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HIRABAYASHI AND KOREMATSU, THE JAPANESE-AMERICAN IMPRISONMENT CASES

ESSAY ASSIGNMENT

Follow the instructions on essay-writing in Instructions in Writing an Essay.

Justice Stone in Hirabayashi provides a number of reasons for the government to treat the situation on the Pacific Coast during 1942 as an emergency and to discriminate against Japanese-Americans on national security grounds with no other practical way to protect the US. (Remember that he generally rejects racial discrimination.) Justice Murphy in Korematsu rebuts a number of points made by Stone as to national security, the nature of the emergency, the nature of discrimination, and alternative ways to protect the US.

Pick two specific topics and analyze them in detail, both as to the facts used by the judges and as to the arguments they develop from the facts. Each topic should contain a point made by Stone supporting the government and a rebuttal made by Murphy on that same point.

You should focus on the opinions written by the judges. However, you may also use and refer to information found in the supporting reading in Wikipedia listed in Course Information, but NO OTHER information.

You will lose points if your description of the facts or of the argument is inaccurate. (Remember Racism in the English Language for its inaccuracies and wrong conclusions.) And consider whether there are alternative explanations for the positions that you describe. And pick strong arguments; evidence that is not very effective at supporting a position will earn less credit.

Essay must be 400-600 words.