Japanese Internment Camps

Pearl Harbor’s Impact on the Japanese Pre-Existing Racism Japanese living on the West Coast Issei: Nisei: Hysteria Pre-Existing Racism – Already anti-Japanese sentiment, immigration had been limited from Asia Japanese living on the West Coast – 119,000 living there Issei: those born in Japan, regarded by the U.S. government as ineligible for U.S. citizenship Nisei: those born to Japan parents, thus U.S. citizens. Hysteria – Government distrusted the Japanese, thought they were spies, panic spread

Executive Order 9066 February of 1942 Exclusion areas Relocation Internment February 1942 – FDR signs this Executive Order Exclusion Areas – where people of Japanese ancestry were taken from – West Coast Relocation – removed from their homes on the West Coast Internment – forced imprisonment of a group of people

Relocation Forced Removal Forced Removal – little time to pack (1 day to 1 week), had to sell home, business, taken a train to camps

Internment Camps/Relocation Centers Located Why? Climate http://www.bookmice.net/darkchilde/japan/japan/map4.jpg Japanese Internment Camp Locations Located – in remote areas of the US – in the Rocky mountain area Why? – wanted them away from everyone Climate – extreme temps – cold/hot, dry, barren

War Relocation Authority(WRA) Centers

Life in Internment Camps Housing Nutrition & Healthcare Housing – barracks, inadequate, separate men and women – so families separated Nutrition and healthcare – inadequate – not enough medical staff, not enough food

Civil Liberties/Rights Violations 1st Amendment No Freedom of Religion No Freedom of Speech 4th Amendment Religion – couldn’t practice their religion – Shinto – were encouraged to practice Christianity Speech – couldn’t speak in Japanese, nothing written in Japanese

Civil Liberties/Rights Violations (cont.) 5th Amendment – Government cannot deprive any individual of “Life, Liberty or Property without Due Process of Law” 14th Amendment 14th Amendment – Equal protection clause, government targeted a race, loss jobs, homes

Life in Manzanar Photos taken by Ansel Adams (http://lcweb2.loc.gov/cgi-bin/ampage)

After the Camps Korematsu v United States (1944) Civil Liberties Act (1988) Civil Liberties Act – US government apologizes to those who had been interned, $20,000