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Japanese-American internment is a significant problem in the 21st century as it questions the credibility of the democracy and values of equity in the USA. This case shows the imperfection of the political system as human dignity was not taken into consideration in prison camps that were organized by the American authorities (Nagata 36). What is more, it is necessary to investigate the impact of these events during World War II on the quality of life of people who survived it and their relatives. It is important to pay attention to the causes and consequences of Japanese-American internment in order to decrease the risk of the recurrence of the situation.
The issue would be examined from diverse points of view, including the results of the archeological research. The influence of the internment on the level of political engagement of humans and the role of the geographical location of the camps on the well-being of humans who survived would also be analyzed. The purpose of this paper is to describe the impact of Japanese-American internment on the quality of life and the system of values of the modern community. It is also crucial to find the reasons for these events in the country considered to be democratic.
Perception of Democracy during World War II
In mass consciousness, the actions of the USA during World War II are considered to be the example of the right treatment of human dignity and the significance of democracy. However, Japanese-American internment questions this way of perception of historical facts as it does not correspond to the system of evaluation of peoples life. Camp (170) examined the practices used in the prison camps by analyzing the household items found during the archeological research. The scientist maintains that the places of burial are an illustration of the violent behavior of American authorities towards humans who were prisoned in these places (Camp 176). Japanese-American internment is an example of a discrepancy of what is supposed to be democracy in the USA and its actual actions. It decreases the importance and value of the political system as what is written in the documents was not implemented in real life.
It is crucial to mention the creation of the War Department during World War II. One of the functions of this division was to find suspicious people and to punish the responsible (Starr 313). Nevertheless, because of the unlimited power, the authorities of the War Department could send to the prison camp any human being who did not correspond to their idea of a true American (Houston and Houston 34). This example is a reason to raise the question of the causes of Japanese-American internment.
On the one hand, it is possible to assume that in the democratic system, there cannot exist such phenomena as prison camps. In this case, the blame is on the government of the country, which did not control the situation and made such a severe mistake. On the other hand, the responsibility of the staff members of the War Department should not be underestimated as they made the final decisions (Houston and Houston 164). It is hard to establish the original reason for the internment, but it is essential to point out that in a democratic society, there cannot be citizens that act in such a cruel and violent way. What is more, human freedom and dignity are some of the most critical values in the framework of this political system; that is why it can be observed that the democracy was not completely established in the USA in the period of World War II.
Another significant point that has to be analyzed is the absence of defending system for people suffering in prison camps. In a democratic society, there are always two opposing opinions, and their compromise often becomes the ideal solution to any problem. During World War II, the War Department became the instrument of punishment, but another authority division was not created for the counterbalance (Starr 328). This example leads to the conclusion that there were the characteristics of the totalitarian state in the USA in the framework of the examined period. The official permission to the violence, cruelty, and existence of prison camps is a significant feature of the dictatorial regime.
The example of Japanese-American internment shows that the democratic system was not established in the USA during World War II. What is more, the creation and the specificity of the functioning of the War Department is an illustration of the existence of several features of the totalitarian regime in the country. The democracy in this period is an illusion created by the government in order to establish an international image of a progressive and free state. However, more detailed analysis and examination of the actions of the authorities leads to the conclusion that the declared policy did not function in real life.
Impact of Historical Dynamics
Diverse reasons for the Japanese-American internment are possible to be introduced nowadays. However, it is possible to assume that the cause for this situation is complex and requires the analysis of several spheres of life in order to provide an objective examination. First of all, it is necessary to pay attention to the specific role of the USA in World War II. On the territory of the country, the military actions were not as active as in Europe. Nevertheless, the state participated actively in the war by sending the soldiers to hotspots and by creating the strategies of warfare (Houston and Houston 165). This dual system caused emotional and resource involvement that may be one of the reasons for the creation of prison camps on the territory of the USA.
