Why FDR created Japanese internment camps

[@StumblingThroughItAll]

I have always wondered about this. FDR is typically held up as a champion of progressivism. Black Americans largely shifted voting trends in federal voting to vote for him as a democrat. He used significant government intervention to steer national economics. Yet, he is responsible for interment camps, the foundations for Redlining policy, non-support for anti-lynching laws, attempted court packing, limiting freedom of the press.

[@hobbso8508]

He was economically progressive, not socially, taking a massive step towards unions, welfare and more.

[@The_king567]

Most japs supported the empire dude

[@scroopynooperz9051]

Considering the times, we could have done a lot worse than FDR. It's unrealistic to expect a politician to govern perfectly - their job by its very nature, is a compromising endeavor.

[@chnalvr]

In 1943 Eleanor Roosevelt visited the Gila River camp and came out publicly against the imprisonment of Japanese-Americans. She wanted the camps closed and said they were a human rights violation.

[@tomhalla426]

While FDR was nowhere near the racist authoritarian Woodrow Wilson was, he had typical Democrat attitudes towards civil rights. The National Firearms Act was an indication, as was his tolerance of the South and segregation in the military. It was casual racism, plus demagogueing the election in general.

[@ram0166]

By the way, Americans of Japanese descent.

[@macsnafu]

The only thing I want to say about the Japanese internment camps is that I'm glad that George Takei didn't hold a grudge!

[@RaptorFromWeegee]

Why? whats HE gunna do?

[@macsnafu]

@@RaptorFromWeegee Get drunk and talk your ear off? No seriously, I just meant that I'm glad he went on to have an acting career and played Sulu in Star Trek.

[@tanakaba]

One small correction for the title: FDR created American internment camps.

[@shawngilliland243]

One of the most disgusting things from the internment is that Earl Warren, who was governor of California at the time, was later a "liberal" Chief (In)Justice of the US Supreme Court. I find his hypocrisy to be astounding. Those "interned" were never adequately compensated for the loss of their property and livelihoods. On the other hand, the governor of Colorado, Ralph Carr, lost his political career over his stance on the issue. There was definitely some hysteria and racism involved in the decision, and many benefitted economically from acquiring land owned by Japanese Americans at 'fire sale' prices. That aspect is somewhat reminiscent of "Witch" Trials.

[@leslovesliberty1776]

" When J Edgar Hoover tells you you're going too far maybe you need to think twice." 😂💯🎯

[@madatlas3806]

When J. Edgar Hoover is the voice of reason...... Jeez.

[@shawngilliland243]

It is my understanding that when Hoover met with FDR about the question of rounding up Americans of Japanese descent, Hoover told FDR that the FBI had already arrested all known spies among that group, within days after the attack on Pearl Harbor. The FBI had been watching them for some time. So, yes, Hoover was - quite surprisingly! - a voice of reason in that moment.

[@CuyanaTGen]

*_NET IMPACT OF THIS INTERNMENT, and, putting aside its obvious unconstitutionality, a question for the readers:_* is there a book, report, or otherwise regarding what this internment, in terms of its stated purposes, ACTUALLY accomplished? Regarding the overall war effort, did it have any net positive? E.g., did it STOP Japanese agents from committing criminal acts? Etc?

[@SoloPilot6]

I know someone who is writing a book specifically about this, from a nuts and bolts perspective. I've read some of his early drafts, and they opened my eyes to this whole thing. The short answer to the final questions are both NO. In fact, he did the math and found that the whole program made the war LONGER, by diverting vital supplies, resources and troops to the camps during 1942, when they were desperately needed elsewhere.

[@RaptorFromWeegee]

There were all kind of resources getting thrown around during WWII. Thousands of planes got built that went from the assembly line to the scrap heap, families made great sacrifices donating metal possessions for scrap iron drives. Turned out those were useless propaganda efforts. All kinds of West Coast cities had black-out rules, and air raid facilities. None of those things ended up getting used either, thank god. All kinds of things are developed during wartime to create national defense. You have to be prepared. Nobody knew how the war was going to go. Hindsights 20/20. In the event of a Japanese invasion japanese families living in California might very well have aided the army of their ancestral homeland. We know this because it actually happened. In Hawaii, during the Pearl Harbor attacks, there was the "Ni’ihau Incident". This was a place where many Japanese-American citizens lived. Upon hearing misinformation that Japan had successfully conquered Oahu, they rose up against whites & natives, taking them prisoner, even killing some of them. This was a large part of why they interned West Coast japanese. But liberals don't want you to know about this so it never gets mentioned.

