| 1952 |
|
| 1961 |
|
| 1962 |
|
| 1963 |
|
| 1964a |
|
| 1964b |
|
| 1964c |
(615-6) Some 117,000 people, two thirds of
them United States citizens, were abruptly
herded behind barbed wire and later shipped
into ten relocation centers in wild and disagreeable
areas. These people suffered the loss of
at least 40 per cent of their possessions
and for several years were barred from lucrative
employment. |
| 1964d |
|
| 1964e |
|
| 1965 |
|
| 1966a |
|
| 1966b |
|
| 1966c |
|
| 1966d |
− |
| 1966e |
|
| 1967a |
|
| 1967b |
|
| 1967c |
|
| 1968a |
− |
| 1968b |
|
| 1968c |
|
| 1969a |
|
| 1969b |
(667) These American citizens had to sell
their property (usually at a loss) or lose
it entirely and move into camps until the
end of the war. |
| 1969c |
|
| 1969d |
|
| 1970 |
|
| 1971a |
|
| 1971b |
|
| 1972 |
|
| 1973 |
|
| 1974 |
(757-8) The country paid not only a high
cost in human life but also a certain moral
cost for its victory. For the Japanese attack
on Pearl Harbor led to what the American
Civil Liberties Union called "the worst
single invasion of citizens' liberties"
during the war. This was the confining in
relocation centers of 112,000 Japanese Americans
(more than half of them born in the United
States). (758) [Picture] Japanese American
children are shown saluting the flag in their
San Francisco elementary school two days
before their relocation to internment camps. |
| 1975 |
− |
| 1976 |
− |
| 1978a |
− |
| 1978b |
|
| 1980 |
|
| 1981a |
|
| 1981b |
(609) Although the internment camps were
little better than prisons, most Japanese
Americans remained loyal to the United States.
During the war years there were no acts of
disloyalty or sabotage by Japanese Americans.
Nisei soldiers fought bravely in both Europe
and in the Pacific. Nonetheless, their families
were forced to remain in the internment camps
throughout the war years. And they continued
to experience discrimination when the war
ended. |
| 1982a |
(338) This fear was soon turned against the
Nisei -- native-born Americans whose ancestors
came from Japan. As a result, most Japanese
Americans -- the great majority of whom lived
in California -- were forced to leave their
homes and were taken to detention camps in
other states, where they were imprisoned
until the end of the war. Most of the Nisei
lost their homes and businesses. |
| 1982b |
(636) Was the treatment of Japanese Americans
during World War II legal? Most were American-born
citizens. None had been accused of a crime.
How then could the government force them
to quit their jobs, move them to a different
area, and confine them in relocation camps?
Doesn't the Bill of Rights (Amendment 4)
make people "secure in their persons,
houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable
searches and seizures"? The answers
to these questions make one pause to think. |
| 1982c |
− |
| 1982d |
|
| 1982e |
(619-20) In April 1942, with strong support
from the local authorities, the army ordered
all West Coast Japanese to prepare in 48
hours for removal to "relocation centers."
These centers were similar to prison camps.
Forced to sell their homes and property at
once, for whatever price offered, the Japanese-Americans
obeyed. It is important to note that neither
the 264,000 German aliens nor the 599,000
Italian aliens living in the United States
were subject to a similar policy. By August
1942, there were 109,650 Japanese-Americans
assembled, awaiting the completion of ten
internment camps located in desolate, isolated
areas of the country. Anyone who had at least
one great-grandparent who was Japanese was
interned. |
| 1983a |
− |
| 1983b |
(166) A shameful episode. Pressed by the
Army and a hysterical public, President Roosevelt
reluctantly agreed to the removal of more
than 110,000 persons of Japanese ancestry
from the western states. Most of them were
Nisei -- sons and daughters of immigrant
Japanese parents, themselves born in the
United States and therefore American citizens.
Some were even third-generation Americans. |
| 1983c |
(441-2) A shameful episode. Pressed by the
Army and a hysterical public, President Roosevelt
reluctantly agreed to the removal of more
than 110,000 persons of Japanese ancestry
from the western states. Most of them were
Nisei -- sons and daughters of immigrant
Japanese parents, themselves born in the
United States and therefore American citizens.
