1. INTERNMENT OF JAPANESE AMERICANS
When the war began, 120,000 Japanese Americans lived in the U.S. – mostly on the West Coast
After Pearl Harbor, many people were suspicious of possible spy activity by Japanese Americans
In 1942, FDR ordered Japanese Americans into 10 relocation centers
Japanese Americans felt the sting of discrimination during WWII

2. Location of the 10 Internment camps

3. Jerome camp in Arkansas

4. “Forgetting the Constitution”
2. In response to these fears, President Roosevelt signed Executive Order 9066 on February 19, 1942.

5. EXECUTIVE ORDER 9066:
JAPANESE
INTERNMENT

6. “Forgetting the Constitution”
3. About 120,000 Japanese Americans from the West Coast were forced to leave their homes and businesses.

8. Most Japanese Americans were torn or confused about being moved.
“Forgetting the Constitution”
Most Japanese Americans were torn or confused about being moved.
6. They were United States citizens but they were also proud of their Japanese heritage.

10. Japanese Internment
Most of the hastily constructed camps were located in bleak deserts. Families were crowded together in flimsy housing with no running water.

15. Barbed wire and armed guards surrounded each camp.
Japanese Internment
Barbed wire and armed guards surrounded each camp.
One resident recalled, “We struggled with the heat, the sandstorms , the scorpions, the rattlesnakes, the confusion, the overcrowded barracks, and the lack of privacy.”

17. “Forgetting the Constitution”
7. They established schools, churches, recreational centers, newspapers and their own camp governments.

19. “Forgetting the Constitution”
8. Despite the injustices suffered by their families, over 16,000 young Japanese American men in the camps volunteered for military service.

20. “Forgetting the Constitution”
Eventually, the internment camps were closed and people went out and did their best to build new lives.
Many Japanese Americans still faced racism when they tried to find jobs and new homes.

21. Japanese Internment
In 1988, Congress passed legislation that gave $20,000 to every Japanese American who had been interned in the camps. In signing House Bill 442, Reagan said, “We are here to right a grave wrong….It is not for us to pass judgment on those who made mistakes. And yet the internment was just that– a mistake.” The first payments were made to those 80 years and older in October 1990 accompanied with a formal letter of apology.