Download Internment of Japanese Americans

HONORS US HISTORY
WRITING ASSIGNMENT 4
THE EVACUATION OF THE JAPANESE FOLLOWING PEARL HARBOR
by Roland Marchand, adapted by Sherrill Futrell
Topic(s): Japanese, World War II, W.W. II Internment
Background
On December 7, 1941, without warning, the Japanese attacked the U.S. naval base at Pearl Harbor,
Hawaii. The U.S. Congress declared war on Japan the following day, officially entering World War II.
For the 110,000 people in the U.S. of Japanese ancestry, two-thirds of whom were American citizens,
World War II brought a complete denial of basic civil liberties. By December 1942, a year after the
outbreak of war, all Japanese Americans living on the west coast had been interned behind barbed
wire and under armed guard in concentration camps politely referred to as "relocation centers".
The trail leading to the concentration camps began long before the outbreak of the war. The
Japanese were one of the last immigrant groups to arrive in the west coast. First migrating to Hawaii
in the 1880s and to the mainland in the 1890s, two-thirds settled in and around Los Angeles County.
Though only a fraction of one percent of the total population, their race and Japanese culture marked
them as different from white Americans. The Japanese immigrants soon found that they had inherited
a legacy of anti-Asian prejudice deeply rooted in California history. During the 1850s and 1860s, gold
and jobs on the transcontinental railroad had attracted Chinese immigrants to America. Willing to
work for low wages, the Chinese seemed to threaten the "native" white Americans. These antiChinese feelings were later generalized to all Asians. Into this climate of hatred came the Japanese
immigrants.
The Issei (those born in Japan who had moved to the U.S.) came to America looking for a better life.
Anti-Asian work contracts closed industrial labor to them, so most turned to agriculture. With hard
work and a knowledge of agriculture, the Issei tended to settle on marginal land and prospered as
small farmers. Despite the American respect for hard work, the Issei’s prosperity earned them the
hatred and fear of many white farmers. In 1907 the U.S. and Japan made the so-called "Gentlemen’s
Agreement", restricting the number of emigrants Japan would allow to leave for the U.S. In 1913 the
Alien Land Law was passed in California, stripping all alien Japanese of their property, including
farmland. Since the Issei were not allowed to become citizens of the U.S., the law seemed foolproof.
However, the Nisei, those born in the U.S., were citizens and could own land. When many Issei made
out their land deeds to their Nisei children, it seemed the Japanese had found a way to hold onto their
land. However, this loophole was closed in 1920 when a law disallowed alien guardianship over
American citizens. Now the Issei could not be legal guardians of their own children. Finally, in 1924
the U.S. Congress stopped all Japanese immigration with the Japanese Exclusion Act.
From 1924 on, violent agitation against Japanese Americans declined, but whites persisted in their
stereotypes of Japanese as sly, cunning and ruthless. A vast reservoir of ethnic hatred remained, to
be released on the Japanese-Americans after Japan’s attack on Pearl Harbor.
Was the Relocation of Japanese Americans to internment camps, as authorized in Executive
Order 9066, justified as a precautionary wartime security measure or was it a rash decision
based on racism and hysteria?
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Consider these questions as you read the documents and be prepared to discuss them in class
1. How was the relocation justified? What were the prevailing feelings of the time? How did the popular stereotypes of the
Japanese feed white insecurity on the west coast following Pearl Harbor?
2. What was the significance of Executive Order 9066? What did it authorize and what were its effects?
3. What economic effects did the evacuation have? Did white California farmers play a role in the evacuation?
4. How did the Japanese Americans react to the bombing of Pearl Harbor? How were their reactions perceived by American
society? Were these perceptions valid?
5. Was the evacuation militarily justified? What role, if any, did General DeWitt’s racist perception of the Japanese play in his
analysis of the military situation on the west coast?
6. What roles did California state officials like Governor Olson play in the evacuation? What effect did public sentiment have
on their policies? To what degree was the relocation politically motivated?
Document #1: The Japanese American Creed of the Japanese American Citizens League, the
national organization of Japanese Americans
"I am proud that I am an American citizen of Japanese ancestry for my very background makes me
appreciate more fully the wonderful advantages of this nation....
"Because I believe in America and I trust she believes in me, and because I have received
innumerable benefits from her, I pledge myself to do honor to her at all times and in all places; to
support her Constitution; to obey her laws; to respect her flag; to defend her against all her enemies,
foreign and domestic; to actively assume my duties and obligations as a citizen cheerfully and without
any reservations whatsoever, in the hope that I may be come a better American in a greater
America."
