Japanese Internment Camps

The Japanese attack on the U.S. military base at Pearl Harbor, Hawaii , on December 7, 1941, surprised and outraged Americans. The Pearl Harbor attack heightened long-standing anti-Asian sentiment among many Americans living along the western coast of the United States, and

the hostility toward Americans of Japanese descent culminated in the forced removal of approximately 110,000 people to Japanese internment (prison) camps.

Evolution of an executive order

Many Americans were convinced that Japanese Americans in Hawaii assisted the Japanese in their attack on Pearl Harbor. After the attack, nearly fifteen hundred Japanese suspected of disloyal actions were rounded up. Those not regarded as immediate security risks were restricted from traveling without permission, barred from areas near strategic installations, and forbidden to possess arms, short-wave radios, and maps.

Fear that Japanese living on American soil would support Japan's war effort fueled a desire to remove Japanese and Japanese American residents altogether. Military leaders, patriotic groups, newspapers, and politicians joined in calls for action. They warned about the potential for sabotage by the issei (first-generation, Japanese-born immigrants) and nisei (second-generation, U.S.-born citizens) in America.

The anxiety reached such a feverish pitch that President Franklin D. Roosevelt issued Executive Order 9066 on February 19, 1942. The order authorized the military to designate “military areas” from which “any or all persons may be excluded.” Under this order, the military was able to force evacuations of issei and nisei throughout the West Coast. In March 1942, the War Relocation Authority was created to administer relocation centers.

Evacuation

At first, the military called upon the Japanese Americans living in the western parts of California , Oregon , and Washington , and along the Arizona -Mexico border, to leave voluntarily for the interior of the country. But the interior communities refused to accept the newcomers, and the military had to issue a freeze order requiring Japanese Americans to remain where they were. Then between March and June 1942, the military ordered them to leave their homes to report to temporary assembly centers.

The evacuees were given at most ten days, though sometimes as few as two days, to sell, discard, or store their belongings. Many Americans took advantage of the evacuees’ unfortunate circumstances, buying their furniture, houses, and automobiles for low prices. Some Japanese Americans managed to store their belongings in churches or community buildings, but many of these were looted during the war. Evacuees were allowed to bring to the relocation camps only what they could carry.

The War Relocation Authority (WRA) created ten permanent relocation camps in the interior. Each camp held between ten and eleven thousand people. A typical camp consisted of wooden barracks covered with tar paper, and each barrack was subdivided into one-room apartments. The apartments were furnished with army cots, blankets, and a light bulb. Families or unrelated groups of individuals were assigned to share each room, reducing privacy. Bathing, washing, and dining facilities were communal. The camps were surrounded by barbed wire and patrolled by armed military guards.

Impact

Camp life was difficult for the Japanese Americans. Evacuees were allowed to bring with them only the bare essentials of clothing, bedding, and eating utensils. This meant they suffered the loss of familiar possessions and comforts. The cramped quarters strained family relationships, and many parents complained that it was difficult to discipline their children. Social order within Japanese American communities was affected as the traditional powers enjoyed by elder males were challenged by the restraints of life within the camps. Traditional customs in their lives, such as arranged marriages, disintegrated.

Angered by the loss of their rights and freedom, and bitter towards the U.S. government, internees sometimes directed their hostilities toward each other. Riots broke out in some camps.

Actions by the WRA worsened things in the camp communities. In 1943, Japanese Americans were labeled as “loyal” or “disloyal.” The disloyal residents were moved to a segregation center within one of the camps. In 1944, the army began drafting men from the camps to serve in World War II (1939–45), sparking a considerable resistance movement.

Dissolution

Throughout World War II, U.S. courts upheld the legality of internment, ruling that the military had the power to take precautionary action against Americans who shared an ethnic heritage with the enemy. In December 1944, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled to discontinue detention of citizens whose loyalty had been established. The decision was nearly pointless, however, as President Roosevelt had announced the termination of his executive order the day before the ruling.

The evacuees still in relocation centers were allowed to leave at will, but many stayed in the camps in fear of hostilities outside. In June 1945, the camps were officially scheduled for closure by the end of the year, and remaining residents were to be forced to leave, if necessary.

It was not until 1976 that the U.S. government acknowledged any wrongdoing in the affair. In that year, President Gerald R. Ford (1913–2006; served 1974–77) officially rescinded Executive Order 9066 and issued a formal apology to Japanese Americans.

In 1981, pressure from the Japanese American community led Congress to establish the Commission on Wartime Relocation and Internment of Civilians. The commission report concluded that the internment was not justified by military necessity and was instead motivated by prejudice, war hysteria, and a failure of political leadership. Federal courts vacated opinions that had upheld the constitutionality of the internment. In 1988, Congress passed a law issuing a formal apology and establishing a fund of $1.25 billion to pay compensation of $20,000 to each surviving internment victim.