After the attack on Pearl Harbor in 1941, the U.S. government issued Executive Order 9066 in 1942 requiring Japanese Americans on the West Coast to be forcibly relocated to internment camps. Fred Korematsu refused to leave his home in California and was convicted for violating the order. His case reached the Supreme Court in 1944, and the Court ruled against him, agreeing that protecting national security took precedence over individual rights during wartime. Over 120,000 Japanese Americans were ultimately interned in camps during World War II.

1. Japanese Internment
&
Korematsu v. United States
MAST High School
U.S. History – Period 4
Ms. Richardson

2. Attack on Pearl Harbor (Dec. 7th, 1941)
• Immediate impact: U.S.
declares war on Japan
entering WWII.
• 2,400 dead / 1,178 wounded
• 300 aircrafts
damaged/destroyed
• 19 battleship/destroyers/
cruisers –
damaged/destroyed

3. Executive Order 9066
• When: February 19, 1942
• Japanese-Americans had
to evacuate [leave] the
West Coast.
• Relocation of
approximately 120,000
people to internment
camps.

7. Korematsu v. United States (1944)
• Fred Korematsu: American-born citizen of Japanese
descent refused to leave his home in California
(violating Executive Order 9066).
• Was convicted, he appealed, and in 1944 his case
reached the Supreme Court.
– The Court agreed with gov’t
– The need to protect the country was a greater priority
than the individual rights of the Japanese and Japanese
Americans.

8. War & Civil Liberties
• Espionage Act –
1917
-Made it illegal to
interfere with
military operations,
including the draft.
- $10,000 fine/20
years
• Sedition Act
(1918-1921)
-Made it illegal to
criticize the
government (anti-
war & unpatriotic
sentiments).

9. Atomic Bomb (August 1945)
• U.S. dropped atomic bomb on
Hiroshima
-wiped out 90% of the city
-immediately killed 80,000
people
-tens of thousands more would
later die of radiation
exposure.
• U.S. dropped atomic bomb
Nagasaki
-Approximately 40,000 dead