Question

1.

"If the fires of freedom and civil liberties burn low in other lands they must be made brighter in our own."
--Franklin Delano Roosevelt, 1938
Does Roosevelt's quote above align with Executive Order 9066? Explain your answer.

Answer 1

Roosevelt's quote on freedom and civil liberties does not align with Executive Order 9066, which compromised the civil liberties of Japanese Americans through forced internment during World War II.

Step-by-step explanation:

Franklin Delano Roosevelt's Executive Order 9066 does not align with the sentiment of his 1938 quote about freedom and civil liberties. His quote suggests a commitment to upholding civil liberties at home, especially when those liberties are threatened abroad. However, Executive Order 9066, signed by President Roosevelt following the attack on Pearl Harbor, authorized the internment of approximately 120,000 Japanese Americans, including U.S. citizens, significantly compromising their civil liberties and constitutional rights.

Issued on February 19, 1942, the executive order led to the establishment of military zones from which any or all persons could be excluded. This resulted in the forced relocation and internment of Japanese Americans living on the West Coast, without regard to their loyalty or citizenship status. These actions were later upheld by the U.S. Supreme Court in cases such as Korematsu v. United States.

Answer 2

Executive Order 9066 was issued in the 1942 as the U.S. was about to engage in war with the Axis powers of Japan, Germany and Italy. The order called for the incarceration of Japanese, German and Italian Americans in special camps for fear that there might be spies amongst them who would inform the enemy of American plans ( way more Japanese were incarcerated than the Europeans).

This most definitely went against Franklin D. Roosevelt's proclamation in 1938 that the U.S. was to be a beacon of freedom and civil liberties because not only did they deny certain people certain liberties during WWII, those people denied were actual American citizens. One can only imagine how those who were not American were treated.