Pacific War As A Race War
The Pacific theater of World War II was one unique and interesting progression and a stark contrast from the events taking place in the European theater of war. The war in the Pacific did not start out as a race war at all nor did its continuation necessarily qualify it as a race war. The United States went to war against Japan in an act of self-preservation and not on racist ideology. On the defeated side, the war from the Japanese perspective was viewed as a race war and the country’s racism was of extreme prominence in its war effort and was largely influenced on racial theory. The war itself was not racist however it was the means and the way in which the war continued was based on race. Its inception on the Japanese side was largely racist and it was the racist tendencies in the majority of the American public and the overwhelming majority in the Japanese public that led to the war in the Pacific to evolve into a race war. The psychological aspect was an even larger component in the minds of the people of Japan and the United States. It created a schema in the minds of the public that distorted their perceptions and fueled a war based on racism and hatred thus supporting the various leaders who were blatantly racist i
n their remarks. The overall racist tendencies that manifested themselves during the course of the war were triggered by having an enemy that was largely of a different race compared with the majority of the population of the United States being of European descent. It provided an easy enemy and target for racism by propaganda. It further enraged the racism that already existed within the United States to another level. It became a major component on both sides where race influenced the way the war was handled in multiple dimensions. The many war tactics used were often based on racism. Various stereotypes were used on both sides in determining strategy. Before Pearl Harbor, Japan’s military potential was often underrated. After stunning the Americans and British with a series of victories after Pearl Harbor, the image switched to an enemy that was quite a formidable opponent. Underestimation of Japanese troops was a major factor in the sinking of the great ships, the Repulse and the Prince of Wales. Military commentator Fletcher Pratt describe the Japanese as having “defects of the tubes of the inner ear . . . are generally myopic.” One of the more famous examples of racism was the internment of Japanese Americans. It occurred mostly on the basis of speculation amongst high-ranking officials. The Japanese-Americans were euphemistically called "evacuees," but in reality they were prisoners in relocation camps. Over 110,000 persons of Japanese descent were forced to relocate to 10 camps. The United States did not maintain a perfect reputation during World War II is apparent when looking at the concentration camps in America. President Franklin D. Roosevelt signed Executive Order 9066 citing that the relocation of Japanese-Americans was to protect against espionage and sabotage. However, many government officials had different reasons, such as General DeWitt who made the famous comment, “A Jap is a Jap.” Even larger look at the war in the Pacific shows that the war was started mostly due to the racism of the Japanese. This statement however was never upheld and wartime sensat
Some topics in this essay:
War II,
Restoration Japanese,
President Roosevelt’s,
Japan United,
Uncle Sam,
Hunting License”,
Japanese Americans,
United European,
John DeWitt,
Iwo Jima,
war pacific,
race war,
world war,
war ii,
world war ii,
blatantly racist remarks,
internment japanese,
various stereotypes,
racial theory,
pearl harbor,
course war,
racist tendencies,
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Approximate Word count = 1432
Approximate Pages = 6 (250 words per page double spaced)
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