Some were even third-generation Americans. |
| 1983d |
− |
| 1984 |
(425) The exception was the internment in
"relocation centers" of more than
110,000 Japanese-Americans. Of these people,
70,000 were Nisei, or native-born citizens
of the United States. Charges of criminal
behavior were never brought against them;
none were ever indicted or tried, though
civilian courts were open and accessible.
The Supreme Court upheld the government's
policy of internment. In wartime, the Court
said in the Hirabayashi ruling (1943), "residents
having ethnic affiliations with an invading
enemy may be a greater source of danger than
those of different ancestry." And in
the Korematsu case (1944), the Court, with
three justices dissenting, approved the removal
of the Nisei from the West Coast. One dissenter,
Justice Frank Murphy, denounced the decision
as the "legalization of racism."
In an even more ominous appraisal, Circuit
Court Judge William Denman had written, "the
identity of this doctrine with that of the
Hitler generals . . . justifying the gas
chambers of Dachau is unmistakable."
(425) [Picture] Branded members of an enemy
race by the government, more than 110,000
Japanese-Americans were rounded up and shipped
to internment camps. These people were among
the 18,000 Japanese-Americans sent to a race
track at Santa Anita, California, where they
lived in horses' stalls. National Archives. |
| 1985a |
(734) Some 117,000 persons, two-thirds of
them United States citizens, were shipped
to ten relocation centers in desolate parts
of the country. |
| 1985b |
(573) Two thirds of these people forced to
move were American citizens. They became
prisoners in their own country. |
| 1985c |
(249) With a few exceptions, all of these
citizens had been born and raised in the
United States. The overwhelming majority
of them had never seen Japan. Virtually all
of them spoke English. These Japanese-Americans
considered themselves loyal American citizens.
Over thirty-five thousand Japanese immigrants
also lived on the West Coast. These men and
women had come to the United States before
1924. Although legally citizens of Japan,
most considered themselves loyal to their
adopted country. In the weeks after the bombing
at Pearl Harbor, some people pointed out
that these older Japanese were not United
States citizens, but Japanese citizens, even
though they had lived in the U.S. for many
years. However, few Americans understood
that at the time it was illegal for Japanese
nationals to become naturalized citizens. |
| 1986a |
− |
| 1986b |
(807) This fear was soon turned against the
Nisei -- native-born Americans whose ancestors
came from Japan. As a result, most Japanese
Americans -- the great majority of whom lived
in California -- were forced to leave their
homes and were taken to detention camps in
other states, where they were imprisoned
until the end of the war. Most of the Nisei
lost their homes and businesses. |
| 1986c |
(634) [Picture] In February 1942, a Japanese
American schoolgirl recalled coming home
to find FBI agents searching her family's
farm. One man was reading her diary. Others
were looking for flashlights or radios that
they suspected might be used to help the
enemy. Her family, like the one above, were
tagged and sent to a "relocation camp"
in the desert. Of the 117,000 Japanese Americans
interned during the war, 71,000 were native-born
Americans. |
| 1986d |
− |
| 1986e |
− |
| 1986f |
(499) After Japan's attack on Pearl Harbor,
over 100,000 Japanese (most of them American
citizens) were removed from the West Coast
to ten detention camps inland. They were
treated almost like prisoners and kept behind
barbed-wire fences. Both President Franklin
Roosevelt and the Supreme Court approved. |
| 1987a |
− |
| 1987b |
− |
| 1988 |
(619) As a result, more than 100,000 Nisei
were rounded up and put into special camps.
