President Franklin D. Roosevelt's Personal Responsibility

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Eleanor Roosevelt once said: “In the long run, we shape our lives, and we shape ourselves. The process never ends until we die. And the choices we make are ultimately our own responsibility.” Personality responsibility is the idea that humans take control over their actions and are held accountable for the results. It is the idea that one should take responsibility for their actions even if the outcome is not to their liking. At some point in everyone’s life, an important decision is made. It could be choosing a college, getting married, or making an executive order for an entire nation. During the time of World War II, President Franklin D. Roosevelt had to make a tremendous decision in Executive Order 9066. Order 9066 ordered the removal …show more content…
He had no hatred against the Japanese; in fact, the Order 9066 protected the Japanese from any harm. Personal responsibility had to have been a factor in his decision, because many tried to dissuade him from passing the Order, but he was persistent in order to keep the nation safe. He knew that there would be consequences to his actions, but he was ready to take it into his own account. As President, his first duty is to protect the nation, and he believed that to keep everyone safe, he would have to maintain some control over those who could be a threat to the well-being of his country and people. He had to make sure that there was no direct threat within the country, and the only way to do that was to keep the Japanese Americans under the eyes of the military. The relocation in Roosevelt’s eyes was never meant to harm the Japanese or make them feel hurt; he only wanted to protect them from any harm coming from American citizens. Roosevelt made sure that the Japanese had the necessary items for survival, which would not have been done if he had made the action for himself. Instead, it would have turned out like the Holocaust, with Hitler torturing the Jews for his own satisfaction. Roosevelt did not lie to the Japanese; he ensured that they knew why they were being relocated and promised them that no harm would come their way. These actions show Roosevelt’s personal responsibility towards his Executive Order 9066. It …show more content…
Since the Japanese attacked an area very close to the borders of the United States, I would have ensured that it was not any Japanese American acting as a spy for the Japanese army who had given out information. The only way to that would be to question every Japanese American citizen in the country, and the best way to get them all together was by relocating them to camps. I would have provided those at the camp with all the necessities, and I would keep them as satisfied as possible because of the discomfort we are causing them. I would have the same mindset of Roosevelt towards the people relocated to the camp: they are to be treated with respect and protected even though others may consider them the enemy. To me, personal responsibility in this situation would be considering the needs of others before your own. Roosevelt did so very clearly by providing the necessities to the Japanese in the internment camps. I would have done the same if I was in Roosevelt’s situation because it would be cruel of someone to remove someone from their comfort and not appreciate the difficulties they are going through. By moving the people considered a threat to the nation to an area that is more isolated, the American citizens also feel a sense of safety and they are able to have a life without much of fear. This again demonstrates personal