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Throughline · February 19, 2022 · 52m
American Shame: Japanese Internment
Throughline
The internment of 120,000 Japanese Americans during WWII — how wartime fear, racial prejudice, and economic opportunism combined to produce one of America's worst civil liberties violations.
This summary was generated from show notes and public descriptions, not from a full transcript review. Details may contain inaccuracies.
Highlights
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Internment was driven by economic opportunism as much as wartime fear — white farmers wanted Japanese American land
The hosts reveal that Japanese American internment was supported by white agricultural interests who coveted Japanese-owned farms. The economic motive was dressed in patriotic language.•
The Supreme Court validated internment — courts don't protect minority rights during moments of genuine fear
In Korematsu v. United States (1944), the Supreme Court upheld internment as constitutional. The hosts argue that courts consistently fail to protect civil liberties during precisely the moments when protection is most needed.Was this useful?