(T116) Immediately, 110,000 Japanese (70,000
of them American-born) were excluded from
the west coast. They were forced to leave
their homes. They lost nearly 500 million
dollars in income yearly. |
| 1989a |
(634) [Picture] In February 1942, a Japanese
American schoolgirl recalled coming home
to find FBI agents searching her family's
farm. One man was reading her diary. Others
were looking for flashlights or radios that
they suspected might be used to help the
enemy. Her family, like the one above, were
tagged and sent to a "relocation camp"
in the desert. Of the 117,000 Japanese Americans
interned during the war, 71,000 were native-born
Americans. [VISUAL EVIDENCE. The American
Civil Liberties Union called the Japanese-American
internment "the worst single wholesale
violation of civil liberties of American
Citizens in our history."] |
| 1989b |
− |
| 1990a |
(674) Home for the evacuees, two thirds of
whom were American-born citizens, was a wooden
barracks, with one room per family. |
| 1990b |
(571) Japanese and Americans of Japanese
ancestry had long faced discrimination on
the West Coast. After Pearl Harbor their
situation became much worse. For no good
reason, other citizens blamed them for what
the Japanese militarists had done and even
began to suspect that they might be helping
the enemy across the Pacific. Western politicians
and frightened military men pressured FDR
to remove them from the coastal states. President
Roosevelt gave in. Early in I942, under the
excuse of national security, 110,000 Japanese
Americans were rounded up. There was no evidence
that these Americans were disloyal. (571)
[Picture] Ordered to leave their homes and
businesses on short notice by order of the
united States government, bewildered Japanese
Americans wait in Los Angeles for a train
to take them to an internment camp. |
| 1990c |
(665) Some 70,000 of the 110,000 who were
forced to give up their homes, businesses,
and jobs had been born in the United States
and were American citizens. |
| 1990d |
(862) At the time of Pearl Harbor, about
127,000 Japanese-Americans lived in the United
States, most on the West Coast. About 80,000
were nisei (Japanese born in the United States
and holding American citizenship) and sansei
(the sons and daughters of nisei); the rest
were issei (aliens born in Japan who were
ineligible for U.S. citizenship). |
| 1990e |
(647) The citizens among them were denied
their basic constitutional rights. Most Japanese
Americans were not allowed to return to their
homes until the end of the war. |
| 1991 |
(612) Most people of Japanese descent living
in the United States at the time of Pearl
Harbor had been born as American citizens.
In February 1942, President Roosevelt ordered
the army to round up some 110,000 citizens
and aliens of Japanese ancestry. |
| 1992a |
− |
| 1992b |
|
| 1992c |
(289) WHEN JAPAN BOMBED Pearl Harbor on December
7, 1941, about one hundred twenty thousand
Japanese were living in the United States.
Nearly eighty thousand of them had been born
in the United States and were American citizens. |
| 1992d |
(677) Japanese and Americans of Japanese
ancestry had long faced discrimination on
the West Coast. After Pearl Harbor their
situation became much worse. For no good
reason, other citizens blamed them for what
the Japanese militarists had done and even
began to suspect that they might be helping
the enemy across the Pacific. Western politicians
and frightened military men pressured FDR
to remove them from the coastal states. President
Roosevelt gave in. Early in 1942, under the
excuse of national security, 110,000 Japanese
Americans were rounded up. There was no evidence
that these Americans were disloyal. (678)
[Picture] Ordered to leave their homes and
businesses on short notice by the United
States government, anxious Japanese Americans
wait in Los Angeles for a train to take them
to an internment camp. |
| 1992e |
(677) Japanese and Americans of Japanese
ancestry had long faced discrimination on
the West Coast. After Pearl Harbor their
situation became much worse. For no good
reason, other citizens blamed them for what
the Japanese militarists had done and even
began to suspect that they might be helping
the enemy across the Pacific. Western politicians
and frightened military men pressured FDR
to remove them from the coastal states. President
Roosevelt gave in. Early in 1942, under the
excuse of national security, 110,000 Japanese
Americans were rounded up. There was no evidence
that these Americans were disloyal. (678)
[Picture] Ordered to leave their homes and
businesses on short notice by the United
States government, anxious Japanese Americans
wait in Los Angeles for a train to take them
to an internment camp. (677) Critical Thinking
Activity: Demonstrating Reasoned Judgment
Can the internment of Japanese Americans
during World War II be justified? The text
states, "In time of war it is harder
than ever for a free nation to preserve its
freedoms." Ask students to decide if
this statement justifies the internment of
Japanese Americans during World War II. What
evidence would support or dispute this idea?
