Teacher Resources: Lesson Plan

Japanese Internment During WWII: Korematsu v. United States

Overview

Japanese Americans on the West Coast were placed in internment camps during WWII as a precautionary measure, even though the government had no specific evidence against these citizens. Did the Supreme Court rule this executive order as valid? Students find out in their study of Korematsu v. United States.

National Curriculum Standards met by this lesson

For a list of standards that this unit addresses, click here.

Ties to Your Curriculum

This lesson ties into United States Government/Civics when studying:

Time Required

1 or 2 50-minute class periods

Materials Needed

The Lesson

Anticipatory Set

As a warm up, ask students the following:

Does the government, in the interest of national safety, have the right to:

Procedures

  1. Explain that the U.S. Constitution is a living document that continues to be interpreted and amended. Presidents and Congresses have interpreted the Constitution differently according to the events of the day. However, the Supreme Court can review and, at times overturn the actions of the president and the Congress.
  2. An excellent summary of the case can be found on the Basic Rights Timeline on this site. (link to timeline basic rights)

    Copy that summary for the students or just explain the basic facts below:

    After the Japanese bombed Pearl Harbor during WWII, President Roosevelt signed executive order 9066. This order gave the Secretary of War the power to declare military areas, as well as restrict the movement of people in and out of the areas. Very soon afterward, the entire Pacific Coast was declared a military area.

    At first, the Japanese-Americans were restricted to the military area. Orders were then changed to restrict the Japanese-Americans from being in the areas. Executive Order 9066 resulted in the forcible internment of 120,000 people of Japanese ancestry. More than two-thirds of those interned under the Executive Order were citizens of the United States, and none had ever shown any disloyalty. The War Relocation Authority was created to administer the assembly centers, relocation centers, and internment camps, and relocation of Japanese-Americans began in April 1942.

  3. Lead a discussion about the facts of the time. You could have students answer these questions on paper or orally.
    1. Why did the military declare the Pacific Coast a military area? (It was susceptible to attack by the Japanese.)
    2. Did the Secretary of War declare a military area on the East Coast? (No.)
    3. Did the army have evidence against Japanese-Americans? (No, but about 5,000 refused to renounce allegiance to Japan.)
    4. Where did the Japanese-Americans go were they were forced to leave the Pacific Coast? (Relocation centers in the U.S. interior.)
  4. How do students think the Supreme Court ruled on the removal of the Japanese? Give each student a copy of the Korematsu v. United States summary below or make an overhead.

    Korematsu v. United States

    Fred Korematsu was a Japanese-American. He remained in San Leandro, CA in violation of the U.S. Army's Civilian Exclusion order No. 34. He sued on the grounds that the President and Congress exceeded their war powers by restricting the rights of Japanese-Americans.

  5. Ask students to write down their opinion, for or against, the internment. They should write down the reasoning behind their answer.
  6. After students have finished, ask who supports the executive order and who doesn't. Have students move so that they are sitting as pro and con groups (if there are students of different opinions.) Give students time to discuss the various opinions in their groups. Have them create a chart of their reasons for supporting or not supporting the executive order.
  7. Ask each group to select two representatives. The representatives should explain their group's opinion to the class. Hang the charts.
  8. Pass out copies of the opinion of the Court and the dissenting opinion. With a partner, ask students to read the opinions, highlighting the Justices' reasons that support the opinions.
  9. When students finish, ask for their reactions to the Supreme Court's ruling? Were they surprised? Do they agree with the Court's reasoning? Have a short class discussion.
  10. Inform students that Japanese-Americans were later given reparations by the U.S. government. Reparations are defined as the act or process of making amends. What do you think the government gave the Japanese-Americans in order to make amends for being segregated and the loss of their property? Give students time to suggest ideas.

    In 1968, the government began reparations to cover lost property. In 1988, the government paid $20,000 to surviving detainees. Detainees of European descent (German, Italian, etc.) have never been issued reparations.

  11. Ask students the significance of reparations. What do they imply? (That the government was wrong in its actions.) Do students feel that the Japanese-Americans received adequate compensation for the internment?

Assessment

  1. What is the impact of Korematsu v. United States today? Although history has judged the Japanese internment as wrong, could a similar scenario happen again in the future?
  2. Ask students to read the hypothetical scenario below and then write a Supreme Court opinion.

    Future Scenario

    United States of America

    In May 2015, the United States experienced a series of terrorist attacks in major tourist areas along the eastern coast. Although the FBI was unable to capture any suspects, a number of groups claimed responsibility.

    Military intelligence pointed to the environment group, Save Our Sands (SOS). SOS members were primarily Americans of Swiss descent that believed the Florida government was allowing the destruction of its beaches through overdevelopment. The group had previously protested the building of beachside homes and businesses. They had also held a letter writing campaign to educate Floridians on the loss of animal habitats along the coast. According to an FBI informant, a faction of SOS became discouraged when the peaceful protests had little impact on government policies. These disenchanted SOS members decided to bring more attention to the cause by incinerating businesses in beachside tourist areas, including Miami, Tampa, and Daytona Beach.

    In order to calm the U.S. public and prevent more attacks, the president decided to take action against the group. The FBI had determined that SOS was based in Jacksonville and Sarasota, so the president secretly ordered the FBI to place surveillance on Swiss-Americans in those areas. The FBI tapped phone lines and monitored emails, as well as placed visual surveillance in neighborhoods where Swiss-Americans lived.

    When news of the government spying was leaked to the press, Swiss-Americans were outraged. One citizen, Anna Jacobsson, sued the United States government on the basis that it had invaded her right to privacy and basic freedoms. In court, the United States government declared that it was at war with the SOS, as the group was attacking multiple locations within the country. Therefore, extreme measures were needed to prevent further acts of war by the group.

    As a Supreme Court justice, would you rule in favor of the defendant, the United States government, or the plaintiff, Anna Jacobsson? Consider Court precedents and United States laws when formulating your opinion and legal reasoning.

  3. Collect students' essays and score on a rubric.
    • 10--well-written opinion with specific legal and/or Constitutional reasoning
    • 8--well-written opinion with good reasoning, although it may not cite specific legal and/or Constitutional reasoning
    • 6--opinion is clearly written, but has little legal or Constitutional reasoning for support
    • 4--opinion is not clear, and/or it has no support
    • 2--opinion is not clear and it does not have support

Related Works

This is a link to an essay by Fred Korematsu's niece, explaining why she sees him as a hero.

http://myhero.com/myhero/hero.asp?hero=Korematsu

Supreme Court Historical Society--this is a detailed summary of the Supreme Court. It also has links to landmark Supreme Court cases and legal concept, as well as suggestions and methods for teaching students about the law.

http://www.supremecourthistory.org/05_learning/subs/05_e.html

CNN

This is a link to a two minute video on CNN reporting on reparations for Japanese interned during WWII.

http://www.cnn.com/WORLD/americas/9806/12/japanese.reparations/hill.html

Learn to Question

This website is about the Life of Yuri Kochiyama, who is a Japanese-American civil rights activist.

http://www.learntoquestion.com/seevak/groups/2004/sites/kochiyama/japaneserep.html

Interdisciplinary Works

Language Arts--expand this lesson into a study of civil rights heroes, using the My Hero link above. Have each student write a biography of a hero and bind the essays into a book.

Geography--study the movement of Asian immigrants to the United States. Did their migration patterns change after the internment period?