POLITICS AND THE LAW

LEARNING TARGET: How far can the federal government go, in the interest of national security, to infringe individual liberties in the interest of national security?

On May 19, 1942, during World War II, Japanese Americans were compelled to move into relocation camps by Civilian Restrictive Order No. 1, 8 Fed. Reg. 982. This order, and other similar orders, were based upon Executive Order 9066 (February 19, 1942).

Fred Korematsu was a Japanese-American man who decided to stay in San Leandro, California and knowingly violate Civilian Exclusion Order No. 34 of the U.S. Army. Fred Korematsu argued that the Executive Order 9066 was unconstitutional and that it violated the Fourteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution. He was arrested and convicted. No question was raised as to Korematsu's loyalty to the United States. The Circuit Court of Appeals affirmed the conviction, and the Supreme Court granted certiorari.

* AUTHORITY FOR THE EXECUTIVE ORDER -- Article II, section 2