Have students offer their viewpoint in an
essay. |
| 1992f |
|
| 1992g |
(473) Two thirds of those being moved were
American-born citizens. |
| 1993a |
|
| 1993b |
− |
| 1994a |
(356) To unleash such hatred against a foreign
enemy could be expected of any nation engaged
in war. Less understandable was the decision
in early 1942 to single out 110,000 Japanese-Americans,
two-thirds of them citizens of the United
States, remove them from their homes on the
West Coast, and confine them in inland camps.
The decision reflected racial rather than
military considerations. It was the result
of more than forty years of anti-Japanese
sentiment and racial tension on the West
Coast. No removal was ordered in Hawaii,
where 32 percent of the population was of
Japanese descent. Nor did anyone seriously
consider doing the same to German-Americans
or Italian-Americans. Earl Warren, attorney
general of California, explained "that
we can, in dealing with the Germans and the
Italians, arrive at some fairly sound conclusions
because of our knowledge of the way they
live in the community and have lived for
many years. But when we deal with the Japanese
we are in an entirely different field and
we cannot form any opinion that we believe
to be sound." Although there was no
evidence of Japanese sabotage on the West
Coast after Pearl Harbor, that only confirmed
the suspicions of those who advocated removal.
The head of the Western Defense Command,
in recommending removal to the secretary
of war, concluded, "The very fact that
no sabotage has taken place to date is a
disturbing and confirming indication that
such action will be taken." |
| 1994b |
(364) At the time of Pearl Harbor, about
127,000 Japanese-Americans lived in the United
States, most on the West Coast. About 80,000
were nisei (Japanese born in the United States
and holding American citizenship) and sansei
(the sons and daughters of nisei); the rest
were issei (aliens born in Japan who were
ineligible for U.S. citizenship). |
| 1994c |
(498) Much of the anger that Americans felt
about Japan's surprise attack on Pearl Harbor
in 1941 was directed at Japanese Americans.
Over 110,000 Japanese Americans, two-thirds
of them American citizens, were forced to
go to detention camps after the attack. These
camps consisted of poorly-built barracks
with no indoor plumbing or central heating.
(563) World War II brought tragedy to Japanese
Americans. After the bombing of Pearl Harbor,
some Americans claimed that Japanese Americans
on the West Coast were a danger to the nation.
They feared they might spy for the Japanese
government. No evidence was ever given to
support this claim, but the government acted
on this fear. |
| 1994d |
|
| 1995a |
− |
| 1995b |
(228) (7) Many Americans protested the imprisonment
of their fellow citizens. (8) Eventually,
some of the restrictions on the prisoners
were lessened. (9) Some were allowed to work
in shipyards, factories, and government offices.
(10) But many thousands remained in camps
until 1945, when the last one was closed. |
| 1995c |
− |
| 1996a |
(758-9) Nisei. West Coast politicians pressed
the Roosevelt administration to evacuate
the Japanese from their communities. It did
not seem to matter that about 80,000 were
American citizens, called Nisei, and that
no evidence indicated that they posed any
threat. "A Jap's a Jap . . ." commented
General John De Witt, commander of West Coast
defenses. "It makes no difference whether
he is an American citizen or not." In
response, the War Department in February
1942 drew up Executive Order 9066, which
allowed the exclusion of any person from
designated military areas. Under De Witt's
authority, the order was applied only on
the West Coast against Japanese Americans.
By late February Roosevelt had agreed that
both Issei and Nisei would be evacuated.
But where would they go? Concentration Camps.
The army began to ship the entire Japanese
community to temporary "assembly centers." |
| 1996b |
(526) Of these people, 77,000 were Nisei,
or native born citizens of the United States. |
| 1996c |
(225) Most of our students have studied about
Hitler's concentration camps but few know
about the ordeal Japanese Americans faced
in America during World War II. The photograph
in this exercise can engender a good class
discussion. (256) 4-13 INTERNMENT CAMPS FOR
JAPANESE AMERICANS. During World War II,
over 110,000 Japanese Americans were rounded
up and imprisoned in internment camps for
over three years. The U.S. Army was given
the power to arrest every Japanese American
on the West Coast (without warrants, indictments,
or hearings) and forcibly remove them from
their homes to be "relocated" for
the "security of the country."
