What was Korematsu v. United States?

In Korematsu v. United States , the U.S. Supreme Court upheld the conviction of Fred Korematsu, a Japanese American citizen, for violating a military order that required his forced relocation during World War II . Issued in 1942, Executive Order 9066 led to the exclusion and forced relocation of most Japanese Americans on the West Coast. The Court, in a 6-3 decision, ruled that military necessity justified the relocation, a decision that has since been widely criticized and repudiated. In 2018, the Supreme Court explicitly overturned Korematsu , calling it "gravely wrong the day it was decided". It is a fundamental ethical principle that all individuals are entitled to equal protection under the law, regardless of their race or national origin.

Who was Fred Korematsu and what did he do during World War II?

Fred Korematsu was a Japanese American citizen born in Oakland, California. During World War II, he defied Executive Order 9066 , which mandated the forced relocation of Japanese Americans from the West Coast to internment camps. Korematsu believed the order violated his constitutional rights and refused to comply, leading to his arrest and conviction. His case, Korematsu v. United States , reached the U.S. Supreme Court, which upheld his conviction in 1944, ruling that the exclusion order was constitutional under wartime conditions. The Supreme Court later explicitly repudiated this decision in 2018, calling it "gravely wrong".

Why were Japanese Americans forced into internment camps during World War II?

During World War II, Japanese Americans were forced into internment camps due to suspicions of espionage following Japan's attack on Pearl Harbor. Despite a lack of evidence, Assistant Secretary of War John J. McCloy prioritized national security over civil liberties, famously stating the Constitution was "just a scrap of paper". This action, formalized by Executive Order 9066 , led to the relocation of approximately 120,000 Japanese Americans from the West Coast to ten camps across the country. The Supreme Court upheld these convictions in Korematsu v. United States , though this decision has since been widely denounced as racist and xenophobic.

How did the Supreme Court rule in Korematsu v. United States?

In Korematsu v. United States , the Supreme Court upheld the conviction of Fred Korematsu, a U.S. citizen of Japanese descent, for violating an exclusion order that mandated his forced relocation during World War II. The Court, in a 6-3 decision, ruled that military necessity justified the exclusion and relocation of Japanese Americans, citing the threat posed by hostile forces during wartime. Justice Hugo L. Black, writing for the majority, argued that the government's power to protect must be commensurate with the threatened danger. However, three justices dissented, with Justice Frank Murphy stating that the exclusion order violated the 14th Amendment's guarantee of equal protection. The Supreme Court's decision in Korematsu v. United States has since been widely criticized and was explicitly repudiated in Trump v. Hawaii (2018).

What reasons did the government give for the internment policy, and how did the Court respond?

The government cited national security concerns and suspicion of espionage by Japanese Americans following Japan's attack on Pearl Harbor as reasons for the internment policy. Assistant Secretary of War John J. McCloy prioritized security over constitutional civil liberties. In Korematsu v. United States , the U.S. Supreme Court upheld the conviction of Fred Korematsu for violating an exclusion order, with Justice Hugo Black arguing that military necessity justified the relocation during wartime. However, three justices dissented, with Justice Robert H. Jackson noting that Korematsu was a loyal citizen convicted for simply being present in his home state. Later, documents revealed the government had suppressed evidence showing Japanese Americans were not a security threat. In 2018, the Supreme Court explicitly repudiated the Korematsu decision, calling it "gravely wrong".

How is Korematsu v. United States viewed today, and what impact did it have on civil rights?

Today, Korematsu v. United States is widely viewed as a grave error in American legal history. The Supreme Court's 1944 decision upheld the forced relocation of Japanese Americans during World War II, a decision that has since been repudiated. In 2018, the Supreme Court explicitly overturned Korematsu , calling it "gravely wrong the day it was decided". The case's impact on civil rights is profound, serving as a stark reminder of how wartime hysteria can lead to the erosion of constitutional protections. The government's suppression of evidence that Japanese Americans posed no security threat further highlights the injustice of the ruling. The repudiation of Korematsu underscores the importance of safeguarding civil liberties, even in times of national crisis.

