World War II lasted from September 1, 1939,  to September 2, 1945. It was the most destructive war in history and lead to the death of millions. It is estimated that 45-60 million people were killed during the war. Among those killed were 6 million Jews who were murdered in the Nazi concentration camps as part of Hitler’s diabolical “Final Solution,” now known as the Holocaust. Additionally, over 110,000 Japanese Americans, including over 66,000 U.S. citizens, were forced into internment camps, and 1,862 Japanese Americans died as a result (History.com editors, 2021). This entry focuses on the exclusion and detention of Japanese Americans during World War II.

Japanese Americans were forced into concentration camps on February 19, 1942 when Roosevelt issued Executive Order 9066, which demanded the forced removal and incarceration of individuals of Japanese ancestry. Congress implemented Roosevelt’s action without a dissenting vote, in the name of military necessity, since most Americans agreed that it was a necessary implementation due to their reactions to the Pearl Harbor attacks. Canada soon followed suit, forcibly removing 21,000 of its residents of Japanese descent from its West Coast. Mexico enacted its own version, and eventually, 2,264 more people of Japanese descent were forcibly removed from Peru, Brazil, Chile, and Argentina to the United States. (History.com editors, 2021).

According to a journal published in Oxford Universtiy Press by Roger Daniels, “There was not one case of espionage or sabotage by a Japanese person in the United States during the entire war" (R. Daniels, 2002). One West Coast law enforcement officer, California Attorney General Earl Warren, admitted to a congressional committee on 21 February 1942 that there had been no such acts in California, but found that fact "most ominous." It convinced him that "we are just being lulled into a false sense of security and that the only reason we haven't had a disaster in California is because it is timed for a different date... Our day of reckoning is bound to come," he testified in arguing for incarceration. Of course, if there had been sabotage by Japanese Americans in California, Warren would have used that to argue for the same thing (R. Daniels, 2002). 

According to a pamphlet created in 1942 that voiced the objections to the exclusion and detention of Japanese Americans during World War II, “The Joint Immigration Committee, most active anti-Japanese group, is motivated by 'the determination of the Caucasian to keep their blood white,' and feels 'a grave mistake was the granting of citizenship to the Negroes after the Civil War.' Such discrimination against people because of their ancestry affects all Americans.” (Fellowship of Reconciliation, 1942). 

These discriminatory actions that most Americans and leaders enacted upon Japanese Americans is an example of toxic patriotism. This mindset is responsible for the death of millions throughout history. While this entry is focused on the treatment of Japanese Americans, this toxic mindset has been detrimental to marginalized communities throughout history. In present day, Trump supporters who stormed the Capitol have a similar mindset. This is made more evident when we recognize the flags that were displayed during the storm. Some of the flags displayed were Confederate flags, Three Percenter flags, and Proud Boy flags. Trump supporters who stormed the Capitol believed that their actions would, "Make America great again," but history tells us that America has only been great to rich, straight, white men. This leaves many questioning when America was ever great. This idea of masking discriminatory practices and beliefs with "patriotism" is a paragon of the toxic patriot mindset.

Works Cited:

Daniels, R. (2002). Incarcerating Japanese Americans. OAH Magazine of History, 16(3), 19–23. http://www.jstor.org/stable/25163521