Question

Which Amendment to the Constitution should have protected Japanese American civil liberties during WWII?

Answer 1

The first amendment.

Answer 2

The correct answer is the 14th amendment.

The 14th amendment included the Equal Protection Clause. The Equal Protection Clause was supposed to ensure that all laws were applied equally to American citizens, regardless of race and national origin.

However, after the bombing of Pearl Harbor, the federal government took thousands of Japanese-American citizens and put them into internment camps. This violated the civil liberties of these citizens, as they committed no crimes but were forced to live in these restricted areas.