Read the following quotes that reflect the
action of the U.S. government: "I'm
for catching every Japanese in America, Alaska,
and Hawaii now and putting them in concentration
camps.... Damn them! Let's get rid of them
now!" (1) CONGRESSMAN JOHN RANKIN, CONGRESSIONAL
RECORD, 12/15/1941. "ALL PERSONS OF
JAPANESE ANCESTRY, BOTH ALIEN AND NONALIEN,
WILL BE EVACUATED FROM THE ABOVE DESIGNATED
AREA BY 12 O'CLOCK NOON" |
| 1996d |
− |
| 1996e |
|
| 1997a |
(305) Three-fourths of these were Nisei children
born in the United States of Japanese parents
and therefore American citizens. The other
fourth the Issei, born in Japan were barred
by law from becoming citizens. In 1944 the
Supreme Court upheld the forced evacuation
on the grounds of military necessity! |
| 1997b |
(546) Two-thirds were Nisei -- mainly children
of Issei who were citizens because they had
been born in the United States. In February
1942, the government decided that all Japanese
Americans, citizens as well as aliens, would
be relocated from their homes and confined
in internment camps located in Arkansas and
the Western states. |
| 1998a |
(962) Nisei. West Coast politicians pressed
the Roosevelt administration to evacuate
the Japanese from their communities. It did
not seem to matter that about 80,000 were
American citizens, called "Nisei,"
and that no evidence indicated that they
posed any threat. "A Jap's a Jap. .
. ." commented General John De Witt,
commander of West Coast defenses. "It
makes no difference whether he is an American
citizen or not." In response, the War
Department in February 1942 drew up Executive
Order 9066, which allowed the exclusion of
any person from designated military areas,
Under De Witt's authority, the order was
applied only on the West Coast against Japanese
Americans. By late February Roosevelt had
agreed that both Issei and Nisei would be
evacuated. But where would they go? The army
began to ship the entire Japanese community
to "assembly centers." |
| 1998b |
− |
| 1998c |
(886) At the time of Pearl Harbor, about
127,000 Japanese Americans lived in the United
States, most on the West Coast. About 80,000
were nisei (Japanese born in the United States
and holding American citizenship) and sansei
(the sons and daughters of nisei); the rest
were issei (aliens born in Japan who were
ineligible for U.S. citizenship). |
| 1999a |
− |
| 1999b |
(764) Nisei. West Coast politicians pressed
the Roosevelt administration to evacuate
the Japanese from their communities. It did
not seem to matter that about 80,000 were
American citizens, called Nisei, and that
no evidence indicated that they posed any
threat "A Jap's a Jap . . ." commented
General John De Witt, commander of West Coast
defenses. "It makes no difference whether
he is an American citizen or not." In
response, the War Department in February
1 942 drew up Executive Order 9066, which
allowed the exclusion of any person from
designated military areas. Under De Witt's
authority, the order was applied only on
the West Coast against Japanese Americans.
By late February Roosevelt had agreed that
both Issei and Nisei would be evacuated.
But where would they go? Concentration Camps.
The army began to ship the entire Japanese
community to temporary "assembly centers." |
| 1999c |
(835) Of the nearly 125,000 Japanese Americans
in the country, about three-fourths were
Nisei, who had been born in the United States.
The rest were Issei, officially citizens
of Japan although nearly all had lived in
the United States more than eighteen years.
(836) Aware of rabidly anti-Japanese public
opinion, Roosevelt waited until after the
off-year 1943 elections to allow internees
who passed a loyalty review to go home. A
year later, the camps were empty, each internee
having been given train fare home and $25.
Returning home, the Japanese Americans discovered
that nearly everything they owned was gone.
Stored belongings had been stolen. Land,
homes, and businesses had been seized by
the government for unpaid taxes. Denied even
an apology from the government, Japanese
Americans began to re-establish their homes
and businesses. Decades later, in 1988, and
after several lawsuits on behalf of victims,
a semiapologetic federal government paid
$20,000 in compensation to each of the surviving
sixty thousand internees. |
