Commission on Wartime Relocation and Internment of Civilians

Commission on Wartime Relocation and Internment of Civilians was a bipartisan body created by the United States Congress to review the facts and circumstances surrounding the wartime orders that led to the forced relocation and incarceration of Japanese Americans during World War II. Established in 1980, its mandate was to determine whether these actions were justified by military necessity and to recommend appropriate remedies. The commission's landmark 1983 report, Personal Justice Denied, concluded that the internment was a grave injustice fueled by racial prejudice and failed leadership. Its findings were instrumental in paving the way for the Civil Liberties Act of 1988, which provided a formal apology and reparations to survivors.

Background and establishment

The push for a formal review gained momentum in the 1970s, driven by the Japanese American Citizens League and activists within the Redress movement. Key figures like Norman Mineta and Spark Matsunaga, members of Congress who had been incarcerated as children, championed the cause. This effort culminated in the passage of Public Law 96-317, signed by President Jimmy Carter on July 31, 1980. The legislation was a direct response to growing public awareness and historical scholarship, such as the work of the Commission on Wartime Relocation and Internment of Civilians, that challenged the official narrative of military necessity surrounding the internment of Japanese Americans. The law specifically tasked the commission with examining the directives issued under Executive Order 9066 and their impact on citizens and permanent residents in the United States.

Membership and operations

The commission comprised nine members appointed by the President, the Speaker of the House, and the President pro tempore of the Senate. It was chaired by Joan Z. Bernstein, a former general counsel of the Department of Health, Education and Welfare. Other notable members included former Supreme Court Justice Arthur Goldberg and Edward Brooke, the former Senator from Massachusetts. Over twenty months, the commission held extensive hearings in ten cities, including Washington, D.C., Los Angeles, Seattle, and New York City, taking testimony from over 750 witnesses. It reviewed thousands of documents from the National Archives, the Department of War, and the Department of Justice, as well as personal accounts from former internees.

Findings and conclusions

In its 1983 report, titled Personal Justice Denied, the commission issued unequivocal findings. It concluded that the internment was not justified by military necessity, but was instead the result of "race prejudice, war hysteria, and a failure of political leadership." The commission meticulously documented that the decisions following the attack on Pearl Harbor were made without credible evidence of espionage or sabotage by the Japanese American community. It rejected the rationale of the Supreme Court decisions in Korematsu v. United States and Hirabayashi v. United States. The report also detailed the severe economic and psychological injuries suffered by the 120,000 individuals forcibly removed from their homes and confined in places like Manzanar and Tule Lake.

Recommendations and impact

The commission's primary recommendation was for a congressional apology and the payment of reparations to surviving internees. It proposed a tax-free payment of $20,000 to each individual who had been incarcerated. These recommendations formed the direct blueprint for the Civil Liberties Act of 1988, which was signed into law by President Ronald Reagan. The act also established a public education fund and mandated the creation of the Civil Liberties Public Education Fund. Furthermore, the commission's work spurred the Department of Justice to recommend vacating the wartime convictions of Fred Korematsu, Gordon Hirabayashi, and Mitsuye Endo, a process later completed by the federal courts.

Legacy and historical significance

The commission's work fundamentally altered the historical and legal understanding of the Japanese American internment in the United States. It provided the authoritative, government-sanctioned evidence that fueled a national reckoning and established a model for addressing historical injustices. The success of the redress movement influenced subsequent discussions around reparations for other groups, including discussions concerning African Americans and the legacy of slavery in the United States. The commission's records and the subsequent legislation stand as a critical chapter in the expansion of civil and political rights in America, emphasizing the dangers of suspending civil liberties during times of national crisis.

Category:United States government commissions Category:Japanese American internment Category:1980 in American law