In 1942, the United States incarcerated approximately 120,000 people of Japanese ancestry, nearly two-thirds of whom were American citizens. Was this policy simply a consequence of war, or did it also reflect deeper forces of racial prejudice, political pressure, and expanding state power? Revisiting this history is not only about understanding World War II, but also about examining how democracies confront the tension between liberty, security, and citizenship during times of crisis.
