Non-Alien Enemies

126 Pages·2014·1.37 MB·English

by  Oddvar Holmefjord Heen

Non-Alien Enemies

Treatment of the Japanese-American
Internment during World War II in State
U.S. History Standards

Oddvar Holmefjord Heen

A thesis Presented to:

The Department of Literature, Area Studies, and
European Languages
North American Area Studies
Faculty of Humanities

Advisor: David C. Mauk

In Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the MA Degree.

UNIVERSITY OF OSLO

Fall 2014
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Non-Alien Enemies:
Treatment of the Japanese-American
Internment during World War II in State U.S.
History Standards

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© Oddvar Holmefjord Heen

2014

Non-Enemy Aliens: Treatment of the Japanese-American Internment during
World War II in State U.S. History Standards

Oddvar Holmefjord Heen

http://www.duo.uio.no/

Print: Reprosentralen, Universitetet i Oslo
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Acknowledgements

I have experienced some substantial ups and downs during my work on this
thesis, and I would not have been able to finish my work without the help of a
number of individuals.

First, I want to thank my advisor, David C. Mauk, for all the advice and detailed
feedback. Your guidance was especially important to me when I discovered
how the original thesis proposal was not feasible and needed to turn my back
on six-months of research. The firm recommendations I received proved
essential to the development of this thesis.

I also want to thank my closest friends. After countless travel plans, dinners,
and football matches that have been cancelled due to me working on this
thesis, I am surprised you people are still around.

Most of all, I would like to thank my truly wonderful fiancé, Nicoline. During a
time when I could not see myself continuing with this work, your encouragement
alone made me complete what I had started. Without your enthusiastic love and
support this thesis would never have seen the light of day. Thank you.
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Table of Contents

CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1
Overview of the Internment of Japanese Americans . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .3
Recent Historical Controversy . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .4
The Failure of U.S. History Textbooks for Secondary Education . . . . . . . . . . 5
Focus and Structure . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8
The Influence of State Standards . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8
Politicization Involving State Boards of Education . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .11
The Alleged National Influence of Texas & California . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .13
Method . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15
Terminology . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18
Sources . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19

CHAPTER 2: REASONS BEHIND THE INTERNMENT
PART I: HISTORIOGRAPHY
Historical Context of Anti-Japanese American Sentiment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .21
Government Evaluations of Japanese Americans, 1936-1941 . . . . . . . . . . .24
Immediate Consequences of the Attacks on Pearl Harbor . . . . . . . . . . . . . .26
Hysteria in the West Coast Press . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .28
Politicians Jump on the Anti-Japanese Bandwagon . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .29
The Argument of Military Necessity . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31
PART II: ANALYSIS OF STATE U.S. HISTORY STANDARDS
The Treatment of “Racial Prejudice” in State U.S. History Standards . . . . . 34
The Treatment of “Wartime Hysteria” in State U.S. History Standards . . . . 40
The Treatment of “Failure of leadership” in State U.S. History Standards . .41
Summary of Findings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .42

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CHAPTER 3: EXECUTIVE ORDER 9066 AND THE U.S. SUPREME COURT
PART I: HISTORIOGRAPHY
Discussions of the Constitutional Issues of “Mass Evacuation” . . . . . . . . . . 43
Executive Order 9066 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 45
The Reaction of the Japanese American Community . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .46
Legal Challenges to the Internment in the U.S. Supreme Court . . . . . . . . . .47
Criticism and Vacation of the Japanese-American Internment Cases . . . . . .51
PART II – ANALYSIS OF STATE U.S. HISTORY STANDARDS
The Treatment of “Violations of Civil Rights That Resulted From Executive
Order 9066” in State U.S. History Standards . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .53
The Treatment of “the Supreme Court Cases Hirabayashi v. U.S. and
Korematsu v. U.S.” in State U.S. History Standards . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 60
Summary of Findings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .63

CHAPTER 4: INTERNEES AND SOLDIERS
PART I: HISTORIOGRAPHY
The Experience of Internment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .64
Policy of Leave and Resettlement . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .69
Military Contribution of Japanese Americans . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 72
PART II – ANALYSIS OF STATE U.S. HISTORY STANDARDS
The Treatment of “Life in the Internment Camps” in State U.S. History
Standards . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 76
The Treatment of “Military Contribution of Japanese Americans” in State
U.S. History Standards . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 83
Summary of Findings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 86

CHAPTER 5: FUTURE USE OF FINDINGS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 88

BIBLIOGRAPHY . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 92

APPENDIX 1 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 98

APPENDIX 2 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 116

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