Guided Reading
JAPANESE INTERNMENT
1942 - 1945
The Empire of Japan attacked the United States on December 7,
1941. After this attack, the United States entered World War II. As a
result, 120,000 Japanese Americans living on the West Coast were
forced from their homes and into internment camps in the United
States. A small percentage of people were able to choose their
location; the rest were sent to War Relocation Centers.
After the Pearl Harbor attack, President Franklin Roosevelt
authorized the internment with Executive Order 9066. This allowed
local military leaders to assign most military areas as exclusion zones.
The order called for the relocation of all people of Japanese descent
who lived in California, Oregon, and Washington. Many people felt
this decision was unconstitutional; but the Supreme Court upheld the
order, stating, “it is permissible to curtail civil rights of a racial
group when there is a ‘pressing public necessity.’ ” During this
time, there was fear Japanese people living in the United States were
working as spies. They were suspected of observing the United
States’ strengths and weaknesses and reporting them to the
Japanese government.
President Roosevelt signed Executive Order 9066 on February 19,
1942. The following day, Secretary of War Henry L. Stimson
designated General John L. Dewitt military commander. His job was
to carry out the executive order. He later issued Proclamation No. 1.
This designated the western half of California, Oregon, Washington,
and the southern part of Arizona as military areas. He also stipulated
that anyone of Japanese ancestry would be removed from these
areas. On March 11, 1942, the Office of the Alien Property Custodian
issued Executive Order 9095. This gave authority over all alien
property interests. The financial assets of many Japanese Americans
were frozen, which caused economic hardship. Most had no choice
but to enter the internment camps. Public Proclamation No. 3 was
issued on March 24, 1942. This established a curfew for “all enemy
aliens and all persons of Japanese ancestry. This meant they must
remain within their military areas from 8 p.m. to 6 a.m. This order
included Japanese aliens as well as Japanese-American citizens, many
of whom were born in the United States.
White farmers in the West welcomed Japanese internment. They
saw internment as a way to eliminate farming competitors. Some
Japanese Americans were successful farmers in the West. They used
economical farming practices they learned in Japan, where resources
were limited. These techniques were profitable in the United States.
Many believed internment increased Mexican immigration because
more farm laborers were needed when Japanese-American farms
were confiscated. Labor shortages became more severe as Americans
were drafted into the military during World War II.
Terminology was important in references to Japanese
internment. The United States did not want to appear to mirror Adolf
Hitler’s concentration camps in Germany. In a public address on
November 21, 1944, President Roosevelt referred to the camps as
“concentration camps,” and the term was used in an assortment of
government documents. The official government term for the camps
became “War Relocation Centers.” The camps were closed and the
internees were released in 1945 when World War II ended.
Following internment, many Japanese Americans felt they
deserved an apology. Many had lost their homes and their
businesses. In the 1960s, the Civil Rights Movement inspired many
Japanese-American youths to begin a Redress Movement. They
sought an apology and reparations from the United States
government. They did not want reparations for property loss, but
they wanted reparations for the injustices forced against their
families during the war. While president, Gerald Ford proclaimed that
internment was “wrong,” but never actually apologized. In the
early 1980s, however, the Commission on Wartime Relocation and
Internment of Civilians (CWRIC) decided it was important to study
the matter. On February 24, 1983, the commission condemned the
internment, stating it was “unjust and motivated by racism rather
than real military necessity.” There were no cases of any internees
committing any disloyal activity, spying, or sabotage against the
United States. In fact, many of the young men in the internment
camps joined the United States military and served with distinction
fighting in Europe.
Finally, in 1988 President Ronald Reagan signed the Civil Liberties
Act of 1988. According to the act, detainees or the family of
detainees were awarded $20,000 each, totaling around $1.2 billion.
President George H.W. Bush amended this act in 1992 and increased
the award to $1.6 billion. California Representative Norman Mineta
and Wyoming Senator Alan K. Simpson sponsored this act in
Congress. During the war, Mineta was a Japanese-American Boy
Scout interned in Wyoming where he met fellow Boy Scout Alan K.
Simpson. The two became close friends and served together in
Congress.
Japanese Internment of World War Two
1942 - 1945
After completing the Guided Reading, answer the following questions. Be sure to
include textual evidence to support your responses.
1.
What was Executive Order 9066?
2.
What was Proclamation No. 1?
3.
What was Executive Order 9095?
4.
Who benefited from Japanese internment? Why?
5.
What was the Civil Liberties Act of 1988?