Japanese American Internment Lucy Conner Emilee Patterson Jonathan Hoskins

What was Japanese American Internment? It was the forced relocation during World War II of approximately 110, 000 Japanese/Japanese Americans from the west coast to internment camps.

Executive Order 9066 Issued by President Roosevelt on February 19, 1942. Declared that all people of Japanese ancestry be excluded from the west coast.

Why? After the Pearl Harbor attack on December 7, 1941, many feared a full-scale attack on the west coast by the Japanese. A minor attack, a shelling of a California oil refinery by a Japanese submarine in 1942, added fuel to the fire.

Locations of the Internment Camps

The Reality… Many families lived in horse stalls in unsanitary conditions. There were hundreds of barracks in the mile square enclosure. There was only one family per room but there only roofs and rafters, no ceilings. They slept on cots. They were subject to cold winters and sizzling summers and frequent dust storms, none of which they were used to. Families were forced to leave their homes and belongings. Most lost their property for good; most had to sell their farms with huge financial loss. They were only allowed to bring the clothing and toiletries they could carry in their arms. Some families were separated.

The Homes in the Camp

Camp Life The camps were secured by barbed wire and guards.

Camp Life Toilet and bathing facilities were communal. The “residents” had to stand in line for everything…meals, supplies, medical care, etc. Meals were inadequate and medical care was minimal.

Education There were elementary, junior high, and high schools.

Labor “Residents” did work, earning $8 to $16 per month for a 44-hour week.

Recreation Baseball leagues were formed.

Questions of Loyalty "Will you swear unqualified allegiance to the United States of America and faithfully defend the United States from any or all attack by foreign or domestic forces, and forswear any form of allegiance or obedience to the Japanese emperor, or any other foreign government, power, or organization?"

Why was that question particularly troubling to the Japanese? For the Issei (first-generation Japanese immigrants), they had not been allowed U.S. citizenship, and now they were being asked to renounce allegiance to the only country of which they were citizens. For the Nisei (second-generation US born Japanese Americans), if they answered yes and their parents answered no, they would most certainly be separated physically and emotionally from their parents.

Internment Ends… The internment was rescinded entirely on January 2, 1945. However, the relocation camps remained open until 1946 for residents who were not ready to make the move back.

Reparations Colorado governor, Ralph Lawrence Carr, was the only person to apologize publicly during World War II; this cost him his reelection. The “Redress Movement” of the 1960’s prompted President Ford to address the internment as “wrong”. The Commission on Wartime Relocation and Internment of Civilians, established by Congress in 1980, condemned the internment as “unjust and motivated by racism rather than real military necessity” in a published report.

Reparations cont. In 1988, President Reagan signed the Civil Liberties Act of 1988. This Act provided redress of $20,000 to each surviving detainee, totaling to $1.2 billion. In 1992, an additional $400 million was appropriated to ensure all detainees received their $20,000. President Bush issued another formal apology at this time as well.

Camp Life?

Cartoons and War: Then and Now

Music After Pearl Harbor World War II Bugs Bunny in WWII Music After Pearl Harbor

Propaganda worked both ways in WWII …

…and does to this day September 11

Political Cartoons

Cartoons From the Arab World