Civil Liberties Act of 1988
The Civil Liberties Act of 1988 was a significant legislative measure in the United States that addressed the injustices faced by Japanese Americans and Aleuts during World War II. In the wake of the war, many Japanese Americans were forcibly interned in camps solely based on their ethnic heritage, leading to long-lasting social and economic impacts. The Act was a response to the growing Redress movement, which advocated for acknowledgment and compensation for these wartime injustices. Enacted on August 10, 1988, the law provided $20,000 in reparations to each interned Japanese American and their heirs, with a total compensation cap of $1.25 billion. Additionally, it allocated funds for Aleuts who were similarly affected, including payments for property damage and community support initiatives. Implementing the Act took time; funds were not appropriated until late 1989, and formal apologies began to be issued in 1990. The Act not only aimed to address financial losses but also sought to recognize and preserve the cultural heritage of the affected communities. Overall, the Civil Liberties Act of 1988 represents a critical moment in American history concerning the reconciliation of past injustices against marginalized groups.
Civil Liberties Act of 1988
During World War II, Japanese residents on the West Coast and Aleuts in Alaska were interned by the US military. In effect, American citizens—merely because they shared a national or ethnic heritage with the Japanese enemy—were imprisoned and forced to live under harsh conditions in isolated camps for the duration of the war. Although after the war the Evacuation Claims Act of 1948 provided some compensation, the amounts were not enough for those displaced to recover the resulting wartime losses. Pressure from the affected groups prompted Congress on August 10, 1988, to pass the Civil Liberties Act, which authorized the Attorney General of the United States to pay $20,000 in damages to each interned Japanese or his or her immediate family heirs, with a ceiling of $1.25 billion. The law also provided payments of $12,000 to each Aleut who was similarly relocated (up to a ceiling of $5 million); $1.4 million for wartime damage to Aleut church property; $15 million for the loss of Aleut lands that resulted from designating part of Attu Island as part of the National Wilderness Preservation System; and $5 million to aid elderly, disabled, and seriously ill Aleuts, to provide scholarships for Aleuts, to improve Aleut community centers, and to provide for Aleut cultural preservation. No funds were appropriated until November 21, 1989. The first letters of apology were sent out October 9, 1990. Recipients, in turn, gave up all claims for future recovery of damages.
Bibliography
Caudill, Steven B., and Franklin G. Mixon Jr. "Human Capital Investment and the Internment of Japanese Americans During WWII: A Public Choice Approach." International Journal of Applied Economics 9.1 (2012): 1–14. Print.
McClain, Charles. The Mass Internment of Japanese Americans and the Quest for Legal Redress. New York: Routledge, 2013. Print.
Nagata, Donna K., Jackie H. J. Kim, and Teresa U. Nguyen. "Processing Cultural Trauma: Intergenerational Effects of the Japanese American Incarceration." Journal of Social Issues 71.2 (2015): 356–70. Print.
Okihiro, Gary Y. Encyclopedia of Japanese American Internment. Santa Barbara: ABC-CLIO, 2013. Print.
Tunnell, Michael O., and George W. Chilcoat. The Children of Topaz: The Story of a Japanese-American Internment Camp. Great Neck: StarWalk Kids Media, 2014. Print.