how did u.s. attorney general francis biddle feel about the internment camps?

by Anastacio Cassin 8 min read

What did Francis Biddle do in WW2?

Nov 11, 2015 · For Francis Biddle, it was that moment early in World War II when, as attorney general of the United States, he went along with higher-ups’ decision to intern 120,000 Japanese, many of them U.S. citizens. In previous meetings with officials, Biddle had steadfastly opposed the idea as “ill-advised, unnecessary and unnecessarily cruel.”

Why did the US send Japanese to internment camps?

This seems to indicate that the lands were used, but the Japanese in the camps did not profit. 33. U. S. Attorney General Francis Biddle was determined to avoid mass internment. In a radio broadcast Biddle pointed out that internment would be a …

How was sending people to internment camps fair?

Upon hearing this, Secretary of War Henry L. Stimson wrote to Attorney General Francis Biddle on January 25, 1942 and stated, "General DeWitt’s apprehensions have been confirmed by recent visits of military observers from the War Department to the Pacific coast.

Did the War Department induce the Department of Justice to take action?

U.S. Attorney General Francis Biddle warned President Roosevelt that the forced removal of American citizens was unconstitutional. Although the U.S. was also at war with Germany and Italy, there was no mass detention of German-Americans or Italian-Americans.

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Jul 15, 2020 · Wartime attorney general, Nuremburg Trials judge, and writer. Francis Biddle's (1886-1968) Justice Department initially opposed the mass removal of Japanese Americans from the West Coast states, but external pressures and internal politics led to a conflict with the Western Defense Command and the War Department over the issue. Eventually Biddle …

What did Francis Biddle do?

Francis Beverley Biddle (May 9, 1886 – October 4, 1968) was an American lawyer and judge who was the US Attorney General during World War II. He also served as the primary American judge during the postwar Nuremberg Trials as well as a United States Circuit Judge of the Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit.

How did the Supreme Court react to the Japanese internment camps?

The prison camps ended in 1945 following the Supreme Court decision, Ex parte Mitsuye Endo. In this case, justices ruled unanimously that the War Relocation Authority “has no authority to subject citizens who are concededly loyal to its leave procedure.”Oct 29, 2021

Who freed the Japanese from internment camps?

This order stayed in place until President Harry S. Truman signed Executive Order 9742 on June 25, 1946. EO 9742 ordered the liquidation of the War Relocation Authority and allowed Japanese-Americans to return to their homes.

Why did Fred Korematsu argued internment unconstitutional?

Korematsu argued that Executive Order 9066 was unconstitutional and that it violated the Fifth Amendment to the United States Constitution. The Fifth Amendment was selected over the Fourteenth Amendment due to the lack of federal protections in the Fourteenth Amendment. He was arrested and convicted.

What was it like in the Japanese internment camps?

Internees lived in uninsulated barracks furnished only with cots and coal-burning stoves. Residents used common bathroom and laundry facilities, but hot water was usually limited. The camps were surrounded by barbed-wire fences patrolled by armed guards who had instructions to shoot anyone who tried to leave.

Why did the US government think internment camps were necessary during World War II?

To protect national security was the main reason the US government think internment camps were necessary during World War II. When Japan initiated a war at Pearl Harbor, the US was forced into the war of World War II.Feb 10, 2020

Why were thousands of US citizens put in internment camps during the war?

Many Americans worried that citizens of Japanese ancestry would act as spies or saboteurs for the Japanese government. Fear — not evidence — drove the U.S. to place over 127,000 Japanese-Americans in concentration camps for the duration of WWII. Over 127,000 United States citizens were imprisoned during World War II.

How did the US treat Japanese POWS in ww2?

The treatment of American and allied prisoners by the Japanese is one of the abiding horrors of World War II. Prisoners were routinely beaten, starved and abused and forced to work in mines and war-related factories in clear violation of the Geneva Conventions.Sep 12, 2014

What two arguments did korematsu present against internment?

Terms in this set (19) Which two arguments did Fred Korematsu present against internment? He did not receive due process under the law. He was discriminated against for racial reasons.

Were Japanese killed in internment camps?

Some Japanese Americans died in the camps due to inadequate medical care and the emotional stresses they encountered. Several were killed by military guards posted for allegedly resisting orders.

