Japanese Internment Camps Dbq Essay

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The first half of the 1940’s was a time of great fear and tragedy. When one goes through such trauma, it is only human nature to be slightly irrational. Typically, the American people rely on the government to lead the way through such situations. Unfortunately, the government was equally affected by the fear and tragedy, resulting in unconstitutional and racist behavior. The government should not have placed Japanese Americans in internment camps because it was unconstitutional and the only reasoning behind it was based off of prejudice. Japanese Americans had been heavily discriminated upon since the turn of the century. Ninety percent of all Japanese immigrants settled in California, causing it to be the primary location of discrimination.…show more content…
The reasoning behind placing Japanese Americans in internment camps was based highly on prejudice and fear (Doc.1, Doc. 3), and often defied the Law of Averages, with an “it hasn’t happened so far, so it’s bound to happen soon” attitude (Doc. 1). Many thought that Japanese terrorism was bound to happen, in spite of influential Japanese Americans and Japanese American societies pledging their loyalty to America and their disgust for the actions of the land of their ancestors (Doc. 2). They called on all to support the military, and even changed their trades from fishing to agriculture to aid in the cause. The offered full cooperation, willing to move anywhere the government asked them to, in spite of the ridiculous notion (Doc. 2) Many pro-internment camp government officials argued that the Japanese Americans were a dangerous threat and potential terrorists; however, Italian Americans and German Americans were not persecuted. Why weren’t they considered potential terrorists? Preventative punishment and isolation is unconstitutional and highly based on racist and biased beliefs. Imagine the outrage the nation would hold should the government try to place people in internment camps today. Since internment camps are grounded purely on fear and stereotypes, visualize the military placing African Americans into internment camps to lower gang violence, or relocating Americans of Middle Eastern descent because they’re

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