Fred Korematsu

Fred Korematsu was a welder who lost his job after the attack on Pearl Harbor when the Boilermakers Union expelled all Japanese American members. Korematsu decided to resist the mass removal orders, and planned to leave the state. On May 30, 1942, Korematsu was arrested for violating the exclusion order after failing to report to Tanforan Assembly Center. When Korematsu was contacted by an ACLU lawyer looking for a test case, he decided to fight the evacuation order. Korematsu lost his Supreme Court case in 1944. In the early 1980s, his case was reopened after the discovery of a crucial document indicating that in the original 1944 case, the federal government had lied to the high court. The conviction was vacated by U.S. District Judge Marilyn Hall Patel in 1983.

World War II (231)
Resistance and dissidence (84)
Supreme Court cases (16)
Fred Korematsu (77)

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77 items

doc Court's Jurisdiction In Jap Exclusion Case O.K.'d (June 1, 1943) (ddr-densho-56-923)

The Seattle Daily Times, June 1, 1943, p. 9

https://ddr.densho.org/ddr-densho-56-923/

doc Evacuation of Japs Upheld by Court (December 3, 1943) (ddr-densho-56-991)

The Seattle Daily Times, December 3, 1943, p. 5

https://ddr.densho.org/ddr-densho-56-991/

doc Memo to Herbert Wechsler from J.L. Burling (ddr-densho-67-104)

Memo to Herbert Wechsler from J.L. Burling protesting the way the War Department portrayed DeWitt's Final Report in the Korematsu brief. The Justice Department thinks a clear stance on the falsity of the report should be made. Burling suggests that the War Department purposely went against the Justice Department concerning the report.

https://ddr.densho.org/ddr-densho-67-104/

doc Memo from John Burling to Philip Glick (ddr-densho-67-116)

Memo from John Burling to Philip Glick on a WRA memo called "validity of detention." Burling critiques the WRA memo -- written in connection to the Korematsu brief -- because of its reliance on DeWitt's Final Report. States that it is also based on heresay and rumors that were never proved to be true, such as …

https://ddr.densho.org/ddr-densho-67-116/

doc Memo regarding the Korematsu brief (ddr-densho-67-105)

Memo to Cooley from J.L. Burling on the Korematsu brief. Burling wants to insert a paragraph into the brief showing that Japanese internment was for the protection of Japanese people.

https://ddr.densho.org/ddr-densho-67-105/

doc Excerpt from the Korematsu brief (ddr-densho-67-107)

Excerpt from the Korematsu brief defending evacuation on the premise that racial discrimination was not used. Blames Japanese for being unassimilated and too connected to Japan. Compares Japanese with Germans and Italians and discusses why the government did not evacuate them. Justifies internment because Japanese were able to leave camps for work.

https://ddr.densho.org/ddr-densho-67-107/

doc Jap Internment By Army Upheld (September 2, 1942) (ddr-densho-56-841)

The Seattle Daily Times, September 2, 1942, p. 9

https://ddr.densho.org/ddr-densho-56-841/

doc Loyal Nisei Can't Be Held In Camps, High Court Rules. Army Ouster of Japanse Held Valid (December 18, 1944) (ddr-densho-56-1081)

The Seattle Daily Times, December 18, 1944, pp. 1, 3

https://ddr.densho.org/ddr-densho-56-1081/

doc Jap Appeal Hits Army's Powers Of Internment (December 10, 1942) (ddr-densho-56-869)

The Seattle Daily Times, December 10, 1942, p. 8

https://ddr.densho.org/ddr-densho-56-869/

doc High Court Bars Nisei Rehearing (February 12, 1945) (ddr-densho-56-1103)

The Seattle Daily Times, February 12, 1945, p. 4

https://ddr.densho.org/ddr-densho-56-1103/

doc Rights of Jap Citizen to Be Tested in Court (June 5, 1942) (ddr-densho-56-813)

The Seattle Daily Times, June 5, 1942, p. 16

https://ddr.densho.org/ddr-densho-56-813/

doc Pacific Citizen, Vol. 67, No. 25 (December 20-27, 1968) (ddr-pc-40-51)

Selected article titles: "In Honor of Pioneers from Japan to America" (p. 1), "The Sorry Memory: More Are Questioning the Constitutionality of Korematsu Case -- Low Point in U.S. History for Japanese Americans" (p. 2), "Political Behavior of Issei and Nisei" (p. 2), "How Japanese Are the Japanese Americans?" (p. 21), "Hayakawa 'hottest' Issue in S.F. …

https://ddr.densho.org/ddr-pc-40-51/

doc Pacific Citizen, Vol. 94, No. 23 (June 11, 1982) (ddr-pc-54-23)

Selected article titles: "Interned JAs 'Must Be Compensated': Goldberg" (p. 1), "Former Government Attorney Urges Reopening of Korematsu" (pp. 1, 10), "Speaking Out: Some Thoughts on Redress" (p. 2), and "Helping Young People to Relate to Evacuation on Personal Level" (p. 9).

https://ddr.densho.org/ddr-pc-54-23/

doc Pacific Citizen, Vol. 94, No. 6 (February 12, 1982) (ddr-pc-54-6)

Selected article titles: "Immigration Raids Alarm Little Tokyo" (pp. 1, 12), "FDR 'Tapes' Tell More Than a Few Racial Slurs" (pp. 1, 7), "60th Anniversary Installation: Why the JACL Endures" (p. 7), and "The Major Supreme Court Error of WW2: Evacuation Cases" (p. 9).

https://ddr.densho.org/ddr-pc-54-6/

doc Pacific Citizen, Vol. 123, No. 4 (August 16-September 5, 1996) (ddr-pc-68-16)

Selected article titles: "JACL National Convention, San Jose, Aug. 6-11, 1996: All Aboard" (p. 1), "English-Only Bill Passes House" (pp. 1-2), "Severity of Anti-Asian Violence Is Increasing, Report Says" (p. 4), and "Michigan to Recall Murphy Dissent Against Internment" (pp. 6, 9).

https://ddr.densho.org/ddr-pc-68-16/

doc Amicus brief filed in the Korematsu case (ddr-densho-35-428)

Amicus Curiae brief filed on behalf of the states of California, Oregon and Washington in the Supreme Court case Korematsu v. United States of America.

https://ddr.densho.org/ddr-densho-35-428/