Japanese Internment

Standard 11.7 Students analyze America’s participation in World War II.

Introduction to the Japanese Internment Part I

Differences associated with the Japanese Issei - first generation Nisei - second generation Nikkei - people placed in the camps Kibei - people who go to Japan and then return to U. S.

People Associated with the Japanese Internment Franklin Delano Roosevelt - signed the Executive Order 9066 General John De Witt handled the internment of Japanese FDR General De Witt

Reasons for disliking the Asians in the 1800's Racial hatred for the Asians who arrived to work for the railroads and mining companies Chinese worked for low wages & lived in poor living conditions.

Reasons for disliking the Asians in the 1800's They accepted horrible working conditions in order to keep working in the United States Union workers considered them scabs because they replaced American workers who refused to cooperative with owners.

Racist laws against the Asians Chinese could not testify in court people who were white could only receive citizenship The Gentlemen's Agreement- stopped Asian immigration into the United States in the 1880’s.

Racist laws against the Asians San Francisco's school board ordered that all Asian children be allowed to attend public schools, but could not associate with other children. Japanese children could not retain their dual citizenship. The parents had to make a choice within 14 days of the child's birth.

Racist laws against the Asians Nisei people tried to adapt into the American culture, but were denied employment and education.

Racist laws against the Asians With the bombing of Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941, racist laws were passed such as curfews for anyone who looked Asian.

Placement in Camps Part II

Executive Order 9066 President Franklin D. Roosevelt ordered all Japanese to be placed in camps. U. S. feared that the Japanese would threaten America's safety Japanese needed to register with Wartime Civil Control Administration.

Executive Order 9066 Japanese could only take what they could carry & had one week to dispose of their belongs which were:  personal artifacts  Houses  Farms  factories

Japanese relocation camps Relocation Authority was responsible for building the 10 relocation camps. The security was prison-like.

Japanese relocation camps Famous camps  Mayer, Arizona  Santa Anita, California  Manzanar, California  Potson, Washington  Other camps were in Arkansas, Wyoming, and Utah

Life in the Camps Part III

Life in the Camps organized like army barracks, however five families had to live in one barrack or horse stable. communal bathrooms, eating halls and no privacy

Life in the Camps men received 50 cents a day in food rations women received 39 cents a day in food rations

Life in the camps camps were guarded 24 hours a day and people needed permission to leave their barracks after being in the camps, Japanese began to establish the following:  schools  religious centers  political councils

Legal Issues Part IV

Loyalty questionnaires were used to prove one's loyalty they had to prove that they would defend the United States some people renounced their Citizenship on protest of the horrible treatment in the camps

Loyalty in 1959, the courts gave the Japanese their citizenship back the 442nd battalion, which was made up of Japanese-Americans, was highly decorated for their bravery during World War II.

Supreme Court Cases Korematsu v. United States ruled that the camps were military necessities. Takao v. United States ruled that Asians could not be citizens because they were not protected under the law; it only applied to whites and Blacks.

Supreme Court Cases Hirabayashi v. United States ruled that it was legal to have curfew for the Japanese because of public safety. The Japanese were potentially dangerous. Endo v. United States ruled that civilians should not be placed in camps. Within a couple months, the Japanese were released.

Life after the internment Part V

Returning home from the camps possessions were stolen businesses were sold without permission friends refused to return possessions Japanese American Evacuation Claims Act  handled claims inefficiently  needed proper documentation to file claims but had difficulty in obtaining them  very little money was given back

Returning home from the camps poor blacks took over homes and jobs from the Japanese there were very few job openings or business opportunities Japanese were victims of physical abuse

Attempts to return to normalcy difficulty in seeking work most jobs for the Japanese were gardening and domestic work war veterans sought recognition that they deserved

Attempts to return to normalcy many moved to suburbs and into the middle class neighborhoods Asian teachers were hired in the LA school system (shut out before the war) considered "model minorities" because they did not participate in the civil rights movement or the Vietnam protests (they did not want to cause problems)

Seeking redress for being in the camps President Ford revoked Executive Order 9066 and said it was wrong & demanded compensation and an apology Civil Liberties Act (1988) was signed by President Reagan. It ordered money compensation for the Japanese.

Seeking redress for being in the camps courts overturned previous 1940's cases Japanese received $20,000 in compensation