DOCUMENT #2: Excerpts from a proclamation made by President Franklin D. Roosevelt
concerning Japanese in the U.S., Dec. 7, 1941.
"I, Franklin D. Roosevelt, as President of the United States and as Commander-in-Chief of the Army
and Navy of the United States, do hereby make public proclamation....
"All alien enemies are enjoined to preserve the peace toward the United States…and to refrain from
actual hostility or giving information, aid, or comfort to the enemies of the United States…
"Whenever the Attorney General of the United States...deems it necessary, for the public safety and
protection, to exclude alien enemies from a designated area....then no alien enemy shall be found
within such an area or the immediate vicinity thereof. Any alien found within any such area...shall be
subject to summary apprehension..."
DOCUMENT #3: A telegram to Pres. Roosevelt from the Japanese American Citizens League,
Dec. 7, 1941.
"In this solemn hour we pledge our fullest cooperation to you, Mr. President, and to our country.
There cannot be any question. There must be no doubt. We, in our hearts, are Americans -- loyal to
America. We must prove that to all of you."
DOCUMENT #4: Charles Kikuchi (a Nisei), Kikuchi Diary, Dec. 7, 1941.
"I think of the Japs coming to bomb us, but I will go and fight even if I think I am a coward and I don't
believe in wars but this time it has to be....If we are ever going to prove our Americanism, this is the
time. The Anti-Jap feeling is bound to rise to hysterical heights and it is most likely that the Nisei will
be included as Japs."
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DOCUMENT #5: The Pasadena Star News, Dec. 10, 1941.
"More than two-thirds of the entire Japanese population of the United States are American
citizens....Their parents [the Issei], who have been permanent residents since the period prior to the
Alien Exclusion Act of 1924, are here today because they have chosen the American way of
living...They are alien Japanese who would be good American citizens had the privilege of
naturalization not been denied them. Many of these alien Japanese have been peaceful residents of
the United States for more than forty years....They lost no time in pledging their lives to the defense of
America and the crushing of Japan and her Axis partners."
DOCUMENT #6: J.L. DeWitt, Commanding General of the U.S. Western Defense Command and
Fourth Army, to Governor Culbert Olson of California, Dec. 12, 1941.
Dear Governor,
I cannot emphasize to you too strongly the very real menace at this time to the national safety which
arises from the presence...of the considerable number of enemy aliens and possible fifth columnists
[spies and saboteurs]....
It is vital to the safety and well-being of all our people...that you, through every means at your
command, bring the actual and potential sources of such activities under closest possible
surveillance, and that you promptly furnish...to the Federal Bureau of Investigation or to the nearest
military authorities information on suspicious aliens or other persons...
DOCUMENT #7: Robert Gordon Sproul, President of the University of California, Dec. 23, 1941.
"We Americans, in spite of our democratic ideals, too often allow unreasonable prejudice to deprive
people of races other than white, of the full privileges that should be theirs as native-born citizens of
the United States....The American citizen of Japanese ancestry is likely to be discriminated against
because of superficial physical characteristics that have no influence whatsoever on the quality of his
mind, on the strength of his character, or the depth of his loyalty to the United States. Every good
citizen should recognize this danger and do all in his power to counteract it, whatever may happen on
the other side of the Pacific."
DOCUMENT #8: Interview with the executive secretary of a prominent white citizens group on
the West Coast.
"I would anticipate there would be no cases of Japanese sabotage until the proper time comes. At
that time I would fear Japanese and American Japanese residents all over the coast would be
instrumental in destruction of our bridges, water systems, railroads, military facilities…I anticipate that
large numbers of our Japanese Americans would be involved in traitorous activities....The first
consideration we should devote time to [is] to assure the safety of the United States; not to be kind, or
considerate, or even fair, to a minority group..."
DOCUMENT #9: Stanley High, "Japanese Saboteurs in Our Midst", Readers Digest, Jan. 1942.
"Japan is ready, in case of war, to hit us hard -- from the inside. Japanese on the West Coast are well
prepared for the event. They have assembled detailed data on our vital Pacific defenses. They
possess the bases, the equipment and the disciplined personnel with which to strike either through
sabotage or open acts of war....
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"In the Japanese fishing fleet, obligingly allowed to share harbor space here with the United States
Navy, there are 250 vessels. Many of them, perhaps 90 percent, are manned by reservist officers and
sailors of the Japanese Navy. Inshore they fly the Stars and Stripes, as required by law -- at sea they
frequently run up the flag of the Rising Sun, as the government has photographs to prove...."
