Essay On Japanese Internment

The treatment of Japanese Americans in America did not improve immediately after the war ended. The Japanese were still kept in camps six months after the war ended and unfavorable opinions lingered on the Japanese until the 1950s. They had a difficult time recovering after leaving the camps, as they had lost all of their money and land prior to their internment. The physical and mental impact this experience had on the internees was very detrimental to their lives and trust of Americans. This era in American history is now rightfully recognized as a violation of citizens’ rights to civil liberties. Americans did not stop putting Japanese in camps until 1944, and internment did not officially end until early 1946, as previously stated. Upon exit of the camps, prisoners were given a mere bus ticket home and a few dollars. Three years after the war ended, President Truman paid a total of $38 million dollars to compensate those who were imprisoned, however, the amount of money each internee received was so little that the
attempt was deemed futile. The Japanese Americans had to work very hard to rebuild their lives after leaving the camps, as many had been left impoverished and embittered by this experience. Because most Americans still had a great disdain for the Japanese, it was incredibly difficult for the former internees to get good jobs. With no money or land, the internees had no option but to take up low-paying jobs to help recover from their financial struggles. Difficult times plagued the former internees for a very long time.
Legitimate compensation, along with a formal apology, did not come until decades after the war.
It was not until President Ronald Reagan signed the Civil Liberties Act in 1988 that the Japanese internees were given any meaningful reimbursement. Under the Civil Liberties Act, each individual internee was given $20,000 dollars, which was tax free. Upwards of 1 billion dollars went towards reimbursement. The payment ran on a basis of age, meaning that older internees were given a priority because they were closer to dying. Despite this being the largest attempt to reimburse the internees, it was not as successful as it could have been. Though it was an improvement from President Truman’s attempt, $20,000 was not enough to cover all of the money lost, nor did it cover losses from estates and lands. Although the government did eventually pay the former prisoners and recognize their wrongdoing, it was still not enough to fully compensate the
internees.
In addition to the devastating economic scene, many former internees also had to deal with the negative social climate that came with being liberated from the camps. Many looked down upon the Japanese because of American propaganda. Respect did not come for the Japanese until the early 1950s, when America began helping Japan rebuild and recover after the war. After America intervened in Japan after the war, Americans began to see Japanese as inventive and hardworking. It was only then that Americans began to recognize the great injustice they had caused. In the mid-1960s, the government passed the Immigration and Nationality Act that is now regarded as the basis of modern day immigration laws in the United States. The 1970s ended up being a successful time for the former internees. In the late 1970s, an organization called the Japanese Americans Citizens League requested an investigation of the legality and justification of internment by Congress. When the matter was researched and looked into, it was finally concluded that America had done wrong and that it was caused by racial prejudice, which was common at the time and war hysteria.
The internment of Japanese in America was a severe violation of American citizens’ rights to liberty. This is remembered as one of the greatest injustices caused by Americans in the nation’s history. It negatively affected many Japanese Americans immediately afterwards and called attention to racism in twentieth century America.