearl Harbor. They were forced to
leave their homes, their possessions, and their comfortable beds behind and live in internment
camps. They were living in conditions that were even unfavorable for animals. When you hear
about these internment or concentration camps, you may think of other countries, such as Russia
or Germany. What people don’t realize that there were camps like this right here in the United
States.
The American government, under the orders of President Franklin Roosevelt, singled
out anyone who looked Japanese and put them in the internment camps. There were rumors that
the Japanese were planning …show more content…
”However more than two thirds of those interned were American citizens
and half of them were children. None had ever shown disloyalty to the nation. In some cases
White 4
family members were separated and put in different camps. During the entire war only ten people
were convicted of spying for Japan and these were all Caucasian.” (World War Two, par. 3).
In March of 1946, the last camp closed. Even though the camps had closed, people
were still prejudiced against the Japanese-Americans. Americans still did not trust Japanese-
Americans, even though they did nothing wrong. There continued to be judged by their
appearance, not by their actions. Even after they were released, the Japanese had suffered acts
of violence against them. Some Americans vandalized the Japanese-American’s homes. The
Japanese were at one time thought of good citizens, but after Pearl Harbor, Americans began to
see them as a threat. George Takei pointed out, “We had nothing to do with the war. We simply
happened to look like the people who bombed Pearl Harbor.” He also said that the camps were
home for the children who were grew up there, and moving from the camp was terrifying.