Internment of Japanese Americans

Internment of Japanese Americans
source
Title	Internment of Japanese Americans
Date	1942–1946
Location	United States
Participants	Over 125,000 individuals of Japanese ancestry
Outcome	Forced removal and incarceration, later formal apology and reparations

Internment of Japanese Americans. During World War II, the United States government forcibly relocated and incarcerated over 125,000 people of Japanese ancestry, most of whom were American citizens, in a series of concentration camps. This action was authorized by President Franklin D. Roosevelt following the attack on Pearl Harbor and was driven by wartime hysteria, racism, and a failure of political leadership. The policy remains a widely condemned violation of civil liberties and a significant event in American history.

Background and context

Following the attack on Pearl Harbor by the Empire of Japan in December 1941, widespread fear and anti-Japanese sentiment escalated rapidly on the West Coast of the United States. Influential figures like Earl Warren, then Attorney General of California, and John L. DeWitt, head of the Western Defense Command, argued for mass removal, claiming Japanese Americans posed a security threat despite a lack of evidence. This sentiment was fueled by long-standing nativism and discriminatory laws like the Alien Land Laws and the Immigration Act of 1924. Media outlets, including the Hearst newspapers, and organizations like the American Legion stoked public anxiety, creating a political environment ripe for drastic action against the Issei and Nisei populations.

Executive Order 9066 and implementation

On February 19, 1942, President Franklin D. Roosevelt signed Executive Order 9066, authorizing the Secretary of War to prescribe military areas from which any or all persons could be excluded. The War Relocation Authority was subsequently established to manage the forced removal. The Western Defense Command, under John L. DeWitt, issued a series of Civilian Exclusion Orders, mandating the evacuation of all persons of Japanese ancestry from Military Area No. 1, which encompassed the entire West Coast of the United States. Families were given short notice to dispose of their property and report to assembly centers, such as the Santa Anita Park racetrack or the Puyallup Fairgrounds, before being transported to more permanent concentration camps.

Camp conditions and life

The ten main War Relocation Authority camps, including Manzanar in California, Heart Mountain in Wyoming, and Tule Lake in California, were located in remote, desolate areas. Internees lived in hastily constructed barracks with little privacy, often lacking proper insulation and plagued by dust storms or extreme temperatures. Facilities for healthcare, education, and dining were communal and rudimentary. Despite these conditions, internees worked to establish communities, publishing camp newspapers like the Manzanar Free Press, forming baseball leagues, and creating art and gardens. The Tule Lake camp became a segregation center for those deemed "disloyal" after a controversial loyalty questionnaire.

Legal challenges and Supreme Court cases

The constitutionality of the exclusion and incarceration was challenged in several landmark Supreme Court cases. In Hirabayashi v. United States (1943) and Yasui v. United States (1943), the Court unanimously upheld curfew orders based on military necessity. The most significant case, Korematsu v. United States (1944), involved Fred Korematsu, who had refused to leave his home in San Leandro, California. The Court, in a 6–3 decision, upheld the exclusion orders, deferring to the military's judgment during wartime. In a concurrent case, Ex parte Endo (1944), the Court ruled that the War Relocation Authority could not detain a concededly loyal citizen, a decision that hastened the closing of the camps.

Aftermath and redress

The last War Relocation Authority camps closed in 1946, leaving internees to rebuild lives with profound economic and psychological scars. The Japanese American Citizens League began a long campaign for an official apology and reparations. In 1980, the United States Congress established the Commission on Wartime Relocation and Internment of Civilians, which concluded that the internment was unjustified and caused by "race prejudice, war hysteria, and a failure of political leadership." This led to the Civil Liberties Act of 1988, signed by President Ronald Reagan, which issued a formal apology and provided $20,000 in reparations to each surviving internee. Landmarks like the Manzanar National Historic Site now serve as memorials to this injustice.

Category:20th century in the United States Category:World War II home front