[@SoloPilot6]

The Nikkei were scapegoated by FDR as a way to duck the growing pressure to look into his attempts to "maneuver" the Japanese to attack American interests. He wanted them to attack the Philippines, as an excuse to go into the war to help his British friends, and did more damage to the Pacific Fleet in 1941 than the Imperial Japanese Navy did. There was also strong political and economic impetus to destroy the Japanese Americans on the West Coast. The primary reason that there was no mass incarceration in Hawai'i is because it was obviously not practical. Only those who were specifically found to have a valid reason for concern were put on Sand Island. The excuses for Executive Order 9066 were to move "potential saboteurs" away from military installations and such resources as aquaducts and the power grids feeding the major cities of the West Coast. So . . .they built the Manazanar concentration camp across the highway from a military airbase, with part of the LA Aquaduct as the southern border of the camp, and next to high-tension lines powering LA. As far as "saboteurs," consider that they tore infants out of the arms of their foster families, to place them in the world's first prison created for children, and even forced US military personnel of Japanese descent out of the West Coast states.

[@libertariantranslator1929]

Sure they were. So how did FDR engineer the rape of Nanking?

[@user-qm7jw]

On July 23, 1941, five months prior to Pearl Harbor, President Roosevelt put his signature on an operation plan for the firebombing of Tokyo and Osaka via American volunteers armed with American weapons stationed in China and was in the process of moving assets to China apparently for this end when Pearl Harbor occured. You can find the document at the national archives. Also there's the Mccollum memorandum which lists various aggressive actions to be taken against Japan in line with point 6 of the memorandum: "It is to the interest of the United States to eliminate Japan's threat in the Pacific at the earliest opportunity by taking prompt and aggressive action against Japan" before stating plainly "If by these means Japan could be led to commit an overt act of war, so much the better. At all events we must be fully prepared to accept the threat of war".

[@hobbso8508]

Smart man. Good job.

[@theredcelt627]

I’m really disappointed that this video is titled “Why FDR Created The Japanese Internment Camps” but there is no mention of the Ni’ihau Incident. While I don’t find it to be an adequate justification for the internment, it’s a massively important part of why it happened.

[@RaptorFromWeegee]

VERY good point. They never mention that. Why? Clearly because this is being used, once again, as propaganda to take digs at wht americans, the lefts favorite past time.

[@alexipestov7002]

Which is a shame since if we forget just how the hysteria blew up, we're doomed to repeat it since schools teach the beginning and end, and not how so called reasonable people could get swept up in it all. It's easy to believe it can't happen now if we don't see the event that bridges the bad things together

[@nordan00]

FDR had the same racist attitudes towards the Japanese that the Japanese had towards Europeans. Back then, just about every group/ethnicity/race had racist attitudes towards other groups/ethnicities/races. In fact, most still do to some degree. It’s been that way for pretty much all of human history. But listening to this discussion, you’d think Europeans have a monopoly on racism. Visit Asian countries and you’ll soon find out just what most think of Europeans-and that won’t be nearly as bad as what they think of non Europeans!

[@jeff-hh9mc]

He was a democrat aka communist they’re all racist.

[@ehanneken]

I think you have over-interpreted the video.

[@jeff-hh9mc]

He was a racist as all communist aka democrats are.

[@PhonkEcho]

Racism was everywhere. it still exists among Asians themselves.

[@matthewmob2860]

Sounds like you’re justifying the racism lol it was wrong. He took his own citizens and locked them up. Cut the bullshit. Making excuses. Using victim mentality. Racism today doesn’t justify the actions or racism of the past.

[@libertariantranslator1929]

In the 1930s Japanese laws forbad foreigners from owning land in Nippon. See, better yet, read "Our Man in Tokyo"

[@drlobomalo]

Not likely the FBI would have been put in charge of the internment camps. The FBI has never been put in charge of prisons or any other custodial facilities as far as I know.

