People In Japanese Internment Camps

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

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.

Japan was a threat to the United States which made anyone of Japanese ancestry a probable traitor, and in some cases this was true. After the attack on pearl harbor, “two Japanese-Americans collaborated with Japanese soldiers.”(Pipes) Some believe that the Japanese government “established an extensive espionage network.”(Pipes) Meaning a few Japanese Americans were “remaining loyal to ancestral land.”(USHistory.org) Having things like this happen means that this makes Japanese internment a necessity because of

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.

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

In internment camps the Japanese had low quality food that were a mixture of Japanese and American food. In concentration camps the food was horrible “you must have your mess-tin in hand, no mess-tin, no food, approximately 10 ounces of bread and some coffee” (Châtel). The life in the internment camps were better than those in the concentration camps, the Japanese that were put in the internment camp were kept as prisoner but were eventually freed and receive an apology from the US government. The people in the concentration camps were not usually kept as prisoner but as slaves and test subjects, they were killed and used as lab rats for the Nazi’s experiments. Both camps did have their population behind fences however the children in the internment camps had more freedom than those in the concentration camps. The children in internment camps play sports to help

When Franklin Roosevelt issued Executive Order 9066 on February 19, 1942,1 thousands of Japanese-American families were relocated to internment camps in an attempt to suppress supposed espionage and sabotage attempts on the part of the Japanese government. Not only was this relocation based on false premises and shaky evidence, but it also violated the rights of Japanese-Americans through processes of institutional racism that were imposed following the events of Pearl Harbor. Targeting mostly Issei and Nisei citizens, first and second generation Japanese-Americans respectively,2 the policy of internment disrupted the lives of families, resulting in a loss of personal property, emotional distress,

Japanese internment camps from 1942 to 1946 were an exemplification of discrimination, many Japanese Americans were no longer accepted in their communities after the Bombing of Pearl Harbor. They were perceived as traitors and faced humiliation due to anti-Japanese sentiment causing them to be forced to endure several hardships such as leaving behind their properties to go an imprisoned state, facing inadequate housing conditions, and encountering destitute institutions. The Bombing of Pearl Harbor occurred on December 7, 1941 (Why I Love a Country that Once Betrayed Me). This led president Roosevelt to sign the executive order 9066, which authorized the army to remove any individual that seemed as a potential threat to the nation (“Executive Order 9066”) This order allowed the military to exclude “‘any or all persons from designated areas, including the California coast.”’ (Fremon 31). Many Japanese opposed to leave the Pacific Coast on their own free will (Fremon 24) . Japanese Americans would not be accepted in other areas if they moved either.Idaho’s governor stated, Japanese would be welcomed “only if they were in concentration camps under guard”(Fremon 35). The camps were located in Arizona, Arkansas, Wyoming, Idaho, Utah, Colorado, and California where thousands of Japanese Americans eventually relocated. (“Japanese Americans at Manzanar”) The internment lasted for 3 years and the last camp did not close until 1946. (Lessons Learned: Japanese Internment During WW2)

The American government evacuated approximately 120,000 Japanese Nationals, American citizens of Japanese descent during World War II, and placed them in internment camps at the beginning of World War II. Japanese Americans were forced from their homes and businesses, forced into relocation camps in the deserts of California, Arizona, into the mountains of Idaho, and small towns in the southern United States. These were Japanese American people of unquestionable loyalty to the United States. These were citizens denied the rights of normal citizens under the United States Constitution. Americans who had volunteered to fight in the war for the United States, and against the Japan. They wanted to fight for the United

The push for reparations did not come up until nearly forty years later when President Jimmy Carter investigated the issue in 1980. It was determined that the internment was unethical and the citizens remaining today should receive some sort of reparations. The main reasons it was decided upon on why these individuals were interned was because of racial prejudice and hysteria. Finally, in 1988 the Civil Liberties Act was passed by President Ronald Regan, and this act gave reparations to individuals who were at some point relocated or interned. The reparations and apology was given out starting in 1990 to all the individuals who were still alive, “Beginning in 1990, each surviving internee was given a $20,000 cash payment, along with a letter of apology from the government” (DeWitt). Many were overjoyed that they had some time of reparation for what they went through. However, many organizations such as the American Legion, and many World War II veterans showed clear resistance to the reparations. They completely disagreed with the reparations because in their eyes the Japanese were evil in their eyes, and it was difficult for them to look upon the Japanese in any other way. These men are more obviously more biased because they were on the front line fighting the Japanese enemies. So much resistance was shown towards these reparations and comments

( historical overview of Japanese American Internment)The United States deemed that they have every right to do whatever they must do to protect the American majority during a time of war. In 1946 all internment camps were closed, and everyone was allowed to return to their homes.(Japanese Internment Camps) By this time, many had lost their homes and other possessions. In 1948 the government provided reimbursement to those who lost property during this time.(Japanese Internment Camps) They reimbursed each citizen interned an amount of $23,000 USD.(Japanese Internment

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

About 3,600 Japanese-Americans entered the army from the camps and about 22,000 others, who lived in places outside the relocation zone did as well. The all-Japanese 442nd Regimental Combat Team won numerous decorations for its deeds in Europe. As a result of the act 5,766 Japanese-American former prisoners repudiate their American citizenship because they had been sent to internment camps. Even though they were from Japanese descent, they were still legal American citizens and their rights had been violated. Some high in power people who helped issue that act said they “deeply regretted” the decision for the act of internment

Third, how did it end after the war? After the war ended, President Truman signed the Japanese-American claim act to compensate them for their mistreatment in their forced evacuation (“Japanese-American life after WWII”). In 1945, the last internment camp was closed, and America shortly after stretched forth a hand to help rebuild Japan (“Japanese-American Relocation”). 1998, Congress was convinced that the internment camps were wrong and decided to act further (“Our Story Life After WWII”). The government promised to repay those who were affected and formally apologized (“Our Story Life After