Japanese American Internment During World War II

Historical Context and Questions

Before the outbreak of World War II, the FBI started surveilling German, Italian, and Japanese "aliens" (the word the government used for people in the United States who were born in another country and weren't U.S. citizens) who they suspected of being potential "enemy agents" spying on the United States. After Japan attacked the U.S. naval base at Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, on December 7, 1941, government suspicion arose around all persons of Japanese descent, whether born in Japan (called issei) or American citizens born in the United States (nisei).

Look closely at the next few documents, then in the blank box that follows, answer:

• What clues did you find as to why the government specifically targeted Japanese Americans?
• Did anyone disagree with these reasons?

Historical Context and Questions

As a national security matter, the Army, under the leadership of Lieutenant General John L. DeWitt of the Western Defense Command, first announced curfews that applied only Japanese Americans. Next, they encouraged voluntary evacuation. After only a small percent complied, DeWitt began the forced evacuation and detention of West Coast residents of Japanese-American ancestry on a 48-hour notice.

Civil liberties are basic or natural rights and freedoms that people have, or protections from government interference or against unjust government actions. Look at the next set of documents: orders telling Japanese Americans what to do, a law punishing them if they did not comply, and images of people following the orders for their forced removal.

In the blank box that follows, answer:

• What civil liberties were they denied?

Historical Context and Questions

The federal government created the War Relocation Authority (WRA) in March 1942 to manage the forced removal and incarceration of more than 120,000 Japanese Americans to "relocation centers" (or "internment camps"). People were first sent to "assembly centers" – often racetracks or fairgrounds – where they waited and were tagged to indicate the location of a long-term "relocation center." Nearly 70,000 of the evacuees were American citizens. There were no charges of disloyalty against any of them, nor was there any way that they could appeal their loss of property and personal liberty.

"Relocation centers" (or "internment camps") were situated many miles inland, often in remote and desolate locales, in California, Idaho, Utah, Arizona, Wyoming, Colorado, and Arkansas.

Look at the map that follows, and then read the government report about the relocation program. In the blank box that follows, answer:

• What kind of language and wording is used?
• How do you think this would have been written differently if from the perspective of the people imprisoned in the camps?

Historical Context and Questions

Photographers working for the War Relocation Authority took thousands of photographs of Japanese American families preparing to leave their homes, at "assembly centers," and at "internment" camps. Many of these photographs attempt to show life "as normal" in camps.

Four or five families, with their sparse collections of clothing and possessions, shared tar-papered army-style barracks. Most lived in these conditions for nearly three years or more until the end of the war. Gradually some insulation was added and lightweight partitions made them a little more comfortable and somewhat private. Life took on some familiar routines of socializing and school. However, eating in common facilities, using shared restrooms, and having limited opportunities for work interrupted social and cultural patterns. Persons who resisted were sent to a special camp at Tule Lake, California, where dissidents were housed.

Look through the following photos. In the blank box that follows:

• List at least two examples of how they attempt to depict "normal life
• List at least two ways that they show civil liberties being denied

Historical Context and Questions

The incarceration of Japanese Americans sparked constitutional and political debate. Although several Japanese Americans challenged the government’s actions in court cases, the Supreme Court upheld their legality.

Read the following documents: a statement from the director of the War Relocation Authority to Congress and a letter from the Assistant Secretary of War.

In the blank box that follows, answer:

• Why did government officials think the program was necessary?
• How did they argue that it didn't violate the Constitution?

Historical Context

Japanese Americans had been encouraged to serve in the U.S. armed forces, and some were also drafted. More than 30,000 served with distinction in segregated units. The 442d Regimental Combat Team gained fame as the most highly decorated of the war.

Historical Context

World War II ended on August 14, 1945, when Japan surrendered. On September 4, 1945, all restrictions to Japanese Americans living on the west coast were lifted, and the last "internment camp" closed on March 28, 1946.