[@SoloPilot6]

The FBI were in charge of a number of smaller camps, where persons of specific interest were held and investigated. They were not in charge of the main camps.

[@RaptorFromWeegee]

The FBI were directly controlled by the Justice Department who also controlled the Bureau of Prisons, who, in turn, controlled; Levenworth, Altanta Penn, Lewisburg Penn, and Alcatraz.

[@davidanalyst671]

BTW if you think China has the power to tell chinese what to do even if they are outside the country with the tiktok ban, if you think that Japanese emporer had the ability to tell Japanese what to do even when they leave Japan, what sort of power does the USA have when the USA forces USA citizens to pay taxes on their earnings overseas? The USA has taxing and business and influence over USA businesses and business owners when they operate in different countries, so the USA has the same muscles to flex. You didn't think that someone could be pro internment camp and libertarian, but here we are. I just used a pro internment argument to push for less regulation and less taxes and influence.

[@shawngilliland243]

Very reasonable comparison!

[@JackVz]

They should have left the Japanese in the general population during WW2. The American people can handle that type of thing better than the government ever could

[@yn5568]

I don’t think it’s any better. Considering how German Americans had to change their names during WWI to hide their identity, which US was much more removed than WWII, the general public wasn’t any better

[@ConradSpoke]

Why was FDR "racist" towards Japanese-Americans (aside from burlesque jokes)? Maybe because so many Japanese-Americans openly maintained allegiance to the Emperor of Japan. When there's a war on, you have no inherent right to proclaim dedication to the enemy. Japanese-Americans were neither indifferent nor clearly committed solely to American success in the war.

[@shawngilliland243]

Many were not. However, as is the case with people who have relatives in the PRC today, the government of Imperial Japan did coerce some Americans with connections to Japan to spy for Japan; implicit threats were made to the well-being of their relatives who still lived there in Japan.

[@RaptorFromWeegee]

This is true. Japanese people were and are fanatically obsessed with family honor, ancestor worship, and to their own ethnic group. In the event of a Nipponese invasion of the West Coast, they may very well have rose up against America. It already happened in the "Ni’ihau Incident". This was a place, in Hawaii, where many Japanese-American citizens lived. Upon hearing misinformation that Japan had successfully conquered Oahu, they rose up against whites & natives, taking them prisoner, even killing some of them. This was a large part of why they interned West Coast japanese. But liberals don't want you to know about this so it never gets mentioned.

[@brandonitatani6443]

explain why japanese americans from hawaii were exempt from internment camps.... my family were japanese american farmers from california. And your last sentence is a joke. family members from manzanar fought in 442nd regiment even though they were interned just to prove loyalty to the country. 442nd is the most decorated military unit in US History to this day.

[@brandonitatani6443]

@@RaptorFromWeegee the 442nd regiment is the most decorated military unit in US History to this day. My family fought and gave up their lives despite being put into a camp. Japanese Americans from Hawaii were exempt b/c 1/3 of hawaii were Japanese lol... post-war all our farm land in california was taken ... govt didnt even recognize that it was wrong until reagan..

[@theMickPolitik]

When one looks at the similarities in our propaganda, war mobilization, Executive rhetoric... the mere fact that FDR stopped short of the same damning "Final" outcome, should be of little comfort to Americans.

[@stephanarizona9094]

The bulk of the interment camps were for Japanese Americans but little know history not talked about, there was also Italian American and German American interment camps.

[@stevenalvarado-doc7334]

those were for non citizens in those camps. There is no way they could have imprisoned Americans of German and Italian descent too many and they would have had to put Eisenhower and Nimitz in them.

[@shawngilliland243]

@@stevenalvarado-doc7334 and the Mayor of New York City, Fiorello LaGuardia, etc.

[@roberthorst5790]

@@stevenalvarado-doc7334 so what it was still inhumane

[@libertariantranslator1929]

Didn't Nippon have internment and POW camps of its own? When was the last time you compared photos of both classes of inmates?

[@Kye9842]

Why call it Nippon? Otherwise, yes, Japan did. Still, it's particularly notable in the country's history that the US decided to arrest *specifically* Japanese-seeming citizens.

