Which of the following was a consequence of the US policy of forcing Japanese families into relocation centers during World War II?

"Most of the 110,000 persons removed for reasons of 'national security' were school-age children, infants and young adults not yet of voting age."
- "Years of Infamy", Michi Weglyn

Following the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941, President Franklin D. Roosevelt issued Executive Order 9066, which permitted the military to circumvent the constitutional safeguards of American citizens in the name of national defense.

The order set into motion the exclusion from certain areas, and the evacuation and mass incarceration of 120,000 persons of Japanese ancestry living on the West Coast, most of whom were U.S. citizens or legal permanent resident aliens.

These Japanese Americans, half of whom were children, were incarcerated for up to 4 years, without due process of law or any factual basis, in bleak, remote camps surrounded by barbed wire and armed guards.

They were forced to evacuate their homes and leave their jobs; in some cases family members were separated and put into different camps. President Roosevelt himself called the 10 facilities "concentration camps."

Some Japanese Americans died in the camps due to inadequate medical care and the emotional stresses they encountered. Several were killed by military guards posted for allegedly resisting orders.

At the time, Executive Order 9066 was justified as a "military necessity" to protect against domestic espionage and sabotage. However, it was later documented that "our government had in its possession proof that not one Japanese American, citizen or not, had engaged in espionage, not one had committed any act of sabotage." (Michi Weglyn, 1976).

Rather, the causes for this unprecedented action in American history, according to the Commission on Wartime Relocation and Internment of Civilians, "were motivated largely by racial prejudice, wartime hysteria, and a failure of political leadership."

Almost 50 years later, through the efforts of leaders and advocates of the Japanese American community, Congress passed the Civil Liberties Act of 1988. Popularly known as the Japanese American Redress Bill, this act acknowledged that "a grave injustice was done" and mandated Congress to pay each victim of internment $20,000 in reparations.

The reparations were sent with a signed apology from the President of the United States on behalf of the American people. The period for reparations ended in August of 1998.

Despite this redress, the mental and physical health impacts of the trauma of the internment experience continue to affect tens of thousands of Japanese Americans. Health studies have shown a 2 times greater incidence of heart disease and premature death among former internees, compared to noninterned Japanese Americans.


    See Timeline for more historical details.

Background

With the Japanese-initiated attack on Pearl Harbor, the United States was plunged into the midst of World War II. Nearly two months after the attack, President Franklin D. Roosevelt issued Executive Order 9066.

In an effort to curb potential Japanese espionage, Executive Order 9066 approved the relocation of Japanese-Americans into internment camps. At first, the relocations were completed on a voluntary basis. Volunteers to relocate were minimal, so the executive order paved the way for forced relocation of Japanese-Americans living on the west coast. During the six months following the issue of EO 9066, over 100,000 Japanese-Americans found themselves placed into concentration camps within the United States. These concentration camps were called “relocation camps.”

Japanese-Americans were referred to by their generation within the United States. The first generation of Japanese immigrants were called Issei. The second generation of American born Japanese-Americans were called Nisei. This executive order affected over 117,000 Japanese-Americans from both generations. Thousands of people lost their homes and businesses due to “failure to pay taxes.”

EO 9066 was widely controversial. This order stayed in place until President Harry S. Truman signed Executive Order 9742 on June 25, 1946. EO 9742 ordered the liquidation of the War Relocation Authority and allowed Japanese-Americans to return to their homes. Many of the newly released Japanese-Americans returned home to find their belongings stolen or their property sold.

Japanese-Americans who were returning home faced discrimination and prejudice from the civilian population. President Harry S. Truman, who was ashamed of these acts, paid tribute to the Japanese-American soldiers of the 442nd Regimental Combat Team.

In 1988, President Ronald Reagan signed the Civil Liberties Act. The remaining survivors of the relocation camps were sent formal letters of apology and were awarded $20,000 in restitutions from the United States government.

Despite the actions taken by various presidents after the liquidation of the War Relocation Authority, many Japanese-Americans never felt closure. The American-created internment camps are rarely discussed in history. Royals bench coach Don Wakamatsu said, “Any time you can talk about it, it immortalizes it a little bit more,” he said. “There’s always in history a learning curve. Or so we can hope… if we seek to stay true to the promise of the Declaration of Independence and our Nation’s creed of liberty.”

Key Question

Can a major wrong ever be righted?

Directions

Materials

Documents to be examined:

Document Set 1

  1. Report, Japanese-Americans in Relocation Centers, March 1943
  2. Memorandum, Milton S. Eisenhower to Members of Congress, April 20, 1942
  3. Newspaper Article, “Japanese planes destroy US fleet at Pearl Harbor,” December 8, 1945

Document Set 2

  1. Report, Japanese-Americans in Relocation Centers, March 1943
  2. Various photos and comics, 1942
  3. Letter from Mrs. Shipman to President Harry S. Truman, February 11, 1943
  4. Japanese Internment Camp cartoon, September 11, 2001
  5. Video, Japanese American Responses to Incarceration

Document Set 3

  1. Photograph, The first evacuation claims check presented to Tokuji Tokimasa, February 1950
  2. Harry S. Truman’s Remarks Upon Presenting to a Nisei Regiment, July 15, 1946
  3. Executive Order 9742, June 25, 1946

    Handouts

    Which of the following is an example of collective resistance?

    Examples of collective resistance include organized protests, boycotts, and walk-outs.

    Which of the following minority groups in the United States is the largest in number?

    The Census Bureau also classified respondents as "Hispanic or Latino" or "Not Hispanic or Latino", identifying Hispanic and Latino as an ethnicity, which comprises the largest minority group in the nation.

    What percentage of US citizens are descendants of immigrants quizlet?

    Terms in this set (20) Approximately what percentage of the population is made up of immigrants? Approximately 13%, 40.4 million, of the population is made up of immigrants.

    Which of the following statements best represents variation in racial and ethnic identification across countries?

    Which of the following statements best represents variation in racial and ethnic identification across countries? Countries base racial and ethnic categorization on different traits, including skin color, cultural group membership, regional origin, and religion.