Social factors should also be taken into consideration; the implementation of democracy played a significant role as it introduced the new values for the citizens. However, the process of change is a long-term issue, that is why staff members of the authorities who made the decisions were people of old school who decided to solve the problems using violence and enforcement. What is more, in the period of World War II, it was vital for the politicians to remain in power. That is why they used prison camps as the method of getting rid of humans who did not support the existing regime. Another political reason is that the government had to show the absolute control of the situation, and the internment was one of the most effective ways to prove unlimited freedom.
Participation in military actions requires significant expenditures from the governmental budget. In this case, it is possible to assume that one of the economic reasons for Japanese-American internment was the desire of the authorities to reduce the ordinary expenses. On the one hand, the prisoners were used as a free manual labor. On the other hand, there was no need to pay for their medical insurance and other goods provided by the state.
Despite the existence of several factors, it is possible to conclude that one of the leading causes of this situation was the desire of the authorities to prove their absolute influence. They also wanted to establish the image of a powerful organization. The social and economic reasons should also be taken into account as the society was not ready for such a long and resource-intensive war. The historical past, including the Civic War and racial discrimination, was also the harbinger of prison camps.
Consequences of Japanese-American Internment
Japanese-American internment influenced in a significant way on lives of people during the war and for a long time after its end. First of all, the perception of justice and equity underwent crucial changes as people were sometimes prisoned only because of their specific accent or nationality. It caused a dramatic increase of mistrust of authority as the values they claimed to be the most important were not shared by the politicians. Secondly, women were forced to do the same work as men. It affected the understanding of gender equity and the role of mother and wife in the community. Women were separated from their children and were not able to bring them up in a proper way. This case is an illustration that gender equity has its limitations that have to be taken into consideration. It is possible to assume that these events had an impact on the changes in the concepts of feminism in the USA.
The consequences of prison camps still exist in the modern society of the USA. For example, scientists established the relationships between the imprisonment during World War II and the level of engagement in the political life in the 21st century (Komisarchik et al.). The results of the research showed that the survivors of the internment experience the demobilizing effect, which means that they do not take part in voting and try to avoid conversations about politics (Komisarchik et al.). It is possible to suggest that they do not believe in the effectiveness and force of the democratic system anymore.
Among the long-run effects of Japanese-American internment, it can be observed that the location of the camps also had an impact on the well-being of the prisoners. In the regions where the quality of life was better during World War II, the victims of these events nowadays have a higher level of education, income, and comfort (Shoag and Carollo 2). What is more, the prison camps caused the specific process of immigration and population distribution (Shoag and Carollo 2). The historical background plays a crucial role in the well-being of people in the modern world and the perception and the attitude towards the governmental structures.
Conclusion
Japanese-American internment is a phenomenon that questions the democratic values of the USA and has a significant influence on peoples lives. The existence of prison camps and the events that took place there show the imperfection of the political system of the state and are the features of the totalitarian regime during World War II. It is necessary to maintain that the impact of this case affects the lives of human beings even nowadays by changing their political behavior and quality of life according to the region. The reasons for Japanese-American internment are correlated with the desire of governmental structures to remain in power and decrease the level of expenditures during the military actions.
Works Cited
Camp, Stacey Lynn. Landscapes of Japanese American Internment. Historical Archaeology, vol. 50, no. 1, 2016, pp. 169186.
Houston, Jeanne Wakatsuki, and James Houston. Farewell to Manzanar: A True Story of Japanese American Experience During and After the World War II Internment. Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, 2002.
Komisarchik, Maya, et al. The Political Consequences of Ethnically Targeted Incarceration: Evidence from Japanese-American Internment During WWII. Manuscript, vol. 5, no. 1, 2019. Web.
Nagata, Donna, et al. The Japanese American Wartime Incarceration: Examining the Scope of Racial Trauma. American Psychologist, vol. 74, no. 1, 2019, pp. 3648.
Shoag, Daniel, and Nicholas Carollo. The Causal Effect of Place: Evidence from Japanese-American Internment. Harvard University, vol. 16, no. 22, 2016, pp. 234.
Starr, Kevin. California: A history. Random House Digital, 2007.
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