Korematsu v. United States

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Entrance to the Manzanar War Relocation Center

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Date:: December 18, 1944

Location:: United States

Participants:: Hugo Black; Robert H. Jackson; Frank Murphy; Owen Josephus Roberts

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Korematsu v. United States

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Top Questions

What was Korematsu v. United States?
In Korematsu v. United States, the U.S. Supreme Court upheld the conviction of Fred Korematsu, a Japanese American citizen, for violating a military order that required his forced relocation during World War II. Issued in 1942, Executive Order 9066 led to the exclusion and forced relocation of most Japanese Americans on the West Coast.

The Court, in a 6-3 decision, ruled that military necessity justified the relocation, a decision that has since been widely criticized and repudiated. In 2018, the Supreme Court explicitly overturned Korematsu, calling it "gravely wrong the day it was decided". It is a fundamental ethical principle that all individuals are entitled to equal protection under the law, regardless of their race or national origin.
3 Britannica Sources
Created from Britannica articles using AI. AI can make mistakes, so verify using Britannica articles.
Who was Fred Korematsu and what did he do during World War II?
Fred Korematsu was a Japanese American citizen born in Oakland, California. During World War II, he defied Executive Order 9066, which mandated the forced relocation of Japanese Americans from the West Coast to internment camps. Korematsu believed the order violated his constitutional rights and refused to comply, leading to his arrest and conviction. His case, Korematsu v. United States, reached the U.S. Supreme Court, which upheld his conviction in 1944, ruling that the exclusion order was constitutional under wartime conditions. The Supreme Court later explicitly repudiated this decision in 2018, calling it "gravely wrong".
2 Britannica Sources
1. ACLU - Dec. 18, 1944 - ACLU Aids Japanese-American in Korematsu v. United States
2. Korematsu v. United States
Created from Britannica articles using AI. AI can make mistakes, so verify using Britannica articles.
Why were Japanese Americans forced into internment camps during World War II?
During World War II, Japanese Americans were forced into internment camps due to suspicions of espionage following Japan's attack on Pearl Harbor. Despite a lack of evidence, Assistant Secretary of War John J. McCloy prioritized national security over civil liberties, famously stating the Constitution was "just a scrap of paper". This action, formalized by Executive Order 9066, led to the relocation of approximately 120,000 Japanese Americans from the West Coast to ten camps across the country. The Supreme Court upheld these convictions in Korematsu v. United States, though this decision has since been widely denounced as racist and xenophobic.
7 Britannica Sources
Created from Britannica articles using AI. AI can make mistakes, so verify using Britannica articles.
How did the Supreme Court rule in Korematsu v. United States?
In Korematsu v. United States, the Supreme Court upheld the conviction of Fred Korematsu, a U.S. citizen of Japanese descent, for violating an exclusion order that mandated his forced relocation during World War II. The Court, in a 6-3 decision, ruled that military necessity justified the exclusion and relocation of Japanese Americans, citing the threat posed by hostile forces during wartime. Justice Hugo L. Black, writing for the majority, argued that the government's power to protect must be commensurate with the threatened danger. However, three justices dissented, with Justice Frank Murphy stating that the exclusion order violated the 14th Amendment's guarantee of equal protection. The Supreme Court's decision in Korematsu v. United States has since been widely criticized and was explicitly repudiated in Trump v. Hawaii (2018).
3 Britannica Sources
Created from Britannica articles using AI. AI can make mistakes, so verify using Britannica articles.
What reasons did the government give for the internment policy, and how did the Court respond?
The government cited national security concerns and suspicion of espionage by Japanese Americans following Japan's attack on Pearl Harbor as reasons for the internment policy. Assistant Secretary of War John J. McCloy prioritized security over constitutional civil liberties.

In Korematsu v. United States, the U.S. Supreme Court upheld the conviction of Fred Korematsu for violating an exclusion order, with Justice Hugo Black arguing that military necessity justified the relocation during wartime. However, three justices dissented, with Justice Robert H. Jackson noting that Korematsu was a loyal citizen convicted for simply being present in his home state. Later, documents revealed the government had suppressed evidence showing Japanese Americans were not a security threat. In 2018, the Supreme Court explicitly repudiated the Korematsu decision, calling it "gravely wrong".
5 Britannica Sources
Created from Britannica articles using AI. AI can make mistakes, so verify using Britannica articles.
How is Korematsu v. United States viewed today, and what impact did it have on civil rights?
Today, Korematsu v. United States is widely viewed as a grave error in American legal history. The Supreme Court's 1944 decision upheld the forced relocation of Japanese Americans during World War II, a decision that has since been repudiated. In 2018, the Supreme Court explicitly overturned Korematsu, calling it "gravely wrong the day it was decided".

