A Principled Stand: The Story of Hirabayashi v. United States

by Gordon K. Hirabayashi

"I never look at my case as just my own, or just as a Japanese- American case. It is an American case, with principles that affect the fundamental human rights of all Americans." -Gordon K. Hirabayashi In 1943, University of Washington student Gordon Hirabayashi defied the curfew and mass removal of Japanese Americans on the West Coast, and was subsequently convicted and imprisoned as a result. In "A Principled Stand," Gordon's brother James and nephew Lane have brought together his prison diaries and voluminous wartime correspondence to tell the story of "Hirabayashi v. United States," the Supreme Court case that in 1943 upheld and on appeal in 1987 vacated his conviction. For the first time, the events of the case are told in Gordon's own words. The result is a compelling and intimate story that reveals what motivated him, how he endured, and how his ideals changed and deepened as he fought discrimination and defended his beliefs.

"A Principled Stand" adds valuable context to the body of work by legal scholars and historians on the seminal Hirabayashi case. This engaging memoir combines Gordon's accounts with family photographs and archival documents as it takes readers through the series of imprisonments and court battles Gordon endured. Details such as Gordon's profound religious faith, his roots in student movements of the day, his encounters with inmates in jail, and his daily experiences during imprisonment give texture to his storied life.

Gordon K. Hirabayashi (1922-2012) was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom in May 2012. He was professor emeritus of sociology at the University of Alberta, in Edmonton. James A. Hirabayashi (1926-2012) was professor emeritus of Asian American Studies at San Francisco State University. Lane Ryo Hirabayashi is professor of Asian American Studies and the George and Sakaye Aratani Professor of the Japanese American Incarceration, Redress, and Community at UCLA.

""A Principled Stand" makes an important contribution to understanding both Gordon Hirabayashi's life and the horrible episode in this country's history that was the internment." -Lorraiane Bannai, Fred T. Korematsu Center for Law and Equality, Seattle University School of Law

Genres: History, World War II, Japan

232 pages, Hardcover

First published June 1, 2013

Reviews

[Janice Sheufelt · Rating 4 out of 5]

I was inspired to seek out this book after seeing the amazing play put on at our theater a couple of years ago. Very appropriate reading for our current times as well.

[George · Rating 5 out of 5]

EXCELLENT, INTERESTING, AND INFORMATIVE.

“Strange things occur during periods of hysteria.” (p. 88)

“Fresno Bee (November 28, 1943) letter to the editor states that native birth does not necessarily signify citizenship: “Flies, rats, snakes, pests, termites are all born here but are they citizens? And so why should the Japs be citizens merely because of birth. (p. 130)

After seeing Jeanne Sakata’s excellent play, Hold These Truths—“the inspirational true story of a civil rights hero…,” I was compelled to read A Principled Stand: The Story of Hirabayashi V. United States, by Gordon Hirabayashi. I just had to know more about such a level of personal integrity that would motivate someone to first refuse to comply with an unjustly ordered internment/curfew; and then to hitch-hike 1,600 miles, from Spokane to Tucson (because the government couldn’t afford the transportation costs), to serve a 90-day, court-ordered, sentence for violating that very same curfew.

“Strange things occur during periods of hysteria,” indeed!

It all makes for an incredible story of courage, honor, cowardice, fear, prejudice, hysteria, and injustice—but mostly courage; and a 40+ years long battle for civil justice.

Recommendation: This story of Gordon Hirabayashi is an interesting, important, worthy, and timely, civics lesson that I very highly recommend to everyone.

“I did not regret my wartime decision to stand for my rights. In my own appraisal of the meaning of citizenship in our Constitution, the only realistic position available to me was an idealistic one. Anything else would have been the destruction of my self-respect, my values, my beliefs— the necessary ingredients that make up a good citizen. (p. 189)

University of Washington Press. Kindle Edition 240 pages.

[Pamela Okano · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is a fascinating yet strangely written account of Gordon Hirabayashi's decision to defy the WWII curfew and incarceration of Japanese Americans and the subsequent legal proceedings that culminated in the vacation of his convictions 40 years afterwards. The book is not written by Hirabayashi himself, but is written as if Gordon had written in the first person by the authors, his brother and nephew, based on interviews, diaries, notes, letters, memos, and the like. The result is full of interesting facts (the story about Gordon's mother in the women's jail is priceless), but the narration is somewhat disjointed. In addition, there are errors such as using the term "deputation" for "deposition" or appealing a decision from Judge Voorhees to the US District Court of Western Washington, instead of the US Court of Appeals, Ninth Circuit. A good editor should have caught these problems. Nevertheless, I was thrilled to have read this book and recommend it to students of Japanese American history and/or civil rights.

[Elizabeth Scott Tervo · Rating 5 out of 5]

This man had a very unusual personality & stood by his principles! Very inspiring & taught me a lot.

[Jennyford97 · Rating 4 out of 5]

everyone needs to read this book.

[Lance · Rating 3 out of 5]

Fascinating topic just not that well edited but still interesting

[Sarah Alawami · Rating 5 out of 5]

I've always been interested in world war II stuff. I find it fascinating that we as americans excepted this injustice.I hope history never repeats itself.