Japanese Immigration Case Study

The purpose of this paper is to discuss the internment of Japanese Americans on the West coast of the United States. On going tension between the United States and Japan rose in the 1930’s due to Japan’s increasing power and because of this tension the bombing at Pearl Harbor occurred. This event then led the United States to join World War II. However it was the Executive Order of 9066 that officially led to the internment of Japanese Americans. Japanese Americans, some legal and illegal residents, were moved into internment camps between 1942-1946. The internment of Japanese Americans affected not only these citizens but the

Allowing as much as a carload per family and possessions, much of their property was left behind. Executive Order 9066 forced all Japanese-Americans from western states into military areas, placing disconnected and detached families into various internment camps.

Roger Daniels’ book Prisoners without Trial is another book that describes the internment of Japanese-Americans during World War II. This piece discusses about the background that led up to the internment, the internment itself, and what happened afterwards. The internment and relocation of Japanese-Americans during World War II was an injustice prompted by political and racial motivations. The author’s purpose of this volume is to discuss the story in light of the redress and reparation legislation enacted in 1988. Even though Daniels gives first hand accounts of the internment of Japanese Americans in his book, the author is lacking adequate citations and provocative quotations. It’s

On December 7, 1941, the Empire of Japan attacked the United States naval base at Pearl Harbor, bringing the United States into World War II (Prange et al., 1981: p.174). On February 19, 1942, United States President Franklin D. Roosevelt issued Executive Order 9066 authorizing the Secretary of War and Military Commanders to prescribe areas of land as excludable military zones (Roosevelt, 1942). Effectively, this order sanctioned the identification, deportation, and internment of innocent Japanese Americans in War Relocation Camps across the western half of the United States. During the spring and summer of 1942, it is estimated that almost 120,000 Japanese Americans were relocated from their homes along the West Coast and in Hawaii and

After the end of World War I in 1919, a group of thirty Japanese settled in San Joaquin Valley, California making their ethnic community in Cortez. Despite the Alien Land Law of 1913, which

Japanese-Americans were forced to evacuate from coastal areas following the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor. A massive amount of Americans who were not of Japanese descent believed that the Japanese community could not be trusted, so the government felt that it was necessary to remove them from their homes and place them in camps located away from militarized coastal regions. This was a controversial decision at the time and still receives criticism today for going against typical American constitutional values centering around citizen’s unalienable rights. Through the research of many letters written during Japanese internment or reflecting on the event, it seems that Japanese-Americans of that time period had mixed feelings about being relocated and the majority of the community was upset that they were viewed and treated differently than other Americans but did acknowledge that the overall treatment they received at camp was fair. Japanese Internment camps were psychologically damaging to Japanese-Americans due to the racist nature of selective forced evacuation, and the Japanese community was more upset about being removed from their homes than how they were treated at camp.

The relocation of Japanese Americans was an event that occurred within the United States during World War II. On February 19th, 1942, Franklin D. Roosevelt issued Executive Order 9066, which forced all Japanese Americans living in the West Coast to be evacuated from the area and relocated to internment camps all across the United States, where they would be imprisoned. Approximately 120,000 people were sent to the camps and the event lasted through the years 1942 and 1945. The main cause of the relocation and internment of these people was because of fear made among Japanese people after Japan had bombed Pearl Harbor in 1941. Citizens of the United States had been worrying about the possibility of Japanese residents of the country aiding Japan, and/or secretly trying to destroy American companies.

Apart from racial prejudice, discriminatory measures were adopted by the Government to curb their economic advancement. Japanese immigrants were denied American citizenship. They could only purchase inferior land in the names of their citizen offspring. With their superior agricultural skill they turned such land into fertile agricultural fields and controlled almost fifty percent of California’s commercial truck crops. Economic prosperity was a major irritant among the organized interest groups that carried on anti-Japanese campaigns influenced the government to adopt anti Japanese measures. Policy of deliberate exclusion was also evident in Munson Report that confirmed unquestioned Japanese loyalty to the American nation but were not made public intentionally to perpetuate anti-Japanese sentiments.