Did Korematsu win his case?

On November 10, 1983, a federal judge overturned Korematsu's conviction in the same San Francisco courthouse where he had been convicted as a young man. The district court ruling cleared Korematsu's name, but the Supreme Court decision still stands.

Why were Japanese Americans banished to internment camps Why is this one of the greatest civil rights violations in American history?

Why is this one of the greatest civil rights violations in American history? Japanese-Americans were interned because America feared for it's "safety." They thought many of the Japanese were spies for the war. And German-Americans and Italian-Americans interned.

Before the War

Francis Biddle was born on May 9, 1886, the third of four sons of Algernon Sydney Biddle, a law professor at the University of Pennsylvania and Francis Robinson Biddle while the family was in Paris due to his father's poor health. After his father died in 1892, the family lived in Switzerland for two years before returning to the U.S.

Wartime Attorney General and the Road to Executive Order 9066

Soon after taking office, Biddle found himself dealing with enemy alien related issues. The Justice Department had already built a series of internment camps for enemy aliens and held some 2,000 German and Italian nationals in custody. Biddle also testified in favor of H.R.

After EO 9066 and Subsequent Career

Biddle remained as attorney general until the death of FDR in 1945.

What did Biddle do in the 1930s?

In the 1930s, Biddle was appointed to a number of important governmental roles. In 1934 President Franklin D. Roosevelt nominated him to become Chairman of the National Labor Relations Board. On February 9, 1939, Roosevelt nominated Biddle to the United States Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit, to a seat vacated by Joseph Buffington. The United States Senate confirmed Biddle on February 28, 1939, and he received his commission on March 4, 1939. He served only one year in the role before resigning on January 22, 1940, to become the United States Solicitor General. This also turned out to be a short-lived position when Roosevelt nominated him to the position of Attorney General of the United States in 1941. During this time he also served as chief counsel to the Special Congressional Committee to Investigate the Tennessee Valley Authority, from 1938 to 1939, and as director of Immigration and Naturalization Service at the United States Department of Justice in 1940.

Where was Biddle born?

Biddle was born in Paris, France while his family was living abroad. He was one of four sons of Frances Brown (née Robinson) and Algernon Sydney Biddle, a law professor at the University of Pennsylvania Law School of the Biddle family. He was also a great-great-grandson of Edmund Randolph (1753–1813) the seventh Governor of Virginia, ...

Who was the first US attorney to serve as a private secretary?

Biddle first worked as a private secretary (i.e. a law clerk) to Supreme Court Justice Oliver Wendell Holmes Jr. from 1911 to 1912. He spent the next 27 years by practicing law in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. In 1912, he supported the presidential candidacy of former US President Theodore Roosevelt 's renegade Bull Moose Party. Biddle served briefly during World War I era as a private in the US Army from October 23 to November 30, 1918 and as special assistant to the US Attorney for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania from 1922 to 1926.

Who played Biddle in Nuremberg?

Biddle was portrayed by Len Cariou in the 2000 miniseries Nuremberg. Biddle was also the subject of the 2004 play Trying by Joanna McClelland Glass, who had served as Biddle's personal secretary from 1967 to 1968.

Who was the 7th governor of Virginia?

He was also a great-great-grandson of Edmund Randolph (1753–1813) the seventh Governor of Virginia, the second United States Secretary of State, and the first United States Attorney General, and a half second cousin four times removed of the 4th President of the United States James Madison.

Where is the Roosevelt Presidential Library?

The website of the Roosevelt presidential library, in Hyde Park, N.Y., calls the decision “a blemish on Roosevelt’s wartime record,” and curriculum materials designed for schools by the museum characterize it as “a great injustice.”.

What is the day of judgment?

In the Mishna, the holiday is also referred to as “the day of judgment.”. The world, the rabbis tell us, is assessed four times a year: on Passover, God passes judgment on the earth’s fertility for the coming year; on Shavuot, he judges the fruit of the trees, and on Sukkot, the rain. But on Rosh Hashanah, it’s man’s turn to stand trial.

Where is the Dachau concentration camp?