[@libertariantranslator1929]

@@Kye9842 ALL manner of 5th column saboteurs were busted. Movies were made about them; books abound.

[@RaptorFromWeegee]

@@Kye9842 They didn't intern people who looked Japanese, they interned people who actually WERE of Nipponese ancestry.

[@rogerhare7886]

USS California Band showed relation between codes and music at Pearl Harbor HYPO. Their adeptness deciphering IJN25 led to them stumbling upon Japanese high command discussing organized USA sabotage. If FDR gave up that knowledge, he’d be revealing we knew JN25 and JN25B. Instead he cut this plan off with questionable illegal internment.

[@dpcrn]

There at the end when he says you can watch the full episode here or something else. Here there are no shortcuts or links where he’s pointing.

[@beatmoney4533]

I think they are short-staffed

[@mc1993]

One reason I like Reason's channel is they stopped putting [swearword] Call to Action garbage all over their video. It ruins videos. The link to the full episode is in the description, and on the full episode you'll find links to sources, transcripts and such in the description of the full episode.

[@shadlamb5874]

Because he was an authoritarian dictator?

[@Jeff250lbc]

Or as the Italian socialist called themselves Fascist.

[@TexRex6352]

Every time I hear about Japanese internment camps I think of George Takei recounting his time in one as a child not understanding what was going on enough to have a probkem with it.

[@walkinlight3380]

Typical dem.

[@libertariantranslator1929]

Typical looter describes another.

[@McMillanScottish]

“Persons”, when used by corporate government actors, means LEGAL FICTIONS, AKA people who identify as “legal citizens” one way or another. As an American National, nonresident, alien to the UNITED STATES, I am not a “person”, but rather a MAN. This may sound crazy but it’s real. Look it up in Black’s Law Dictionary, especially pre-4th edition. “Persons” are NOT “people.”

[@libertariantranslator1929]

When FDR accepted Bert Hoover's Bank Moratorium and changed it to Holiday in March 1933, the penalties for possession of gold were fines for artificial persons (corporations), plus imprisonment for natural persons.

[@dawfydd]

I think its easy for us to look at the situation now knowing that the japanese invasion had a time limit, and they could not possibly win- let alone get to the mainland to attack america in any sort of winning the way kind of way, just terror attacks. They'd seen evidence of Japanese immigrants who would happily help the homeland and they just couldn't risk it when they didn't know if they'd win the war on the ocean. Looking at it now of course even if 1k japanese people took over a town, or held up congress not much would change in the war effort, history happened. But these historians who look back on events to look down on people are just sliding deeper into their own asses, we have many more facts than they did back then, it wasn't the best solution but compared to any other solution besides do nothing and hope for the best, it was the only other reasonable option. Maybe we can debate life at the camp could've been easier- it could been closer to main cities and let the japanese live on the side of a major city and just disconnect it from the war effort.. but again.. knowing what we do now those options look better than they were.

[@davidanalyst671]

Do I disagree with internment camps? Yes. Was the USA sending soldiers and the majority of her GDP to Asia and Europe just to get blown up? Yes. Did Japan wait for two cities full of civilians to be liquidated before they decided maybe the war was better off agreeing to USA terms which were unconditional surrender? Yes. Since you are all the experts, I need you to tell me how many people died from the firebombings, the A bombings, and now I need you to tell me how many people and civilians would die if the emporer told his civilian population to fight until the last person, and never surrender. How many Japanese civilians would have died if the USA landed 1,000,000 usa soldiers on Japans mainland? What FDR did was a net net win for humanity. Was there racist crap? Well so were the founders, while they were abolitionist-ic. When the beautiful amazing wonderful, not at all racist northern states decided to enforce abolition on the southern states, did they kindly ask. "Hello there fellow citizen... Can you please give up your wealth because I want to enforce my value system on you?" The south fired the first shots, but Japan fired the first shots on the USA in ww2. Did japan force the USA into ww2? No, it was the clash on imperialist values, and we were going to have to fight japan whether they bombed pearl harbor or not.

[@jeffreywick4057]

Did Roosevelt maneuver and goad Japan into attacking Pearl Harbor?

