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President Franklin D. Roosevelt
At the time of Pearl Harbor, Earl Warren is the attorney general for the state of California. But he desperately wants to become the state’s governor, and he believes that stoking fear of Japanese Americans will bolster his popularity. In interviews, he denies any responsibility for the harm that Executive Order 9066 causes to Japanese Americans, and he regularly insists (untruthfully) that the state has found evidence of Japanese Americans spying and engaging in sabotage. He also states that Japanese people are “inscrutable,” or that it’s impossible to know what they’re thinking at any given time. The only way to deal with this, he insists, is to incarcerate Japanese Americans before they have the opportunity to do any real harm. His ploy works: he serves three terms as the governor of California and eventually becomes Chief Justice of the Supreme Court.
Earl Warren Quotes in They Called Us Enemy
The They Called Us Enemy quotes below are all either spoken by Earl Warren or refer to Earl Warren. For each quote, you can also see the other characters and themes related to it (each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one:
).
They Called Us Enemy
Quotes
In California at that time, the single most popular political position was “lock up the Japs.” The attorney general of California, Earl Warren, decided to get in front of that issue.
He wanted to run for governor... and would do anything to get that office. He saw the division his rhetoric caused.
He knew that he was talking about a hundred thousand people who had not been charged with any crime. But he made an amazing statement for not just any lawyer... but the top lawyer of the state.
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Related Themes:
Page Number and Citation:
Explanation and Analysis:
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Earl Warren Quotes in They Called Us Enemy
The They Called Us Enemy quotes below are all either spoken by Earl Warren or refer to Earl Warren. For each quote, you can also see the other characters and themes related to it (each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one:
).
They Called Us Enemy
Quotes
In California at that time, the single most popular political position was “lock up the Japs.” The attorney general of California, Earl Warren, decided to get in front of that issue.
He wanted to run for governor... and would do anything to get that office. He saw the division his rhetoric caused.
He knew that he was talking about a hundred thousand people who had not been charged with any crime. But he made an amazing statement for not just any lawyer... but the top lawyer of the state.
Related Characters:
Related Themes:
Page Number and Citation:
Explanation and Analysis:
