WI: FDR orders that the interned Japanese-Americans be killed?

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Seriously, instant impeachment. Imprisoning citizens for dubious security issues is one thing, genocide under the authority of wartime presidential powers is another. FDR is reviled in history for even trying to pass this order.
 

Jack Brisco

Banned
The order will not be obeyed. As already stated, FDR will be declared insane and is sent to an asylum.

If I can elaborate a little, General Marshall wouldn't even transmit the order. If FDR went directly to LTG DeWitt, DeWitt would have contacted General Marshall immediately.

If FDR told the FBI to carry out the order, very much doubt J. Edgar Hoover would obey or transmit the order. My guess...Hoover would have called Marshall ASAP.

Then Marshall and Hoover would have contacted Vice President Garner. My guess...Garner contacts Speaker of the House and Senate Majority Leader. These three men see FDR and tell him to resign or be impeached immediately. In view of what's happened, Garner immediately acts as President. Marshall and Hoover publicly state they will follow Garner's orders. No 25th Amendment at this time but FDR can't stay.
 
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trurle

Banned
Sure, what's the POD for this?
Likely some sort of high-profile sabotage by a members of Japanese-American community, combined with the mass escape from internment camp. If camp security will be shown sufficiently flawed, mass kill order may be even supported by Congress.
To make an image of required scale, let`s imagine escaped Japanese first hijacking oil tanker from pier, and then scuttle it to dry docks when chased, destroying in resulting blaze several warships under repair or construction, and killing thousands. I cannot imagine why should any Japanese-American would behave that provocatively though.. IOTL all of Japanese-American actions was espionage at worst.
He (FDR) gets declared insane and is shipped off to an asylum.
Yes, this is most plausible outcome.
 
FDR doesn't marry Eleanor and is surrounded by Wilsonians.

He was surrounded by Wilsonians. He himself was the biggest Wilson aficionado in the country. He served in that Administration.

Wilson wasn’t kind to German-Americans, but even he would never have resorted to genocide.
 

Lusitania

Donor
Listen I can see adult males being tried and sentenced to death for treason. Maybe under special circumstances but they have to prove that the people did something. But you cannot say they doing this on all males and women and children. For that to happen it would of been a Nazi like government take over USA in the 1830s and these murders would be part of a systematic attack in ethnic groups, opposition parties and officials even certain religions.
 
I can't see FDR giving such order. It is another thing throw people to camps but it would had been totally immoral even most of anti-Japanese people going genocidal and killing even women and children. Even if FDR would give such order anyone wouldn't obey such barbaric order. This would taint permanentally reputation of FDR and Americans if such thing would had done. And Japan wouldn't surrend easily. So there would be more nukes over Japanese cities and Operation Downfall. And furthermore Nazi lawyers would have easier defend their clients agains accusation of crimes against humanity stating that Americans and Germans did exactly same horrible things and prosecution about that would be extremely hypocrise.
 
FDR doesn't marry Eleanor and is surrounded by Wilsonians.

Where does this bizarre idea that "Wisonianism" = genocide come from?

I know people here don't like Wilson much but that is no excuse to portray him (or the "Wilsonians"--of whom FDR was in many respects one) as Hitler.

(With regard to the Japanese, by the way, Wilson unsuccessfully sought to get the California legislature to delay the passage of legislation prohibiting aliens "ineligible for citizenship"--i.e., Japanese and Chinese--from land ownership. https://www.nytimes.com/1913/04/20/...pan-through-bryan-he-urges-california-to.html)
 
Then Marshall and Hoover would have contacted Vice President Garner. My guess...Garner contacts Speaker of the House and Senate Majority Leader. These three men see FDR and tell him to resign or be impeached immediately. In view of what's happened, Garner immediately acts as President. Marshall and Hoover publicly state they will follow Garner's orders. No 25th Amendment at this time but FDR can't stay.

Mostly agree with a small nitpick - Garner wasn’t VP after Pearl Harbor; Wallace was. And he probably does much the same.

Furthermore, for all of FDR’s flaws, he was far too pragmatic to consider exterminating Japanese-Americans unless he absolutely had to. Even mass internment was sketchy as far as the Constitution was concerned (the case concerning it established the “strict scrutiny” standard for race-based discrimination, which historically allowed the US to do something like this just this once. Extermination American citizens based on race is so unconstitutional that it might give the Constitution cancer.)
 

Jack Brisco

Banned
Mostly agree with a small nitpick - Garner wasn’t VP after Pearl Harbor; Wallace was. And he probably does much the same.

Furthermore, for all of FDR’s flaws, he was far too pragmatic to consider exterminating Japanese-Americans unless he absolutely had to. Even mass internment was sketchy as far as the Constitution was concerned (the case concerning it established the “strict scrutiny” standard for race-based discrimination, which historically allowed the US to do something like this just this once. Extermination American citizens based on race is so unconstitutional that it might give the Constitution cancer.)


I stand corrected re Wallace. Misread some info.

I don't believe FDR would have ever exterminated American citizens at all. Just wasn't going to happen. Agree the internment was sketchy, but that's from today's viewpoint. And, as has been seen, eventually the Government apologized and paid reparations.
 
What if FDR ordered the execution of all the interned Japanese-Americans?

So why does he do it? Posing your idea as a 'what if?' doesn't remove the expectation of plausibility in post-1900 threads. There is simply no way this would happen, but if you disagree please present a POD that would explain it.
 
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