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U.S. History – Mrs. Bigley
JAPANESE-AMERICAN INTERNMENT
Following the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor in December, 1941, the U.S. was gripped by war hysteria.
This was especially strong along the Pacific coast of the U.S., where residents feared more Japanese attacks
on their cities, homes, and businesses. Leaders in California, Oregon, and Washington demanded that the
residents of Japanese ancestry be removed from their homes along the coast and relocated in isolated inland
areas. As a result of this pressure, on February 19, 1942, President Roosevelt signed Executive Order 9066,
which resulted in the forcible internment of 120,000 people of Japanese ancestry. More than two-thirds of
those interned under this order were citizens of the U.S., and none had ever shown any disloyalty. The War
Relocation Authority (WRA) was created to administer the assembly centers, relocation centers, and
internment camps, and relocation of Japanese-Americans began in April 1942. Internment camps were
scattered all over the interior West, in isolated desert areas of Arizona, California, Utah, Idaho, Colorado, and
Wyoming, where Japanese-Americans were forced to carry on their lives under harsh conditions. Executive
Order 9066 was rescinded by Roosevelt in 1944, and the last of the camps was closed in March 1946.
DEFINITIONS (will help with the rest of the reading)
1. Issei: 1st generation of Japanese with their entire cultural background of Japanese. Probably loyal
romantically to Japan but made this their home. They brought their children here & many would like to
become American citizens had then been allowed to do so. They had to break with their religion, their
god & Emperor, their family, their ancestors & their after-life in order to be loyal to the U.S. They are
also still legally Japanese. Their age group is largely 55-65.
2. Nisei: 2nd generation who have received their education in the U.S. & usually, in spite of
discrimination, show eagerness to be Americans. They are in constant conflict with the orthodox, well
disciplined family life of their elders. They are not Japanese in culture – they are foreigners in Japan;
however they are also not accepted by Americans largely because they look differently & can be easily
recognized. Age group: 1-30 years.
INTERNMENT TIMELINE
 Dec. 7, 1941: The attack on Pearl Harbor. Local authorities & the F.B.I. begin to round up the
leadership of the Japanese American communities. Within 48 hours, 1,291 Issei are in custody. These
men are held under no formal charges & family members are forbidden from seeing them. Most would
spend the war years in enemy alien internment camps run by the Justice Department
 Feb. 19, 1942: Roosevelt signs Executive Order 9066 which allows military authorities to exclude
anyone from anywhere without trial or hearings.
 Feb. 25, 1942: The Navy informs Japanese Americans near Los Angeles Harbor that they must leave
in 48 hours. They are the first group to be removed en masse.
 Mar. 2, 1942: Gen. John DeWitt issues Public Proclamation No. 1 which creates Military Areas Nos.
1 & 2. Military Area No. 1 includes the western portion of CA, OR, & WA, & part of AZ while Military
Area No. 2 includes the rest of these states.
 Mar. 21, 1942: The first advance groups of Japanese American “volunteers” arrive at Manzanar, CA.
The WRA would take over on June 1 & transform it into a “relocation center”
 June 1942: The movie “Little Tokyo, U.S.A.” is released by 20th Century Fox. In it, the Japanese
American community is portrayed as a “vast army of volunteer spies” & “blind worshippers of their
Emperor.”
 Oct. 20, 1942: Roosevelt calls the “relocation centers” “concentration camps” at a press conference.
The WRA had consistently denied that the term “concentration camps” accurately described the camps.
 Feb. 1, 1943: The 442nd Regiment Combat Team is activated, made up entirely of Japanese
Americans
 June 21, 1943: The U.S. Supreme Court rules on Hirabayashi, upholding the constitutionality of the
curfew & exclusion orders
 Jan. 14, 1944: Nisei eligibility for the draft is restored. The reaction to this announcement in the
camps would be mixed.
 Oct. 27-30, 1944: The 442nd Regiment Combat Team rescues an American battalion which had been
cut off & surrounded by the enemy. 800 casualties by the 442nd to rescue 211 men. After this rescue,
the 442nd is ordered to keep advancing in the forest; they would push ahead without relief or rest until
Nov. 9.
 Dec. 18, 1944: The Supreme Court decides that Fred Korematsu was indeed guilty of remaining in a
military area contrary to the exclusion order. This case challenged the constitutionality of the entire
exclusion process.
 Jan. 2, 1945: Restrictions preventing resettlement on the West Coast are removed, although many
exceptions continue to exist. A few carefully screened Japanese-Americans had returned to the coast in
late 1944.