[@boglotzbach5835]

Your mis directional questions server nothing about the fact that wrong is wrong FDR was thinking about votes if he did'nt issue 9066 simple as that

[@ArjayMartin]

Necessity with homosocialisation.

[@sid2112]

Before watching perspective: The internment camps were horrible but an understandable step due to the contingencies of what was going on. Hell, the internment camps probably saved a lot of American lives, Americans who happened to have slanted eyes. Now that being said, they were 100% illegal and had FDR survived leaving office he should have written articles of impeachment on himself. After watch perspective: The same, with more racism. Honestly, I don't care that FDR was a racist. Of course he was a racist, he was a Democrat. However, that doesn't change the fact that keeping them away from the other racists saved a lot of lives. It doesn't change the fact that Japanese culture lent itself well to spycraft. It doesn't make it any more illegal than before.

[@ItsConstitutional]

All BAR attorneys, Law enforcement and Public officials belong to the Fraternal Order of Freemasonry. "Rod Class Attorneys Confession" talks about how all law enforcement, judges, BAR attorneys and Public officials take secret oaths and purposely plot against the People!. Title 49 usc 31301 MOTOR VEHICLE is every vehicle over 10,000 lbs. Under Title 49 usc 32901 and Title 49 cfr 523.3 AUTOMOBILES are every vehicle UNDER 10,001 lbs. All traffic Laws are for Motor Vehicles! We own ARMS, not firearms. Title 26 usc 5845 definition of FIREARMS

[@brianburgess3231]

Exactly my thoughts .. I mean like every point ❤

[@weirdshibainu]

Are you serious? Stripping Americans of their civil rights and constitutional protections and rationalizing it as having saved a lot of American lives? Why didn't he intern the tens of millions of German Americans. Yeah, FDR tore up the constitution and should have been impeached but there is no justification for the internment camps.

[@ehanneken]

The problem I have with that argument is that FDR didn’t just open up a few camps and invite Japanese Americans to stay there if they felt unsafe. He didn’t give them a choice.

[@ItsConstitutional]

All BAR attorneys, Law enforcement and Public officials belong to the Fraternal Order of Freemasonry. "Rod Class Attorneys Confession" talks about how all law enforcement, judges, BAR attorneys and Public officials take secret oaths and purposely plot against the People!.

[@marko11kram]

Don't forget about what happened on Niihau --- That may have influenced the decision too

[@kennethmaeda5698]

Let's not forget about all the German sobortours caught on the East coast and one was a U.S. citizen.How come that didn't result in a imprisonment of all people of German ancestry ? 3:59

[@alexanderx33]

For fucks sake, keep your voice at the same volume!

[@moldyoldie7888]

And don't carry on.

[@leslovesliberty1776]

Your title states "Japanese" internment camps. This happened in AMERICA. These were American citizens interned. Think it can't happen again? The 2nd Amendment is more important than EVER.

[@davidpennmiller354]

Why does David Beito sound like Nick Gillespie?

[@Fahrenheit4051]

Same voice actor in the English dub. ;)

[@tdimentional2048]

As I understand it part of the reason a decision was made to inter people of Japanese ancestry stems from an incident on the island of Ni'ihau in the Hawaiian islands. A Japanese pilot crash landed on the island and was assisted by some Japanese farmers on the island to the point of an Hawaiian being shot from the pilots pistol.

[@SoloPilot6]

You understand WRONG. The Ni'ihau incident had nothing to do with it.

[@tdimentional2048]

@@SoloPilot6 Not from the vid I saw about the incident.

[@SoloPilot6]

@@tdimentional2048 Gee, you're saying that they had cameras on their phones in 1941? Or are you referring to a video produced by someone who wasn't there, so they made up what they want you to believe happened?

[@kennethmaeda5698]

Had nothing do with the Niihau incident.FDR in 1936 order a list of Japanese-Americans to be imprisoned in a emergency. His white farmers supporters wanted the Japanese-Americans farmers land.He used Pearl Harbor as as pretext to get rid of the competition for the white farmers .

[@Semper_Iratus]

Made sense at the time.

