Justifying the Japanese Internment Camps Term Paper

Justifying the Japanese Internment Camps - Term Paper Example This led to the decision of all the Japanese immigrants being relocated to internment camps. This move by the USA was justifiable, as it would help curb any violent acts from Japan, and enhance safety in USA. However, this was also considered as a prejudice toward Asians, since the same sanctions were not taken against immigrants of other rivals such as Germany, and therefore, this is unjustifiable (Welgny 23). This paper will use literature review to address this issue from two points of view, before taking a stand in the conclusion. The Japanese immigrants were put in internment camps not because they were guilty of crime, but because their country had become one of the USA’s enemies during the period of the Second World War. The USA therefore, considered these Japanese people in America as a threat to its national security. During this period, most Japanese people in America had occupied the area in the west coast of America. They worked hard to sustain their families. They had bought land, gotten an education, and had become citizens of America, who participated in voting during American elections. Problems rose after their country of origin attacked the USA. This had their land taken away from them, and them sent to internment camps, to avoid further attacks in the USA from Japan. ... In this order, there were the instructions about relocating close to 1110,000 American Japanese people to the ten internment camps that were available. When the Japanese were taken to the internment camps, they lost their rights as American citizens, as most of them were legally settled in America. This also separated them from the things and people they loved. The camps were fenced, with block arrangements inside. In each block, there were more than ten barracks, a recreational hall, and one mess hall. This also included car storage and repair area, canteens, hospitals, schools, a post office, a library, among others (Welgny 47). Apart from being alienated from the wider society, the Japanese Americans were exposed to many hardships in the internment camps. Since most of the camps were located in desert places, the Japanese people had difficulties dealing with the extreme unbearable temperatures in the camps. For instance, during summer periods, the temperatures could reach 100 degr ees and more. On the other hand, winter periods had extremely low temperatures, going as low as negative 30 degrees in some of the camps. Meals in these camps were served in meager portions. Most of the food was grown in the camps, including vegetables and fruits. In addition, the people bred livestock in the camps, which was also a source of food. Due to insufficient provision of healthcare in the camps, most Japanese people died when they got sick. The psychological stress that most of them were experiencing also contributed to the deaths of Japanese people in the camps. Aggressive military guards sometimes harassed the people, killing those who showed signs of resistance to their orders (Heinrichs 31).