 May 7, 1945: The surrender of Germany ends the war in Europe
 Aug. 6, 1945: The atomic bomb is dropped on Hiroshima. 3 days later, a second bomb is dropped
on Nagasaki. The war in the Pacific would end on Aug. 14.
 July 15, 1946: The 442nd Regiment Combat Team is received on the White House lawn by President
Truman. “You fought not only the enemy but you fought prejudice - & you have won,” remarks the
president.
 July 2, 1948: President Truman signs the Japanese American Evacuation Claims Act, a measure
to compensate Japanese Americans for certain economic losses attributable to their forced evacuation.
Although some $28 million was to be paid out through provision of the act, it would be largely
ineffective even on the limited scope in which it operated.
 July 14, 1981: The Commission on Wartime & Internment of Civilians (CWRIC) holds a public
hearing in Washington, D.C. as part of its investigation into the internment of Japanese Americans
during WWII. The emotional testimony by more than 750 Japanese American witnesses about their
wartime experiences would prove cathartic for the community & a turning point in the redress
movement.
 June 16, 1983: The CWRIC issues its formal recommendations to Congress concerning redress for
Japanese Americans interned during WWII. They include the call for individual payments of $20,000 to
each of those who spent time in the camps that are still alive
 Aug. 10, 1988: H.R. 442 is signed into law by President Reagan. It provides for individual
payments of $20,000 to each surviving internee & a $1.25 billion education fund among other
provisions
 Oct. 9, 1990: The first 9 redress payments are made at a Washington, D.C. ceremony. 107 year-old
Mamoru Eto of L.A. is the first to receive his check.
EXECUTIVE ORDER 9066
February, 19, 1942
*Document has been edited for clarity
The successful prosecution of the war requires every possible protection against espionage and against
sabotage to the national defense.
Now therefore, by virtue of the authority vested in me as President of the U.S., and Commander in Chief of
the Army and Navy, I hereby authorize and direct the Secretary of War, and the Military Commanders,
wherever he or any designated Commander deems such action to be necessary or desirable, to prescribe
military areas in such places and of such extent as he or the appropriate Military Commander may determine,
from which any or all persons may be excluded, and with respect to which, the right of any persons to enter,
remain in, or leave shall be subject to whatever restriction the Secretary of War may impose at his discretion.
The Secretary of War is hereby authorized to provide for residents of any such area who are excluded, such
transportation, food, shelter, and other accommodations as may be necessary, and until other arrangements
are made, to accomplish the purpose of this order. The designation of military areas in any region or locality
shall supersede designations of prohibited and restricted areas by the Attorney General under the Proclamation
of December 7 and 8, 1941.
I hereby further authorize and direct the Secretary of War and the said Military Commanders to take such
other steps as he may deem advisable to enforce compliance with the restrictions, including the use of Federal
troops and other Federal Agencies, with authority to accept assistance of state and local agencies.
I hereby further authorize and direct all Executive Departments, independent establishments and other Federal
Agencies, to assist the Secretary of War or the said Military Commanders in carrying out this Executive Order,
including the furnishing of medical aid, hospitalization, food, clothing, transportation, use of land, shelter, and
other supplies, equipment, utilities, facilities and services.
This order shall not be construed as limiting or modifying the duty and responsibility of the Federal Bureau of
Investigation, with respect to the investigations of alleged acts of sabotage or the duty and responsibility of
the Attorney General and the Department of Justice under the Proclamations of December 7 and 8, 1941,
prescribing regulations for the conduct and control of alien enemies, except as such duty and responsibility is
superseded by the designation of military areas hereunder.
Signed,
Franklin D. Roosevelt
CIVIL LIBERTIES ACT OF 1988
Enacted by the United States Congress
August 10, 1988
“The Congress recognizes that, as described in the Commission on Wartime Relocation and Internment of
Civilians, a grave injustice was done to both citizens and permanent residents of Japanese ancestry by the
evacuation, relocation, and internment of civilians during World War II.
As the Commission documents, these actions were carried out without adequate security reasons and without
any acts of espionage or sabotage documented by the Commission, and were motivated largely by racial
prejudice, wartime hysteria, and a failure of political leadership.
The excluded individuals of Japanese ancestry suffered enormous damages, both material and intangible, and
there were incalculable losses in education and job training, all of which resulted in significant human suffering
for which appropriate compensation has not been made.
For these fundamental violations of the basic civil liberties and constitutional rights of these individuals of
Japanese ancestry, the Congress apologizes on behalf of the Nation.”
Below is a copy of the actual Presidential letter sent, following the passage of the Civil Liberties Act of 1988,
with reparations checks of $20,000 to victims of WWII internment.