A Study Of The American Civil Liberties Union’s Disagreements About Internment Of Japanese American(1942-1946)

The game between national security and civil liberties runs through the historical development of the United States.In 1941,Japan attacked the US military base in Pearl Harbor,and the relationship between US and Japan took a sharp turn.In the following year,President Franklin Roosevelt issued Executive Order No.9066 to expel and detain Japanese citizens.This serious violation of civil rights has attracted the attention of the American Civil Liberties Union(ACLU).However,the internal members of the ACLU,which is committed to defending civil rights,have great differences in dealing with the Japanese internment.The headquarters of ACLU in New York and ACLU of Northern California in San Francisco have different views on wartime policies,and they have been at loggerheads over the Japanese internment.In contrast,the headquarters cautiously supported the authorities’ detention plan,while the ACLU of Northern California strongly opposed the government’s infringement.Their differences in wartime detention policies led to constant friction,and their actions were different on issues such as the Fred Toyosaburo Korematsu case,the release of the isolated people in Tule Lake,and the restoration of the citizenship of those who had left American citizenship.The headquarters tried to limit the participation of the ACLU of Northern California,and even threatened to expel it from the union;The ACLU of Northern California is fearless of power and does its best to help Japanese citizens restore their freedom and rights.The conservative attitude towards the internment of Japanese in the headquarters is not only due to the consideration of national security,but also constrained by the diversity of its members and the complicated relationship with the government.The ACLU of Northern California as experienced the internment of Japanese,and has a deeper understanding of the government’s behavior of destroying civil liberties.Its relative independence and distrust of the government are the important reasons why it dares to confront the headquarters.The conflict between the two sides not only seriously affected the restoration of Japanese citizens’ rights,but also caused internal unrest in the organization.The essence of the struggle between the headquarters of ACLU and the ACLU of Northern California is the question of which is more important,national security or civil liberties.