(Racism and Anti-Japanese Sentiment), Even before the events of Pearl Harbor there was a lot of resentment against the Japanese that came to the states because of their heritage and their traditions. After the bombing of Pearl Harbor the resentment against the Japanese grew and their “human rights” were taken from them when they were thrown into the internment camps.

At the time of the attacks on pearl harbor, the president of the united states was Franklin D. Roosevelt. He passed the executive order 9066 in February of 1942. This called for the internment of Japanese-american's in Hawaii and the west coast. Moving over 110,000 of them to 10 internment camps in Northern California. President Roosevelt was unjustified by sending Japanese-american's to the camps just based on their race.

During world war 2 Japanese - Americans were forced out of their homes and put in relocation camps around the country. Many aspects of their lives were changed such as school, living conditions, and even their work. Many of these Japanese - Americans were relocated to Rohwer relocation camp in Arkansas.

74 days after Japan’s attack on the US, President of the United States, Franklin D. Roosevelt issued the exucutive order no. 9066. The order forced 110,000 Japanese AMeicans were forced to leave their homeds in California, Washington, and Oregon. They were, “sent to 1 of 10 detention camps in desolate parts of the US”. These Japanese Americans charged with a crime against US government. Two-thirds of these Japanese Americans were born in the US, while more than 70% of them were American citizens. President Roosevelt’s action was supported by Congress, and not 1 vote was against this action. It was upheld by the constitution and by the Supreme Court. Deprived of liberty, Japanese Americans were forced into the camps called “relocation centers” that were surrounded by barbed wire and armed soldiers. “Families lived in poorly built, overcrowded, barracks.” The relocation center’s barracks had no running water, heat, privacy, and had to use the public bathrooms. The relocation centers provided medical care, school, and the younger adults could farm, do defense work, go to colledge, or work in the

Asian-American workers were isolated and driven out of the general labor market by white working class. Therefore, they could only involve into their ethnic economy. Due to the difficulty of seeking for jobs, Asians tried to start their little business. For example, there were fifty-eight percent of Chinese were in service industry, and most of them were in restaurant and laundry work (Takaki 240). Chinese did not have enough capital to start their laundry, therefore, their capital was often made up by borrowing money from their relatives. Laundrymen worked long hours every day. They usually started working at 8:00a.m. and got off at 11:30p.m.. Japanese Issei also faced to the unequal treatments. Most of the Issei were farmers before they arrived in the United States. Thus, they would love to own or lease land in the United States. However, due to racial discrimination, they were not allowed to have their land in this country. According to the article “Important or Impotent? Taking Another Look at the 1920 California Alien Law” by Masao Suzuki, he mentions that the purpose of making the Alien Land Law of 1913 was actually to oppose the settlement of Japanese immigrants (Suzuki 128). But the law of 1913 had a number of loopholes, so Issei usually used their children’s names who were born in the United States to own land. To restrict Japanese immigrants, all rental of land was banned,

Harsh conditions caused death and stress to many Japanese- Americans. The sites of the camps were in places in western United States that included, Topaz in Utah, MInidoka in Idaho, Gila River and Poston in Arizona, Heart Mountain in Wyoming, Amache in Colorado, Rohwer and Jerome in Arkansas, and Tule Lake and Manzanar in California (“Japanese - Behind”). With the site of the camps at such alien and deserted locations, the location greatly impacted the conditions and experiences at the relocation camps. Before the arrival to the barbed wired and watch tower infested camps, the internees were not informed of the location of the camps (“Children” and “Japanese - Behind”). Even when the Japanese- Americans knew so little about their upcoming

From 1639, Japan kept control on emigration of its people to Europe and to its colonies. But soon after the arrival of Commodore Matthew Perry in 1853, trade of gunships started between the United States and Japan (USA.gov). This exposed Japanese to another culture, which had an impact on their life. This resulted in a great change of social life in Japan because life in America represented a model way and motivated Japanese to migrate there.