Japanese Internment 1942-1945

Facts Imperial Japan attacks Pearl Harbor Naval Base on December 7, 1941 Stirs fears of Japanese invasion on the West Coast 110,000 Japanese live on the West Coast , most in California

California Issei: born in Japan Nisei: born in the U.S. Sansei: children of the Nisei 2/3 of Japanese are American citizens Live in Bay Area and Central Valley Small business owners and truck farmers

War Hysteria Military seeks removal from West Coast FBI and Justice Department said no: no evidence of disloyalty California legislature approaches the President FDR issues Executive Order No. 9066 “I don't want any of them [persons of Japanese ancestry] here. They are a dangerous element. There is no way to determine their loyalty... It makes no difference whether he is an American citizen, he is still a Japanese. American citizenship does not necessarily determine loyalty... But we must worry about the Japanese all the time until he is wiped off the map.” -- Lt General John DeWitt, Head of Western Command

Executive Order No. 9066 “Now, therefore, by virtue of the authority vested in me as President of the United States, and Commander in Chief of the Army and Navy, I hereby authorize and direct the Secretary of War, and the Military Commanders whom he may from time to time designate...to prescribe military areas in such places and of such extent as he or the appropriate Military Commander may determine, from which any or all persons may be excluded, and with respect to which, the right of any person to enter, remain in, or leave shall be subject to whatever restrictions the Secretary of War or the appropriate Military Commander may impose in his discretion.” 3:15

Uprooted Families lost business and farms Told to report to temporary detention centers through out California Then transported to 10 relocation camps But not Hawaiian Japanese

Camps

Camps Name State Opened Max. Pop'n Manzanar California March 1942 10,046 Tule Lake May 1942 18,789 Poston Arizona 17,814 Gila River July 1942 13,348 Granada Colorado August 1942 7,318 Heart Mountain Wyoming 10,767 Minidoka Idaho 9,397 Topaz Utah September 1942 8,130 Rohwer Arkansas 8,475 Jerome October 1942 8,497

Farewell to Manzanar

442nd Regiment Nisei volunteer to prove loyalty Form the 442nd Regimental Unit Fight in Europe Translators in the Pacific theatre Most decorated regiment in all of World War II

U.S. Supreme Court Korematsu v. U.S.(1944): court held in a 6-3 vote that this was a military action and that, in wartime, it was constitutional Ex parte Endo (1944): ruled unanimously that the government had no right to detain anyone w/o cause In January, 1945, government begins closing the camps.