Japanese- American
Internment during WWII
1942-1945
Historical Background
The United States closed its doors to
Japanese immigrants thru the Immigration
Act of 1924.
 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: 1941-1942
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
Decision to Intern: 1941-1942
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: 1941-1942
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: 1941-1942
United States
Why Did the Courts Uphold Internment?
 The Japanese internment was challenged in the
Toyosaburo Korematsu versus the United States
in 1944.
 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 1942-1945
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 1942-1945
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 JapaneseAmericans 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 1942-1945
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 78-405 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 1946-1990s
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 2nd, 1948.
 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 1946-1990s
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 1946-1990s
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”