e-Document Project 23 Anti-Japanese Prejudice during World War II

Anti-Japanese
Prejudice during
World War II

As it had during World War I, the United States government marshaled its resources to increase public support for involvement in World War II. Videos, posters, and pamphlets all declared the worthiness of the cause and the moral necessity of going to fight. Also as in World War I, these appeals often used stereotypes to depict the enemy, and the Japanese faced unprecedented discrimination during the war. The U.S. government portrayed the Japanese homeland in a negative light, and under Executive Order 9066, signed by President Franklin D. Roosevelt, it forced Japanese Americans, many of them U.S. citizens, out of their homes and businesses and into internment camps. They received no help from the Supreme Court, which upheld the validity of the order.

The following documents offer insight into the experience of Japanese Americans in World War II. Government propaganda portrayed the Japanese in a way designed to elicit an emotional response from Americans of European descent. A majority of Supreme Court justices agreed that the Japanese were a risk to society. Yet the Japanese internees persisted as best they could, and many filed lawsuits and agitated politically for fair treatment. As you examine these sources, remember that most of the people relocated to these camps were American citizens.