Citizens to Captives: The Internment of The Japanese Americans

Wil Vanderslice Junior Division Website 1, !! Words "!# Words

Durin$ the time of World War II %ran&lin 'oosevelt president of the (nited )tates stripped Japanese Americans of their ri$hts and sent to internment camps bet*een 1+,1 and 1+,-. This bac&fired ver/ 0uic&l/ on the (nited )tates durin$ and after the *ar because no one too& responsibilit/. 1ot onl/ did this terrif/ the Japanese2Americans but it $ave the (nited )tates a bad name *ith the Japanese and the *orld. The internment *as terribl/ unfair to*ard the Japanese2Americans *ho had nothin$ to do *ith the *ar. 3/ research on the Japanese internment durin$ World War II *as from 4oo&s, Intervie*s *ith survivor5s, and research on the Internet. While I *as *atchin$ an old episode of )tar Tre& one that included 6eor$e Ta&ei, I remembered that he *as in the internment camps and that it made a perfect histor/ da/ topic and chose it. Althou$h durin$ the 1ational 7istor/ Da/ process I did $o throu$h problems. I had a prett/ bi$ issue *ith findin$ *ritin$ from people in the camps at the time *ho *eren5t children. There *ere man/ letters *ritten to librarian b/ her students but it *as 0uite hard to find an/thin$ else. 4ecause this *as m/ first /ear for histor/ da/ *ritin$ this paper, and m/ biblio$raph/, and ma&in$ m/ *ebsite too& immense patience and time.

The Japanese2Americans *ere sadl/ stripped of the ri$ht durin$ World War II for no $ood reason. And because of this the (nited )tates had a bi$ scar because no responsibilit/ *as ta&en. The time of their loss of ri$hts *ill forever be *ritten do*n in our histor/ boo&s and be tau$ht for centuries until its for$otten, but *e ma/ never learn from the ri$hts that *ere lost and the responsibilities that *eren5t ta&en.