One of the most shocking decisions in the history of American injustices is the official, legalized internment of Japanese Americans and Japanese Issei during World War II. While Americans fought a war abroad for democracy, against the racist tyrant Adolph Hitler of Germany, back home Japanese Americans and legal Japanese resident aliens were deprived of their liberty and property, simply because of their racial and ethnic heritage. The official reasons given for the internment were military necessity and the protection of the Japanese Americans. The first statement of military necessity,' or national security, as a justification for internment, implied that Japanese American and Japanese Issei was more suspect' than other Americans. It was assumed these Asian Americans had divided loyalties because of their racial, ethnic, and national heritageâ€"despite the fact that other Americans with ancestors from the Axis nations, such as German and Italian Americans were not similarly interned without cause. The second justification, of protection of the persons of Japanese Americans, was also dubious, given that German and Italian Americans of identifiable heritage were not incarcerated, and the internments of the Japanese American and Japanese Issei were enforced, rather than willingly sought by the individuals in question.

             The internment of Japanese Americans happened quite quickly after the bombing of Pearl Harbor. In December 7, 1941 Japanese planes attacked Pearl Harbor in Hawaii.   In 1942, FDR signed Executive Order 9066, putting 111,000 Japanese in ten internment camps. Although some were not citizens, the majority of the individuals in the camps were U.S. citizens, who were thus deprived of their legal and constitutional rights to live where they chose to live, and move freely. They had committed no crime, yet they were put in jail. Even if some may have feared for their safety beforehand, there is no record that most of the interned citizens would choose incarceration over liberty.