Which U.S. president appointed all of the Supreme Court justices who ruled that the federal government could place U.S. citizens of Japanese descent into detention camps without evidence of "individual disloyalty" to the U.S. during World War II?
Correct Answer
In the 1944 case of Korematsu v. United States, all six of the justices who ruled that the federal government could place U.S. citizens of Japanese descent into detention camps were appointed by Democrat Franklin Delano Roosevelt. Two of the dissenting justices were also appointed by Roosevelt, and one of the dissenting justices was appointed by Republican Herbert Hoover. As a result of this Roosevelt administration policy, 110,000 people of Japanese descent, including 70,000 who were born in the United States, were detained in camps with barbed wire fences and armed guards. They were allowed to take limited belongings with them, and some lost everything they owned. Nonetheless, during WWII, a group of Americans of Japanese descent became the most decorated military unit of its size in the history of the United States. Members of this unit were awarded 9,486 Purple Hearts, 4,000 Bronze Stars, and 21 Medals of Honor.
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