1. Korematsu Case Background: Question before court: Arguments: Decision:
Impact:

2. Korematsu v. United States
Background
Fearful of West Coast security
FDR issues Executive Order #9066 – military zones
Anyone of Japanese ancestry removed to camps
Korematsu does not report
Arguments:
Korematsu: 4th,5th,8th and 13th amend. rights violated
Gov: Necessary to prevent spying, sabotage and protect citizens

3. Question before the Court?
Did the President and Congress go beyond their war powers by implementing exclusion and restricting the rights of Americans of Japanese descent?

4. Korematsu v. US Decision: Impact Against Korematsu
His rights not violated
Military can do what is necessary in the interest of national security
The Court sided with the government and held that the need to protect against espionage outweighed Korematsu's rights. Justice Black argued that compulsory exclusion, though constitutionally suspect, is justified during circumstances of "emergency and peril."
Impact
112,000 Japanese Americans held in camps till the war was over
1946 Executive Order was lifted by Truman
1980’s Congress authorizes payment of damages to those interred