Xenophobia has long been an aspect of the dominantly Anglo-Saxon population in America.

While Asian xenophobia had always existed, evidently in the earlier Chinese exclusion act and
the Immigration Act of 1924, which had completely stopped Japanese immigration to the U.S., it
had been heightened following the bombing of the U.S. naval base, Pearl Harbor in 1941. This
Japanese bombing meant trouble for Japanese Americans in the United States. Anglo-Saxons had
already been hesitant towards the Japanese Americans, even if they had been born and raised in
the U.S, making them a 1st class citizen; yet, these born Americans were still being treated as
less than what they were, and denied the rights and privileges that should've been afforded to
them for their status. Therefore, following this bombing, Executive Order 9066 was signed to
promote the "national security" of the nation against possible threats such as, but not limited to,
spies. This mirrors the Espionage Acts of WWI, which prevented the German Americans from
expressing their first-class rights as well. These internment camps, however, could be closely
similar to the concentration camps by the Nazis. Japanese Americans were forced into inhumane
conditions, often not being afforded basic human necessities. These camps were already a
violation of many constitutional rights, however it was this same constitution they were using to
violate them, therefore it raises the question as to whether this was primarily for national
security, or if it instead had xenophobic or racist intent. Additionally, war fronts were
progressively getting worse, namely in the Philippines with the Japanese Empire and the Bataan
Death March, which led to deaths of thousands of more soldiers, giving more fuel to the
xenophobia existing in the American population. Therefore when the Supreme Court case
Korematsu v United States ruled against the Japanese American Fred Korematsu for evading
incarceration, these principles were already in place to influence decisions. Chief Justice Hugo
Black, however, did not believe it had any intent other than to promote this security in the time
of war, stating that "Korematsu was not excluded from the Military Area because of hostility to
him or his race. He was excluded because we are at war with the Japanese Empire, because the . .
. military authorities feared an invasion of our West Coast and . . . because they decided that the
military urgency of the situation demanded that all citizens of Japanese ancestry be segregated
from the West Coast temporarily"(4).