Essay about Usa and Canada: Japanese Internment

Submitted By madelinerumbaugh
Words: 2867
Pages: 12
Open Document
America and Canada Internment

World War Two was a significant event in our world’s past, to which many nations learned from the events that took place during this difficult time period in history. Among such events was the internment of thousands of Japanese citizens in both Canada and the United States. With the Japanese expansion into China and Hitler’s rise in power within Germany, the world was becoming a very scary place during the 1930’s through the 1940’s. The threat that Hitler and Japan presented to the world led to a shift in concentration of protecting “the US from Britain, or Canada from the United States, to protecting North America as a whole from the threat of Western Europe and Asia”. With the strong alliance that both Canada and the United States built, the bombing of Pearl Harbor invoked a strong fear within Canada. This fear that was erupting from Canada and America, which took a major toll on its Japanese citizens when both countries decided it was necessary to uproot their Japanese citizens and move them into internment camps. It is apparent that the close relations between the United States and Canada, along with the fear of rising powers and withstanding racism, led to the internment and ill-treatment of Japanese citizens, questioning their loyalty along with making one of the biggest mistakes that will forever stain North America’s past for eternity. The Internment of thousands of Canadian and US Japanese citizens all began with a simple relationship, the relationship between Canada and the United States, which in turn truly began with the inauguration of Franklin D. Roosevelt. Prior to the inauguration of FDR, no other president took an interest in Canada, by nature Roosevelt became the first president to be “genuinely popular in Canada” due to the fact that “he contrived to make Canadians feel that he was interested in and friendly to their country”. Before Franklin Roosevelt, there was no significant relationship between Canada and United States, which changed greatly during the 1930’s, thanks to Roosevelt’s goal of “worldwide reciprocal tariff cuts” which led to the Reciprocal Trade Agreements Act in 1934. The goal of the trade agreement was to reduce tariffs on thousands of American goods and to admit Canadian forest, farm and fish products. The Great Depression was the gateway of the relationship between the United States and Canada due to the fact that before this hard time, no other president tried to build a bridge with the neighbors of the north. The economic struggles of the Great Depression “brought a reciprocity agreement with scarcely a whimper of domestic protest in either country” which was particularly unheard of due to an ongoing dispute of tariffs. This was the start of a very strong relationship, and one that continued to improve throughout the war period. Roosevelt began this relationship due to the fact that he saw Canada as a strong partner during this time of crisis and great need. He reached out to Canada, the only president to do so, in order to bring the United States and Canada closer together economically, which Roosevelt thought could then later lead to a strong alliance. In other words, the struggle of the Great Depression and Franklin D. Roosevelt’s actions, the relationship between Canada and the United states became quite close, along with transforming not only into an economic alliance but later becoming a military alliance as well.
The relationship between the United States and Canada became even closer as the rise of Germany became increasingly stronger and more threatening. “Japan, Fascist Italy, and Nazi Germany destroyed the capacity of the international community to control aggression. President Franklin Roosevelt and Prime Minister Mackenzie King thus laid the foundation of a formal U.S.-Canadian defense alliance in the late 1930’s”. This demonstrates that the as Nazi ideals spread throughout Europe and Asia, the U.S. and Canada were very concerned
Show More

Related Documents: Essay about Usa and Canada: Japanese Internment

Toyojiro Suzuki's Internment Camps During World War II

During World War II, there was the development of internment camps to house Japanese people residing in the USA and parts of Canada. The bombing of Pearl Harbor had led to the US joining World War II and inevitably to the relocation of Japanese Americans. The bombing of Pearl Harbor was not an impulsive plan and had actually been decisively planned over many months. It had included many sensitive and intricate details and was extremely discreet as to who could be involved. Although Japan was able…

Words 1042 - Pages 5

Past Violations In Canada

The internment occurred just days after the Pearl Harbor attack. Japanese Canadian railway workers were fired, Japanese fishermen in B.C. were demanded to stay in port, and over 1,000 boats were seized by the Canadian Navy. All due to the Japanese bombing Pearl Harbor. Not only did the Prime Minister apologize for the relocation, he also gave a package of $21,000 to each surviving…

Words 1531 - Pages 7

History Notes Essay

past battles and decided to make a thorough plan to capture Vimy Ridge A Canadian-fought battle Canadians successfully pushed through the ridge and captured it Canadians won the only significant victory for the Allies Largely because of this, Canada won a seat as a separate nation at the peace talks after the war The Halifax Explosion Halifax was a main shopping port; most convoys with supplies for Europe set out from Halifax On Decmber 6 1917, a French munitions ship collided with a Belgian…

Words 5857 - Pages 24

Cold War Strategy Essay

effective program, Booms the US economy  North Atlantic Treaty Organization: (NATO) 1949 military peace organization (alliance) prevents Soviet Union from attacking all of Europe. Country signed alliance- Norway, Great Britain, British zone, US, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Greece, and Portugal. This raised tensions on both sides.  Warsaw Pact 1955- Soviets, Poland, Czech and Yug. Warsaw pact nation is an attack on all.  Soviet atomic bomb 1949- US loses their monopoly of atomic bomb- major…

Words 2125 - Pages 9

The Unanimous Declaration Of The Thirteen United States Of America

States of America".[33] In 1777 the Articles of Confederation announced, "The Stile of this Confederacy shall be 'The United States of America'".[34] The short form "United States" is also standard. Other common forms include the "U.S.", the "USA", and "America". Colloquial names include the "U.S. of A." and, internationally, the "States". "Columbia", a name popular in poetry and songs of the late 1700s,[35] derives its origin from Christopher Columbus; it appears in the name "District of Columbia"…

Words 3539 - Pages 15

13th Amendment: An Amendment To The US Constitution

Germany, Italy, and Japan – that opposed the Allies in World War II baby boom – the sharp increase in the U.S. birthrate following World War II Battle of Midway – a World War II battle that took place in early June 1942. The Allies decimated the Japanese fleet at Midway, an island lying northwest of Hawaii. The Allies then took the offensive in the Pacific and began to move closer to Japan Battle of Wounded Knee – the massacre by U.S. soldiers of 300 unarmed Native Americans at Wounded Creek, South…

Words 4746 - Pages 19