Foundations and Structure of
American Legal History
Even though Mr. Korematsu defied and evaded moving to a relocation camp in conjunction with the Civilian Restrictive Order No. 1, 8 Fed. Reg 982 he was still able to successfully prove that this order was unconstitutional and violated his rights. This order, Civilian Exclusion Order No. 34 of the Commanding General of the Western Command, U.S. Army stated “All persons of Japanese ancestry should be excluded from that area.” It should be noted that his countrymen, who were also Japanese-American citizens, were herded into relocation camps during the war because we were at war with the Japanese Empire and the United States feared they would invade our West coast. As a result of security measures, the United States decided to segregate the Japanese-American citizens from the rest of the country for their safety.
These people were essentially being held against their will and discriminated against which violated their Fifth Amendment right, which basically says that this right protects against abuse, being deprived of life, liberty, and property. This landmark case provided for protection of citizens and influenced law in this country by stating that no person or persons shall be deprived of their rights.
This case provided positive impact against such issues such as race relations and discrimination, such as denying benefits to or depriving a certain race from their due. The positive and negative impacts are and can also be related to the Guantanamo Bay Detention Camp. Did the US learn from the mistakes they made with the relocation of the Japanese-Americans? Are they really holding them against their will? Are they all enemy combatants of the United States or did they just get caught up in the sweep?
References
Certiorari to the circuit court of appeals for the ninth circuit http://tourolaw.edu/patch/Korematsu/ KOREMATSU v. UNITED STATES, SUPREME COURT
References: Certiorari to the circuit court of appeals for the ninth circuit http://tourolaw.edu/patch/Korematsu/ KOREMATSU v. UNITED STATES, SUPREME COURT OF THE UNITED STATES, 323 U.S. 214, December 18, 1944, Decided http://www.law.umkc.edu/faculty/projects/ftrials/conlaw/korematsu.html The U.S. Survey course on the web http://historymatters.gmu.edu/d/5151