Japanese- American Internment during WWII

Historical Background The United States closed its doors to Japanese immigrants thru the Immigration Act of There were an estimated 127,000 Japanese in the United States prior to the war, most of them lived in the West Coast States. Racism towards the Japanese was a mix of traditional anti-immigrant racist sentiment and the anger at Japanese imperialism.

Historical Background Industrialists who at first welcomed the cheap labor began looking at their Japanese work force with animosity when they demanded for equal pay. In this environment, it is not surprising that after the attack on Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941, white Americans and the government were in favor or inclined toward internment of the Japanese.

Decision to Intern: United States National Security Argument: The likelihood of Japanese espionage. In addition, reports were produced that Japanese saboteurs were residing in important business and military sectors.

Video from the office of War information Video from the office of War information

Decision to Intern: United States National Security Argument: The February 19, 1942 Executive Order 9066 by FDR authorized the U.S. Army to relocate Japanese from such strategic areas in the name of National Security. As a result, the Army relocated 120,000 Japanese to internment camps under the control of the War Relocation Board.

Decision to Intern: United States Political Reasons: The relocation policy was affected by economic and patriotic pressure groups, politicians, the radio and press, and war hysteria on the part of the people. Under such conditions, action against the Japanese was justified by the majority of the U.S.

Toyosaburo Korematsu versus the United States

Decision to Intern: United States Why Did the Courts Uphold Internment? The Japanese internment was challenged in the Toyosaburo Korematsu versus the United States in United States Supreme Court decided to uphold the policy of interment because it was perceived as actions that support the welfare of the greater public. The court decision was that “Pressing public necessity may sometimes justify the existence of such restrictions where racial antagonism never can” (Toyosaburo Korematsu versus the United States).

Location of Camps

Life in the Camps United States The Camps and their Impact on Families The camps were on average a square mile in area and had military guards and barb wire fences to keep the evacuees in. Those who were forced to evacuate were given as little as 48 hours to do so.

Life in the Camps United States The Camps and their Impact on Families The camps were composed of barrack-like houses 20’x25’ which housed several families and with communal areas for all the basic necessities. In addition, all interned Japanese of age 17 were asked in a loyalty test a series of questions, which if answered ‘no’ to numbers 27 and 28 meant that they would be sent to the Tule Lake relocation facility.

Tule Lake would later not just be a regular internment camp detaining Japanese-Americans, but also a high-security segregation center. Tule Lake started to be a camp that held Japanese- Americans who were deemed dangerous; most of who were deemed dangerous from a question they were asked at their original camp

First-graders, some of Japanese ancestry, at the Weill public school, San Francisco, Calif., pledging allegiance to the United States flag.

The store was closed following orders to persons of Japanese descent to evacuate from certain West Coast areas.

The internment of Americans of Japanese ethnic origin was organized and supervised by the military authorities but little compulsion was needed in practice.

Residents of Japanese ancestry, at the Heart Mountain Relocation Center, were quick to grasp the recreational advantages of Wyoming's cold weather.

Life in the Camps United States Medical stations were ill equipped, doctors did what they could with minimum supplies to help those who fell sick. Strict rationing of food stuffs was common in the internment camps. Japanese American citizens lost their citizenship and where unable to regain it at the end of the war, because of Public Law signed by FDR.

Release to Freedom United States Japanese began exiting the camps as early as 1943, but these were those who could find employment outside the camps. In 1943 this occurred at a rate of 75 people per day that left the War Relocation Authority’s centers with FBI clearance. However, the release of the majority of the Japanese occurred in 1945, after the exclusion order was lifted. Some returned to their old areas of habitation, while others stayed in the areas surrounding the camps.

A Japanese family returns home to find their garage vandalized with graffiti and broken windows in Seattle, on May 10, 1945.

Search for Redress s United States Japanese-American Claims Act 1948 The first movement toward redress in the United States was the Japanese-American Claims Act signed on July 2 nd, Japanese internees had to present their loses due to the relocation in eighteen months time. They were compensated only 10% of their lost property. In total only $38 million of the estimated $400 million in losses were compensated by this act.

Search for Redress s United States The Commission on the Wartime Relocation and Internment of Civilians (CWRIC) was created by Congress in 1980 to review the decisions and actions dealing with the internment of Japanese Americans. The CWRIC heard the testimony of over 750 witnesses, which included internees and government officials of WWII. In a report issued by CWRIC in 1983 concluded that the Executive Order 9066 was based on “"race prejudice, war hysteria, and a failure of political leadership."

Search for Redress s United States (cont) Civil Liberties Act of 1988 President Reagan signed the Civil Liberties Act, which sought to provide the compensation of $20,000 for each surviving internees. In total, $1.65 billion were given to 82,000 internees. This Act was an official recognition by the government of having acted unjustly and also offered an apology for those actions. The act also provided for “a public education fund to inform the public about internment”