[@jeff-hh9mc]

Nope. But remember your comment when you get out into one.

[@SoloPilot6]

I used to think so, then I started learning more about them. The American people were PLAYED, with the lies and cover-up continuing to this day.

[@chazzcannon3614]

FDR was somewhat of a mendacious shyster, but he sure was on the "right side of History".

[@davidanalyst671]

FDR was a win for the current USA medical scam system, income taxes, social security, and the military industrial complex, and provided rationalization for government manipulation of mass media. How much better off would the USA be if FDR took power to win the war, and then gave all the power back to the people?

[@Forever-my4wp]

My father took his Navy training at San Diego and shared a story of a couple of Japanese men being shot climbing the water tower of the base with poison, intending to kill as many men at the base as possible. The story did not get published in the papers because they didn't want to encourage copy-cats. I have never seen a story compiling the number of sabotage attempts by German or Japanese citizens during the war which were never publicized. Should Japanese citizens have been put into internment camps is up for debate - whether there was NO reason to do so is not up for debate.

[@matthewmob2860]

Do you realize they were American citizens? It was anyone of Japanese decent. Facts matter and I’m sure there were Japanese people doing wrong. Doesn’t make locking ur own citizens up ok or justified in any way.

[@SoloPilot6]

The story is a complete fabrication. There were no reported incidents of Japanese Americans engaging in any kind of sabotage or attack. And, seriously, there was no poison concentrated enough at the time that two men could carry to the top of a water tower which would be effective in the thousands of gallons of water in the tank.

[@gabrielreyes2790]

Rare L for FDR

[@rachaeltan5462]

Bro has not even finished watching the video and arly commented

[@weirdshibainu]

Yeah...same guy who wanted to pack the Supreme Court. He was a thug.

[@eljefe8942]

​@@rachaeltan5462still a big L

[@va3svd]

Yeah, I can’t think of many others. Oh, there was turning a 2 year recession into a decade-long Depression. Or stealing the people’s gold. Or using the Depression he created as justification for creating a massive expansion of government.

[@ehanneken]

You should see the whole video that this was excepted from.

[@roberthorst5790]

the germans and italians were also interned yet nobody gives a fuck unfortunately

[@kennethmaeda5698]

It wasn't the same German and Italian weren't imprisoned in mass liked the Japanese-Americans on the west coast. If we were treated equally FDR should have issued a executive order removing all people of German and Italian ancestry from the East coast and imprisoned.

[@mikeyost3672]

Any mention of the Japanese Interment should include mention of a huge "Why": en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Niihau_incident#:~:text=The%20Ni%CA%BBihau%20incident%20occurred%20on,the%20attack%20on%20Pearl%20Harbor.

[@Bsnsobscuregames]

I’m amazed how everyone could talk about this and not mention the fact that two 3rd generation Japanese-Americans in the most isolated village possible was able to be convinced to help a downed Japanese Pilot after Pearl Harbor was bombed. It wasn’t just FDR, the Navy was pushing this because they knew that the west coast and Hawaii were teaming with Japanese Americans of various lengths of time in the United States. They even moved the language school away from California to Minnesota where the internet laws weren’t applied. How anyone could miss this thinking is beyond me.

[@danielcichello4421]

Oh no, Reason is turning into the new VICE. 😮

[@jacobstamm]

Doodoo @1:15

[@mikehiggins946]

How brave of two guys in the 2020's to wag their fingers in condemnation at an action taken nearly 100 years ago by a President whose Country had just been sneak attacked by Japan at Pearl Harbor. Roosevelt certainly had the backing of most Americans in the immediate aftermath of the attack which killed 2400 American Military personnel and more than 60 civilians who lived in Honolulu. Nobody knew at the time how loyal and even patriotic Japanese Americans would eventually show themselves to be. It was an overreaction and a mistake to round up people of Japanese descent on the west coast and intern them. However, to blame FDR without context is wrong and an example of Monday morning quarterbacking that reeks of virtue signaling.

[@Jimi_Lee]

To inter Japanese.

[@SoloPilot6]

Actually, the vast majority of the internees were American-born citizens. Most of the others were their aging parents. Contrast that to the millions of military-age men that the Biden Administration has released into the US.