In 1942, Korematsu, when he was all of 23, refused the U.S. government’s order to be placed in an internment camp for Japanese Americans.
Almost everyone else was rounded up and incarcerated without a fight.
The U.S. said, go. But Korematsu said, no.
The case went all the way to the Supreme Court, with the government arguing against the 14th Amendment and justifying the internment of Japanese Americans as a “military necessity.” Critics say the Court’s unwillingness to go against the government and President Roosevelt might explain why civil rights stalwarts like William O. Douglas and Hugo Black were part of a 6-3 majority against Korematsu.
To this day, that 1944 decision still stands.
Korematsu did ultimately spend time in an internment camp. Not only was he shunned by society in general, he was also shunned by other Japanese Americans in camp who believed he should have shut up and cooperated.
Vindication came 40 years later when government memos revealed that information was kept from the Supreme Court for consideration. The Army contended the Japanese Americans were a threat, but that was contradicted by the FBI’s intelligence.
