When America Imprisoned Its Own - On February 19, 1942

On February 19, 1942, President Franklin Roosevelt signed Executive Order 9066, beginning the forced removal and imprisonment of 120,000 Japanese Americans two-thirds of them U.S. citizens. They lost homes, businesses, and freedom based on nothing but ethnicity and wartime fear. No charges, no trials, no evidence of disloyalty. Every institution designed to protect constitutional rights failed: the President signed it, Congress endorsed it, the Supreme Court upheld it 6-3 in Korematsu v. United States, and the public supported it. It took until 1988 for an official apology and reparations, and until 2018 for the Supreme Court to formally overrule Korematsu. The episode reveals how quickly constitutional rights vanish during crises and why vigilance is essential.