Korematsu v. United States (1944) is a U.S. Supreme Court ruling on the matter of Japanese Americans being allowed to remain in their homes and, in some cases, interned during World War II. The court held that Executive Order 9066, which authorized the internment, was constitutional, though it was later overturned. The decision effectively stripped away many rights from people of Japanese descent, and set a dangerous precedent for future civil rights cases.<\/p>\n
The idea of internment in the United States was based on misguided notions of collective guilt, equating any person of Japanese descent, citizens or not, with military aggression and espionage. This disregarded personal integrity and conflated an entire ethnic group with \u201cdangerousness\u201d many did not possess. One need only consider the 2018 Muslim Ban or the current administration\u2019s hard-line stance against immigration to see how this precedent of collectivist fears has shaped contemporary politics.<\/p>\n
The decision of the Supreme Court in 1944 was in total contrast to the U.S. Constitution. According to the Fourteenth Amendment, no person should be \u201cdenied equal protection under the law.\u201d Yet, due to the ruling of the Supreme Court, Japanese-Americans were forced to move to designated \u201crelocation camps\u201d and interned, a blatantly discriminatory act. Additionally, Japanese-Americans were forced to forfeit their property, rights of citizenship, and even their freedom.<\/p>\n
Though the Korematsu decision has since been effectively overruled, it is still used as a landmark example of constitutional injustice. It is essential to remember the injustice of Korematsu so that similar acts of discriminatory legislation are thwarted. As we look to the future for more equitable laws, it is imperative that we remember the terrible setback of Korematsu for civil rights to ensure that it cannot be repeated.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Korematsu v. United States (1944) is a U.S. Supreme Court ruling on the matter of Japanese Americans being allowed to remain in their homes and, in some cases, interned during World War II. The court held that Executive Order 9066, which authorized the internment, was constitutional, though it was later overturned. The decision effectively stripped […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2804","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"aioseo_notices":[],"aioseo_head":"\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\n\t\t\n