The Impact Of Japanese American Internment

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

Two months after Pearl Harbor, President Roosevelt authorized “Executive order 9066”. Which made More than 110,000 Japanese in the U.S to relocate to internment camps for reason of “national security”. The United States feared that they’re could have been Japanese spies inside America so the government relocated most Japanese immigrants to camps. It was one of the saddest moments in America that the government of America took actions on innocent people just because their heritage. America’s internment camps are similar yet different to Hitler’s concentrations camps.

Internment was ordered by President Franklin D. Roosevelt after Japan 's attack on Pearl Harbor. 120,000 people lost their freedom, property, and businesses. Although the United States government later issued formal apologies and paid reparations to survivors of the internment camps, it could not compensate for the horrible conditions and racism that the people of Japanese ancestry faced following the attack on Pearl Harbor. However awful this situation was it is understandable that the American people could be influenced by the propaganda of the media as many Americans had family and friends that were serving in the military. Newspapers can be both primary or secondary sources depending on the purpose of the article and how it is written. If it is an account of the facts, it is a primary source. If the article is interpreted or contains an opinion, it is a secondary source. Editorials from major newspapers after the bombing of Pearl Harbor were supportive of the internment of the Japanese. Several types of media containing propaganda were used to sway the American people, including movies and newspaper articles. The propaganda 's purpose was to propose that the relocation of Japanese-Americans was a matter of national security after the attack by the Japanese. American’s attitudes towards Japanese people quickly became racist, and this reaction was intensified by the media, which played upon issues of racism and fear. The view of the

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.

In Doc A it says “The President issued Executive order No. 9066 authorizing...security measures.” (DeWitt 3) This shows that the military and the President himself did the internment for the safety of their people. This even helped the Japanese Americans with their own safety, because if they wouldn't have moved, there would be many fights between Americans and Japanese citizens. If this would’ve happened it could even end in death. As well as this evidence, in Doc C it states “The Japanese are hampered as saboteurs.” (Munson 1) This evidence as well shows that the Japanese Americans would be hampered on and hurt because of their skin and ancestry as well. Not only did the internment protect all citizens from Japanese spies, it also protected the Japanese

Shortly after the first bombs were dropped on Pearl Harbor on December 7th, 1941, the American people’s fear of the Japanese grew dramatically, especially for those Japanese living in America. Almost every Japanese American was seen as a threat to the country. On February 19th, 1942, Executive Order 9066 was issued by President Franklin D. Roosevelt, authorizing the relocation of Japanese Americans to camps further inland. Over 175,000 Japanese Americans were affected in some way by the order, even though more than 70,000 of them were born in the United States and were American citizens. The common perspective of the American people was shown through their use of the expression “A Jap’s a Jap,” virtually destroying the thought that any

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)

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,

On February 19th 1942, Roosevelt signed the executive order 9066. Under the terms of the order, people of Japanese descent were placed in internment camps. The United States’ justification for this abominable action was that the Japanese American’s may spy for their Homeland. Over 62% of the Japanese that were held in these camps were American Citizens. The United States’ internment of the Japanese was a poor and cowardly method of ‘keeping the peace.’ The United States was not justified in stowing away Japanese Americans into almost concentration camps. This act goes against the basic Bill Of Rights granted to all American citizens, the Fifth Amendment's command that no person shall be deprived of life, liberty or property without due

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

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.

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.

Japanese Americans were effected by internment in multiple ways, both mental and physical. They were forced to leave their homes and into dehumanizing conditions. They received poor housing and medical treatment along with little to no education. While they were being relocated to these areas, they were losing their land and properties. In Ronald Reagan and Redress for Japanese-American Internment, 1983-88 by Timothy Maga, East Coast redress activist and former internee, Grant Ujifusa, said “We did not voluntarily leave our homes, our neighborhoods, and our work. We were outside from our rights and our property (614 Maga). This internment made Japanese Americans feel as if they were not really American while they were doing what every other

Roosevelt authorized Executive Order 9066. This legislation allowed America to urgently move Japanese Americans to ten internment camps spread out across the West. President Roosevelt was advised that over 100,000 Japanese Americans were living in the United States at the time and relocation all Japanese American became the priority. The ten internment camps or the less harmful sounding ‘relocation centers’, “were established in California, Idaho, Utah, Arizona, Wyoming, Colorado, and Arkansas, eventually holding 120,000 persons” (History). The construction of these internment camps was carried out amongst farmers who contested fellow Japanese farmers.

The Japanese-American Internment was a necessary choice, made by President Franklin Delano Roosevelt. It helped to make our nation secure during times of extreme emergency and it also helped the US government to keep their enemy under watch. “The story of how Japanese American soldiers from the war’s most highly decorated US military unit came to be there is just one part of a remarkable saga. It is also a story of one of the darkest periods in American history, one filled with hardship, sacrifice, courage, injustice, and finally, redemption. It began more than a hundred years ago” (Sandler, 2013, p. 6). At the turn of the 21st century began the immigration of the Japanese to America for various reasons, but all with one thing in mind: freedom. “We talked about America; we dreamt about America. We all had one wish – to be in America” (Sandler, 2013, p. 6). The decision by these many people was a grueling and tough decision, but they knew it would benefit them in the long run. “…like their European counterparts, they were willing to risk everything to begin life anew in what was regarded as a golden land of opportunity” (Sandler, 2013, p. 6). When they came to America, they were employed and were able to begin their new lives for the first part of it.