Japanese Internment Camp Effects

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

The camps that the Japanese-Americans were taken to had the worse conditions imaginable. “More than 120,000 Americans of Japanese Ancestry were incarcerated in 10 camps scattered throughout the Western United States during World War II” (Children of the Camps Project 1). Detainees spent many years in these camps. They were locked behind barbed wire fences, and armed guards patrolled the camps. The conditions were comparable to the Jewish camps in Eastern Europe. Entire families lived in quarters that were poorly constructed and horribly cramped. These areas were also unbearably cramped and unclean. There was also no hot water for dishes or showers in the living quarters. In addition, lice was a huge problem in the internment camps. These camps and the laws that our government passed against the Japanese community were atrocious. The United States experienced a terrible tragedy when Pearl Harbor was attacked. However, the American government had no right to make these innocent Americans prisoners of war. During the 1940s and 1950s the Japanese

Japanese-American Internment was the relocation of many Japanese-American and Japanese descendents into camps known as “War Relocation Camps” during World War II (specifically after the attack on Pearl Harbor). In 1942, the United States government relocated and interned approximately 120,000 Japanese-American citizens and people of Japanese descent into relocation camps. This internment lasted for about four years, and was backed by the government as well as the president. The last relocation camp was closed in January 1946, five months after World War II officially ended.

In February 1942, President Roosevelt signed the United States Executive Order 9066, requiring all Japanese Americans to submit themselves to an internment camp. The camps functioned as prisons, some families living in one room cells. The camps were guarded by American military personnel, and others were surrounded by barbed wire. Meals were served in mess halls, bells signalling meal time. The portions were small, starchy and dull. and milk was only supplied to children under five. The camps did have school and medical care, and the internees were payed small amounts by the government to do long hours of work. Though some internees did die from inadequate medical care or high levels of emotional stress. Japanese were only allowed to bring a few things from home such as children’s toys, pictures, and books.

After the attack on the Pearl Harbor in 1941, a surprise military strike by the Japanese Navy air service, United States was thrilled and it provoked World War II. Two months after the attack on Pearl Harbor, U.S. President FDR ordered all Japanese-Americans regardless of their loyalty or citizenship, to evacuate the West Coast. This resulted over 127,000 people of Japanese descent relocate across the country in the Japanese Internment camps. Many of them were American Citizens but their crime was being of Japanese ancestry. They were forced to evacuate their homes and leave their jobs and in some cases family members were separated and put into different internment camps. There were ten internment camps were placed in “California, Idaho, Utah, Arizona, Wyoming, Colorado, and Arkansas”(History.com). However, until the camps were fully build, the Japanese people were held in temporary centers. In addition, almost two-thirds of the interns were Japanese Americans born in the United States and It made no difference that many of them had never even been to Japan. Also, Japanese-American veterans of World War I were forced to leave their homes and relocate in the internment camps. Japanese families in internment camps dined together, children were expected to attend school, and adults had the option of working for earning $5 per day. The United States government hoped that the internment camps could make it self-sufficient by farming to produce food.

Imagine what it would be like if you and your family. Had to leave your home and live in a camp. In World War ll, life was challenging for Japanese Americans living inside internment camps. It was not necessary for so many reasons. It caused economic, political, and racial problems.

The idea for these camps was brought on by propaganda, creating fears amongst not only regular citizens, but government officials as well (“Japanese American Internment” 2016). Over 127,000 Japanese Americans were imprisoned when the camps had first been developed, up until the last camp was closed in 1946 (“Japanese Relocation” 2016). The

Race tracks and fairgrounds are a few examples of makeshift temporary camps in Phase 1 (Estes). During Phase 1 permanent camps were being built for Phase 2 of the Japanese Internment. Phase 2 camps were surrounded by barbed wire fences and evacuees lived in barracks. Each block of barracks only had one set of bathrooms, one laundry room, one ironing room, a cafeteria, and a recreation facility (Estes). Also Phase 2 camps tried to make life more normal for Japanese Americans by providing stores, hospitals, and self government to the evacuees (Relocation of Japanese Americans). Stores were the only way to get goods not given to you or that an evacuee brought. Also they were one of the only forms of employment for the Japanese Americans. Also any additional money had to have come from selling their belongings before coming on the trip. Remember that they had to sell their property and belongings for way below their actual value. All jobs paid similar low wages which led to issues for the Japanese Americans. Many of these issues destroyed their Japanese culture (McGrath). One issue was that children were earning as much money as their parents. This led to parents losing control of their children and destroying father son relationships. Another issue was that families no longer shared meal time together as children chose to eat with their friends. This was one of many Japanese traditions that vanished during their time in internment camps. Also

     Unfortunately, the Japanese-Americans living on the west coast were given no time to show what their loyalties were: they were expelled from the area. They were shipped off to remote locations in the more barren sections of the country. The living conditions at the camps were inadequate at best. Residents were forced to endure extreme cold and extreme heat, cramped living spaces, poor meals, and a lack of indoor plumbing. The whole time, they were under the watchful eyes of armed military police. They were treated as prisoners.

“Herd ‘em up, pack ‘em off, and give ‘em the inside room in the badlands”(Hearst newspaper column). Many Americans were feeling this way toward people of Japanese descent after the attack on Pearl Harbor. The feelings Americans were enduring were motivated largely by wartime hysteria, racial prejudice, and a failure of political leadership. The Japanese-Americans were being denied their constitutional rights, they were provided poor living conditions in these relocation camps, and by the time apologies and reparations were paid to the Japanese, it was too late.

They were placed near semi-arid areas where life would have been harsh even under an environment with conditions met with human standards along with its surroundings. In the winter, it was too cold, and during the summer, it was too hot. Although recreational activities were set up in the camps to pass the time, you were still severely limited in the set of actions you could do. Space was crowded, and the only set of locations that you could go to were schools, hospitals, bathrooms, libraries and post offices. Food in the camps were produced army-stye grub. In other words, it did not offer much variety and the quality of the foods didn’t exceed standards as to what a normal American citizen might think of what they eat. Because of how severely limited life was in these camps, 3,600 Japanese-Americans had volunteered to enter Armed forces. In 1945, some camps had allowed people living in them to return back to the West so they could get back home or start a new life, though the last camp closed on March

Japanese American internment camps were the uprising of World War II. Numerous internment camps were created across the United States when the Japanese killed thousands of Americans in the Pearl Harbor bombings. Because of this, all Japanese people were forced to evacuate their homes throughout the United States; this caused many businesses to shut down. The United States government attempted to cover up these camps by keeping it quiet, but they eventually made their way to the media. Many people around the world believe that these camps were unnecessary. Did this incident cause the war to become even worse from that point on?

The Japanese-American placement in internment camps was wrong and unconstitutional. The Japanese-American people had been living in the United States without question until the uprise of racial prejudice brought on by the bombing of Pearl Harbor. Many Japanese-Americans had been born in America and lived an American life, integrated into American schools, speaking with American accents, and enjoying American culture. But, after the bombing of Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941, the Japanese were suddenly seen as threats that needed to be controlled. Without any consent, these Japanese-Americans were placed in internment camps with poor conditions and treated as if they were ticking time bombs themselves.

The internment camps felt like a prison to them were they unable to leave. Japanese Americans had many difficulties in internment camps like the loss of their

Franklin D. Roosevelt acted out of fear in 1942 when he sent most of the Japanese Americans into internment camps. Since the Japanese attacked pearl harbor in 1941 it made the Americans feel uncertain about the Japanese Americans in America. Japanese internment camps affected the Japanese Americans by feeling threatened, didn't know long they would stay there and readjusting was very difficult.