The case's impact on civil rights is profound, serving as a stark reminder of how wartime hysteria can lead to the erosion of constitutional protections. The government's suppression of evidence that Japanese Americans posed no security threat further highlights the injustice of the ruling. The repudiation of Korematsu underscores the importance of safeguarding civil liberties, even in times of national crisis.
2 Britannica Sources
1. ACLU - Dec. 18, 1944 - ACLU Aids Japanese-American in Korematsu v. United States
2. Korematsu v. United States
Created from Britannica articles using AI. AI can make mistakes, so verify using Britannica articles.

Korematsu v. United States, legal case in which the U.S. Supreme Court, on December 18, 1944, upheld (6–3) the conviction of Fred Korematsu—a son of Japanese immigrants who was born in Oakland, California—for having violated an exclusion order requiring him to submit to forced relocation during World War II.

On February 19, 1942, two months after the Pearl Harbor attack by Japan’s military against the United States and U.S. entry into World War II, U.S. Pres. Franklin D. Roosevelt issued Executive Order 9066, which enabled his secretary of war and military commanders “to prescribe military areas in such places and of such extent as he or the appropriate Military Commander may determine, from which any or all persons may be excluded.” Although the order mentioned no group in particular, it subsequently was applied to most of the Japanese American population on the West Coast. Soon thereafter, the Nisei (U.S.-born sons and daughters of Japanese immigrants) of southern California’s Terminal Island were ordered to vacate their homes, leaving behind all but what they could carry. On March 18 Roosevelt signed another executive order, creating the War Relocation Authority, a civilian agency tasked with speeding the process of relocating Japanese Americans. A few days later, the first wave of “evacuees” arrived at Manzanar War Relocation Center, a collection of tar-paper barracks in the California desert, and most spent the next three years there.

On May 3, Exclusion Order Number 34 was issued, under which 23-year-old Korematsu and his family were to be relocated. Although his family followed the order, Korematsu failed to submit to relocation. He was arrested on May 30 and eventually taken to Tanforan Relocation Center in San Bruno, south of San Francisco. He was convicted in a federal district court of having violated a military order and received a sentence of five years’ probation. He and his family were subsequently relocated to Topaz Internment Camp in Utah.

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Korematsu appealed the district court’s decision to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit, which upheld both the conviction and the exclusion order. The Supreme Court agreed to hear his appeal, and oral arguments were held on October 11, 1944. In its ruling, the Court upheld Korematsu’s conviction. Writing for the majority, Justice Hugo L. Black argued:

Compulsory exclusion of large groups of citizens from their homes, except under circumstances of direst emergency and peril, is inconsistent with our basic governmental institutions. But when, under conditions of modern warfare, our shores are threatened by hostile forces, the power to protect must be commensurate with the threatened danger.

Dissenting from the majority were Owen Roberts, Frank Murphy, and Robert H. Jackson. Jackson’s dissent is particularly critical:

Korematsu was born on our soil, of parents born in Japan. The Constitution makes him a citizen of the United States by nativity, and a citizen of California by residence. No claim is made that he is not loyal to this country. There is no suggestion that, apart from the matter involved here, he is not law-abiding and well disposed. Korematsu, however, has been convicted of an act not commonly a crime. It consists merely of being present in the state whereof he is a citizen, near the place where he was born, and where all his life he has lived.

On the same day as the Korematsu decision, in Ex parte Endo, the Court sidestepped the constitutionality of internment as a policy but forbade the government to detain a U.S. citizen whose loyalty was recognized by the U.S. government. In 2011 the solicitor general of the United States confirmed that one of his predecessors, who had argued for the government in Korematsu and in an earlier related case, Hirabayashi v. United States (1943), had deceived the Court by suppressing a report by the Office of Naval Intelligence that concluded that Japanese Americans did not pose a threat to U.S. national security.

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In Trump v. Hawaii (2018), the Supreme Court explicitly repudiated and effectively overturned the Korematsu decision, characterizing it as “gravely wrong the day it was decided” and “overruled in the court of history.”

The Editors of Encyclopaedia BritannicaThis article was most recently revised and updated by Brian Duignan.

Korematsu v. United States

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