DOCUMENT #10: Report on an interview with a California county farm official, Jan. 1942.
"…[He] thought they [the Japanese] were a serious threat to the economic and social welfare of the
state of California, especially…agriculture…and that farmers disliked the Japanese and had disliked
them for years…He said that the Japanese were discussed thoroughly at a recent Farm Bureau
meeting which he attended. Over 100 farmers were there and all had agreed that now was the time to
do something about the Japanese situation in agriculture…"
DOCUMENT #11: Jack Nakagawa, Recording Secretary of the Fruit and Vegetables Union,
Local #1510. Not dated.
"We fully believe that our place is in the county of Los Angeles. There may be some people who still
believe that they should bow three times each morning toward the Land of the Rising Sun, but as far
as we’re concerned, they can be shipped back on the next boat, if they really feel that is the land for
them. But I believe this is the land for me and I believe that the other members believe also that the
United States of America is really their country. Our country today is the hope of the world…Our
Union pledges itself to fight for America and through this pledge to fight with those in America in the
defense and offensive of America."
DOCUMENT #12: From Department of Justice Press Release #6. Jan. 26, 1942.
"A number of areas on the west coast are being designated as prohibited areas from which all
German, Italian, and Japanese aliens are to be completely excluded. These areas have been
recommended for selection by the War Department after weeks of careful selection under the
personal direction of Lieutenant General J.L. DeWitt."
[Ed. Note: Within a week the order was amended so that only Japanese were excluded. German and
Italian aliens would be watched but not excluded.]
DOCUMENT #13: A letter to President Roosevelt, Jan. 29, 1942.
"We must get rid of all Japs in California. For years we people on the western-coast have preached
about this menace to the rest of the nation, but no one believed us.
"Now they occupy all the best farm ground in California; most are located in strategic spots in our oil
fields and on our coast line. An American does not stand a chance against them in farming because
their standard of living is so much lower than ours, therefore they pay outrageous rents on the
grounds they lease. We feel sorry for the second and third generations, but they will never be true to
our country for the simple reason that they cannot be assimilated."
DOCUMENT #14: Radio address by Governor Culbert Olson, Feb. 4, 1942.
"…There are Japanese residents of California who have sought to aid our Japanese enemy by
communicating information or who have shown indications of preparations of fifth column
activities…Measures [must] be taken against possible sabotage …by the Japanese in California. I am
sure that all loyal Japanese will understand this and will be willing to manifest and prove their loyalty
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by cooperating in the perfection and execution of plans that will assure this protection to our State
and Nation, as well as for their own safety from unfair and abusive treatment."
DOCUMENT #15: Assistant Secretary of War John J. McCloy to Major Karl R. Bendetsen, chief
of the Aliens Division, Provost Marshal General’s Office, Feb. 11, 1942.
"We talked to the President and [he], in substance, says go ahead and do anything you think
necessary…if it involves citizens, we will take care of them too. He says there will probably be some
repercussions, but it has got to be dictated by military necessity, but as he puts it, ‘Be as reasonable
as you can’."
DOCUMENT #16: General DeWitt to Secretary of War Stimson, Feb. 14, 1942.
"The Japanese race is an enemy race and while many second and third generation Japanese born on
United States soil, possessed of United States citizenship, have become Americanized, the racial
strains are undiluted…Along the vital Pacific Coast over 112,000 potential enemies, of Japanese
extraction, are at large today. There are indications that these are organized and ready for concerted
action at a favorable opportunity. The very fact that no sabotage has taken place to date is a
disturbing and confirming indication that such action will be taken."
DOCUMENT #17: Earl Warren, Attorney General of California.
"…Along the coast of Marin County to the Mexican border virtually every important strategic location
and installation has one or more Japanese in its immediate vicinity…Some of our airplane factories in
this state are entirely surrounded by Japanese…The only reason we haven’t had disaster in
California is because it has been timed for a different date…Our day of reckoning is bound to come in
that regard."
DOCUMENT #18: From Executive Order 9066, authorizing the Secretary of War to prescribe
military areas, including those for the relocation of enemy aliens, signed by President
Roosevelt, Feb. 19, 1942.
"I hereby authorize and direct the Secretary of War, and the Military Commanders whom he may from
time to time designate, 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…"
DOCUMENT #19: Senator John E. Rankin of Mississippi, in the Senate, undated.
