Democracy and Japanese Americans

Title: Democracy and Japanese Americans

Author: Thomas, Norman

Publication: New York City: The Post War World Council, 1942.

Description: This pamphlet provides a detailed argument against Japanese American incarceration during World War Two. Presumed first edition, no later printings noted. Stapled in printed self-wrappers. 7.25 x 5 inches; 39, [1] pages, including wrapper. Former owner's signature on front wrapper. Wrapper toned and chipped at the spine, but a clean interior. Very Good.

From Densho Encyclopedia: "Norman Mattoon Thomas (1885–1968), leader of the U.S. Socialist Party and six-time presidential candidate, was the only national political figure to take a public position against Executive Order 9066. In writings and public speeches, he denounced mass removal as 'totalitarian justice.' Thomas was also active in organizational efforts. He circulated a petition calling for immediate hearings for Japanese Americans, and he unsuccessfully pressed the American Civil Liberties Union to take court cases challenging Executive Order 9066... In July 1942 he published the pamphlet, Democracy and Japanese Americans, which laid out in detail the facts behind the 'evacuation' and described the difficult conditions facing Japanese Americans in the assembly centers. The last several pages were devoted to a program to wind up the camps and promote immediate resettlement, including a provision to reimburse the dispossessed Japanese Americans through government grants of land. Thanks to the distribution efforts of the Japanese American Citizens League, plus Thomas's Socialist Party colleagues, the pamphlet enjoyed wide circulation. Its influence was limited, however, by attacks from army officials, who unsuccessfully sought to discredit the information contained in the pamphlet, and from Nisei communist Karl Yoneda, confined at Manzanar, who sent a letter attacking Thomas to the San Francisco Chronicle."

Reference: Robinson, Greg. "Norman Thomas." Densho Encyclopedia. 11 Sep 2024, 21:36 PDT. Accessed 12 Nov 2025, 16:48.