The Star Trek alumnus has visited the site of the Dachau concentration camp, in Germany. The all-Japanese 522nd Field Artillery Battalion was one of the U.S. army units that liberated Hurlach, a slave labor site that was a sub-camp of Dachau.

Who was Fred Korematsu?

Fred Korematsu, a resident of San Leandro, on the San Francisco Bay, resisted deportation and was arrested, setting in motion a legal struggle that went all the way to the Supreme Court. In 1944, the court ruled, 6-3, in favor of the government’s action. That ruling has quietly remained on the books all these years.

Is Rosh Hashanah a Jewish holiday?

Since the holiday is commonly called the “Jewish New Year,” one would think Rosh Hashanah would mark the first day of the first month of the Hebrew calendar. It doesn’t: Tishrei, on the first day of which we celebrate this major holiday, is the calendar’s seventh month.

What do Jews do on Rosh Hashanah?

On the afternoon of the first day of Rosh Hashanah, Jews congregate by bodies of flowing water—usually rivers, seas, or, when necessary, faucets—toss in bits of bread and recite portions of Micah, and thereafter emerge cleansed and ready to repent.

Who is Rafael Medoff?

Rafael Medoff is director of The David S. Wyman Institute for Holocaust Studies, in Washington, D.C. His latest book is FDR and the Holocaust: A Breach of Faith.

Overview

Francis Beverley Biddle (May 9, 1886 – October 4, 1968) was an American lawyer and judge who was the US Attorney General during World War II. He also served as the primary American judge during the postwar Nuremberg Trials as well as a United States Circuit Judge of the Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit.

Early life and education

Biddle was born in Paris, France while his family was living abroad. He was one of four sons of Frances Brown (née Robinson) and Algernon Sydney Biddle, a law professor at the University of Pennsylvania Law School of the Biddle family. He was also a great-great-grandson of Edmund Randolph (1753–1813) the seventh Governor of Virginia, the second United States Secretary of State, and the first United States Attorney General, and a half second cousin four times remove…

Early career

Biddle first worked as a private secretary (i.e. a law clerk) to Supreme Court Justice Oliver Wendell Holmes Jr. from 1911 to 1912. He spent the next 27 years by practicing law in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. In 1912, he supported the presidential candidacy of former US President Theodore Roosevelt's renegade Bull Moose Party. Biddle served briefly during World War I era as a private in the US Army from October 23 to November 30, 1918 and as special assistant to the US Attorneyfo…

Roosevelt administration

In the 1930s, Biddle was appointed to a number of important governmental roles. In 1934 President Franklin D. Roosevelt nominated him to become Chairman of the National Labor Relations Board. On February 9, 1939, Roosevelt nominated Biddle to the United States Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit, to a seat vacated by Joseph Buffington. The United States Senateconfirmed Biddle on February 28, 1939, and he received his commission on March 4, 1939. He s…

Truman administration

At US President Harry S. Truman's request, he resigned after Roosevelt's death. Shortly afterward, Truman appointed Biddle as a judge at the Nuremberg Trials. Tom C. Clark, Biddle's successor, told the story that Biddle was the first government official whose resignation Truman sought and that it was quite a difficult task. Biddle was amused by Truman's stammering, but after it was ov…

Personal life

On April 27, 1918, Biddle was married to the poet Katherine Garrison Chapin. They had two sons:
• Edmund Randolph Biddle (1920–2000), who married Frances M. Disner
• Garrison Chapin Biddle (1923–1930)
Biddle died on October 4, 1968, of a heart attack at his summer home in Wellfleet, Massachusetts, …

Writing

Biddle's writing skills had long been in evidence prior to the release of his memoirs. In 1927, he wrote a novel about Philadelphia society, The Llanfear Pattern. In 1942, he wrote of his close association with Oliver Wendell Holmes 30 years earlier with a biography of the jurist, Mr. Justice Holmes, which was adapted into a 1946 Broadway play and a 1950 film entitled The Magnificent Yankee. Democratic Thinking and the War was published in 1944. His 1949 book, The World's B…

In popular culture

Biddle was portrayed by Len Cariou in the 2000 miniseries Nuremberg. Biddle was also the subject of the 2004 play Trying by Joanna McClelland Glass, who had served as Biddle's personal secretary from 1967 to 1968.