Executive Order Number 9066 Essay Example

Introduction

Before the Pearl Harbor attack by Japan, the United States engaged in a series of talks and negotiations with Japan. These talks aimed at making Japan withdraw its troops from China. Thought the talks seemed to go well in the beginning, the United States discovered that Japan had no motive to withdraw its forces from the territories. The act made the united states to respond by issuing a trade sanction to Japan. Japan depended heavily on imported oil, and this made Japan request for a halt in American aid to China in return for the partial withdrawal of Japanese troops. This request bared no fruits and led to the Pearl Harbor attack. After the Pearl Harbor attack, the then United States president Franklin Roosevelt issued executive order no. 9066. This essay will answer the question on the motive of the executive order and what the executive order was meant to protect. Also, it will discuss how the Japanese Americans were indirectly targeted with the executive order. Finally, an opinion on whether Roosevelt violated the United States Constitution in the issuance of the executive order and its content.

Is your time best spent reading someone else’s essay? Get a 100% original essay FROM A CERTIFIED WRITER!

Save 25%

What President Franklin Roosevelt wanted to protect through the executive order

The executive order was written in a way that it never mentioned people from any race or community. RooseveltRoosevelt made sure that the speech was as neutral as possible hence protecting the reputation and covering for any wrong speculations in the eyes of the international community. The executive order used words that were not directed to a specific race or nation. And it was meant to protect the status of the United States. Though the execution of the order saw citizens from three countries living in the United States carrying all the burden of the law, the order required the formation of military areas hence taking people from those areas to camps.

The executive order was meant to protect American citizens from the Japanese invasion. And also keep the people of Japanese descent in camps for easy monitoring. The move was fueled by the attack at Pearl Harbor by Japan. The American government did not trust any of the Japanese Americans. The main argument, in this case, was the ability to distinguish the disloyal Japanese Americans from the trustworthy. Therefore, after the attack, the government had to approve the proposal of the military to form military areas along the east coast and take all the Japanese Americans and Italians and Germans to camps. The camps would ease the tension and block the nations of the citizens in fields from keeping spies in America.

How the order targeted Japanese Americans

Though the order never directly specified the target group, it came clear that the target group was the Japanese Americans as they formed the largest population of the intern. It was necessary to provide an order that sounded neutral in the eyes of the international community and specifically in its execution. The states required to protect its reputation and therefore had to execute the order systematically and safely. The Japanese Americans were the target because of their potential to be spies and form a counter army in the American soil.

Before the attack at Pearl Harbor and the issuance of executive order number 9066, the United States government and the military were worried about the loyalty of the Americans of Japanese descent. These worries created suspicion and mistrust between the two groups. The government was concerned about the possibility of the existence of spies for the Japanese national leadership. Therefore to protect themselves from this espionage, they had to issue an order that would keep all the Japanese under surveillance.

Apart from the need to protect the secrets of the nation, the order was also meant to protect the American citizens. After the attack, it was evident that the United States would retaliate. The retaliation could have lead to an emergency of Japanese sympathizers from their citizens in the states. These sympathizers could form troops and terrorist groups in the United States and attack the countries from their soil. It was, therefore, necessary to take the Japanese to camps for easy monitoring.

Opinion on the Constitutional Violation by the Executive Order

In my opinion, Roosevelt violated the United States Constitution. The constitution advocates for freedom and sovereignty of all American citizens regardless of their national or racial affiliation. It is therefore unconstitutional to have American citizens interned and kept in camps because of their race. The move to take the Germans, Italians and Japanese American citizens to camps infringed the freedom they had. Some of the people were forcefully removed from their houses and lost their properties. The constitution recognizes a person born in America as an automatic citizen. During the evacuation of the people, the military never considered the case. All the people whether born in America or immigrants were sent to concentration camps. The act violated the rights of the American citizens and also their freedom and hence going against the constitution. I believe there was a way to cab the possibility of having spies among these communities. The government could deploy secret service in the areas and the federal bureau of intelligence personnel to investigate the people and be able to point out the suspicious ones. This could have required the people to be taken into camps.

The executive order served its purpose though it faced high of resistance to it upholding. Several church organizations and the socialist party leaders field petitions to have the order canceled. Several lawyers fought in court. Through the efforts of different lawyers and organizations, the executive order was upheld, and curfews stopped. From the paper, the executive order protected the sabotage of military intelligence and espionage. The executive order also indirectly targeted Japanese American citizens because they could not be trusted. Though the military fraternity welcomed the move, it was unconstitutional.

Reference

Executive Order 9066: The President Authorizes Japanese Relocation. (n.d.). Retrieved from http://historymatters.gmu.edu/d/5154/

Prange W. Gordon (1962). December 7, 1941: The Day the Japanese Attacked Pearl Harbor. New York: McGraw Hill.