Japanese American Internment and Korematsu v. United States Vocabulary

Vocabulary terms, key historical figures, legal cases, and executive actions related to the internment of Japanese Americans during World War II.

Alien Land Law

Discriminatory legislation originally passed in California and adopted across the West Coast that prevented immigrants ineligible for citizenship from purchasing, renting, or sharecropping land.

Henry Stimson

The Secretary of War during World War II who argued alongside the West Coast congressional delegation for the evacuation and removal of Japanese Americans.

Earl Warren

A prominent civil libertarian at the time who advocated for the evacuation of Japanese Americans from the West Coast, an action he later called the greatest mistake he ever made.

Francis Biddle

The US Attorney General who actively opposed the evacuation of Japanese Americans, insisting that the Justice Department would have nothing to do with it.

Executive Order 9066

An order signed by President Franklin D. Roosevelt on February 19, 1942, that granted the Secretary of War and military commanders authority to establish military zones and remove people without hearings or due process.

Public Law 503

Legislation passed by Congress to enforce Executive Order 9066, granting the military authority to impose restrictions on anyone deemed a threat.

Assembly Centers

Temporary processing sites, often set up in fairgrounds or horse racing tracks, where Japanese American evacuees were initially detained before being moved to permanent internment camps.

Norman Mineta

A Japanese American interned as a child who went on to become a US Congressman, the first Asian American cabinet secretary, and the sponsor of the Civil Liberties Act of 1988.

Tule Lake

One of the largest Japanese American internment camps, which specifically housed individuals whose loyalty the government questioned.

War Relocation Authority (WRA)

The government agency responsible for managing the internment camps, which they officially designated as relocation centers.

Fred Korematsu

A 22-year-old Japanese American who defied the military evacuation order to stay with his girlfriend, leading to his arrest and a major legal challenge before the Supreme Court.

Charles Fahy

The Solicitor General of the United States who argued during Korematsu v. United States that the commander in chief could discriminate based on race for national security during war.

Justice Hugo Black

The Supreme Court Justice who wrote the 6 to 3 majority decision upholding Executive Order 9066, citing deference to military necessity during wartime.

Justice Frank Murphy

The Supreme Court Justice whose dissenting opinion in the Korematsu case marked the first time the word racism was used in a Supreme Court opinion.

Justice Robert Jackson

A dissenting Supreme Court Justice who criticized the majority ruling in Korematsu, warning that it created a precedent standing like a loaded weapon for future abuse.

Coram Nobis

A rare legal procedure utilized by Fred Korematsu's legal team to challenge and successfully vacate his conviction on the grounds that government lawyers hid evidence.

Peter Irons

A legal historian who uncovered suppressed government documents demonstrating that evidence had been concealed from the Supreme Court during the Korematsu proceedings.

Civil Liberties Act of 1988

Federal legislation signed by President Ronald Reagan that formally apologized for the internment of Japanese Americans and provided $20,000 in restitution to each surviving internee.

Presidential Medal of Freedom

The highest civilian honor in the United States, awarded to Fred Korematsu by President Bill Clinton in 1998.