American-Japanese Confrontation During The World War 2 and Post-War Reconstruction

Japanese-American Internment

During World War II, following Pearl Harbor, many journalists and government authorities feared Japanese-Americans. They believed that people of Japanese descent had a plan to invade the west coast, specifically California. As journalists continued to spread rumors of the invasion to the public, the public became so fearful that the FBI investigators began looking into the situation. The FBI did not find any evidence of suspicious activity, but President Roosevelt took the public’s side and ordered a relocation of all Japanese-Americans in 1942. In this relocation, Japanese-Americans were interred in isolated camps without charge or trial. A Japanese-American, Fred Korematsu, altered his face and took on a new identity to avoid being imprisoned. Fred was discovered and although the Supreme Court ruled the confinement to be illegal, no evacuation was enforced. An evacuation was ordered January of 1947 thanks to the Western Defense Command. This event is considered to be one of the most unjust events in history and a violation of American Civil Rights.

Pearl Harbor

Japan had attempted to resolve many issues, including economic and demographic issues, by taking over China’s import market. Japan moved south and attempted to capture oil fields in the Dutch East Indies and then China. However, the Philippines, a US territory, was on their route of attack and Japan had plans to declare war on the US. The US tried to negotiate with Japan but neither side was meeting in the middle. The US expected an attack, but they expected it to happen in Europe. Pearl Harbor, a naval base in Hawaii, was the last place the US expected to be targeted and it was the least defended. The Japanese saw it as an easy target and attacked Pearl Harbor on December 7th. 181 planes bombed, 3 torpedoes struck battleship Oklahoma which contained 400 crew members, and another bomb exploded battleship USS Arizona with more than 1,000 men inside. 5 days following the event, Germany and Japan declared war on the United States. The attack on Pearl Harbor is the event that pushed the United States into world War II December of 1941.

The Truman Doctrine

As the USSR was increasing in power and spreading communism, the US felt they had to step in and prevent communism from spreading. Winston Churchill coined the term the “Iron Curtain”, which referred to eight communist states that were divided from the rest of Europe by a barrier. The states were said to be behind the Iron Curtain. The Truman Doctrine was President Harry S. Truman’s attempt to support other countries who were struggling to resist and oppose communism. The Doctrine was a speech made by Truman to Congress in 1947, where congress voted to send help to Greece and Turkey, which were the Soviet’s targets at that point in time. The Doctrine specifically stated that the US must “support free peoples who are resisting attempted subjugation by armed minorities or outside pressures”. An important part of the Truman Doctrine was “Containment”, which was to be used during the Cold War and stop the spread of communism. The Truman Doctrine led to the Marshall Plan.

Marshall Plan

The Marshall Plan, also known as the European Recovery Plan, was proposed by President Truman’s Secretary of State, General George C. Marshall. The goal was to address important issues such as hunger and poverty as well as encourage a world where free institutions can exist. The Soviet rejected the plan, but 16 other nations supported it. $13 billion was financed by the US and assisted Western Europe’s reconstruction following World War II. Reconstruction included agricultural output, industrial output, and an increase in exports. In addition to the economic aid, the Marshall Plan was also set up to help stop the spreading of communism in Europe. The Plan was also key in the formation of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization, an alliance between North American and European countries.

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