"This is a race war, as far as the Pacific side of this conflict is concerned…The white man’s civilization
has come into conflict with Japanese barbarism. You cannot regenerate a jap, convert him, change
him, or make him the same as a white man any more than you can reverse the laws of nature…I am
in favor of catching every Japanese in America, Alaska and Hawaii now and putting him in
concentration camps and shipping him back to Asia as soon as possible."
DOCUMENT #20: Governor Olson, to the House of Representatives’ Select Committee
Investigating National Defense Migration. From Hearing #31.
"We do feel that there are loyal Japanese. I think as high as 5,000 of them are serving in the armed
forces of the United States now…There is a considerable part of the Japanese population who are
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distinctly in sympathy with Japan and do constitute an element that would engage in military
assistance, or any other kind of assistance in fifth column opportunities, if the opportunity were given
to aid Japan in the present war with us. The loyal Japanese people realize also that the average
Caucasian can’t distinguish between the Japanese. They all look alike."
DOCUMENT #21: Lloyd H. Fisher and Ralph L. Nielsen, "The Japanese in California
Agriculture", March 16, 1942.
"…An evacuation of Japanese from the western section of California cannot fail to have important
consequences for the agricultural economy of California; the proportion of the value grown by
Japanese would be between thirty and thirty-five percent…With the production facilities of California
agriculture already strained to meet the production goals, the additional burden on these facilities
which may result from removal of Japanese and enemy aliens will undoubtedly be heavy…"
DOCUMENT #21: Lloyd H. Fisher and Ralph L. Nielsen, "The Japanese in California
Agriculture", March 16, 1942.
"…An evacuation of Japanese from the western section of California cannot fail to have important
consequences for the agricultural economy of California; the proportion of the value grown by
Japanese would be between thirty and thirty-five percent…With the production facilities of California
agriculture already strained to meet the production goals, the additional burden on these facilities
which may result from removal of Japanese and enemy aliens will undoubtedly be heavy…"
DOCUMENT #22: A letter to Attorney General Biddle, March 16, 1942.
"…In the first place, this wholesale, indiscriminate evacuation seems to me to be basically wrong. In
the case of the Nisei it is a complete abrogation of American citizens’ rights — if we are going to sell
out our democratic principles, our Constitution and our Bill of Rights to totalitarianism, why don’t we
just go over to the Nazis right now and say, ‘Well, boys, here we are’…As for the Issei -– by what
right do we discriminate against them as aliens when we won’t allow them to become citizens?…For
the huge majority of all of those ‘enemy aliens’ to whom this evacuation law applies it is completely
unfair and unjust. It is the absolute antithesis of democracy in the way it is being applied, solely on the
basis of race and color."
DOCUMENT #23: Executive Order #9102, signed by Pres. Roosevelt, March 20, 1942.
"…The Director of the War Relocation Authority is authorized and directed to formulate and effectuate
a program for the removal from the areas designated…by the Secretary of War…of persons whose
removal is necessary in the interests of national security…"
DOCUMENT #24: Conversation between Hiram Johnson, Senator and former Governor of
California, and Edward J. Ennis of the U.S. Department of Justice.
Johnson: We have to get the damn Japs out.
Ennis: Senator, you don’t really think they are dangerous.
Johnson: Well, not really dangerous.
Ennis: Well, are they unscrupulous?
Johnson: No, not unscrupulous. They just work too damn hard and we can’t compete.
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DOCUMENT #25: Edison Uno, past president of the Japanese American Citizens League, in
the introduction to Executive Order 9066 by Maisie and Richard Conrat.
"I was a child when I first went to camp with my mother, brothers and sisters…And I knew that I was
there for no crime other than the color of my skin or the shape of my eyes. I knew, too, that the
excuse my captors gave — that I was there for my own protection — was sheer hypocrisy, that there
was some deeper and more sinister reason for my incarceration, though as with all children I could
not fully comprehend why."
DOCUMENT #26: Henry L. Stimson, Secretary of War, in his Forward to Final Report:
Japanese Evacuation from the West Coast, 1942, published 1943. "…It was unfortunate that the
exigencies of the military situation were such as to require the same treatment for all persons of
Japanese ancestry, regardless of their individual loyalty. But, in emergencies, where the safety of the
Nation is involved, consideration of the rights of individuals must be subordinated to the common
security. As General DeWitt points out, great credit is due our Japanese population for the manner in
which they responded to and complied with the orders of exclusion."
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