Education About Asia: Online Archives

The Question of Loyalty

Back to search results
Download PDF

During World War II, the loyalty of all people of Japanese ancestry in the United States was questioned, in contrast to people of German and Italian ancestry, who were treated as individuals. The United States was at war with Germany and Italy as well as Japan, yet German Americans and Italian Americans were not all suspected of disloyalty to the United States and incarcerated as a group, without trial, as were those of Japanese ancestry on the West coast.