What causes did the 1982 presidential commission identify for Japanese American internment?

Created from Britannica articles using AI. AI can make mistakes, so verify using Britannica articles.

A presidential commission in 1982 identified race prejudice, war hysteria, and a failure of political leadership as the underlying causes for the U.S. government's internment program targeting Japanese Americans during World War II. Despite a lack of evidence, the U.S. War Department suspected that Japanese Americans might act as espionage agents for Japan following the attack on Pearl Harbor. This fear, coupled with existing racist views, led President Franklin D. Roosevelt to sign Executive Order 9066, authorizing the exclusion of individuals from designated military areas and initiating the forced relocation of Japanese Americans to detention camps. The Supreme Court upheld the constitutionality of these measures in cases like Korematsu v. United States, prioritizing national security over civil liberties.1234567