Japanese in America

In the 1880s, came to West Coast to work

Issei = 1st Japanese immigrant generation

Federal law prohibited Issei from becoming naturalized American citizens

Illegal for Issei to own agricultural land in California

Nisei

Nisei = 2nd generation Japanese Automatically American citizens Attended public school and

college, spoke English, worked, and voted in elections

Thought of themselves as “Americans”

In 1940, 127,000 persons of Japanese ancestry lived in U.S.

63 percent were Nisei

Reaction to Pearl Harbor

California barbershop: “free shaves for Japs—not responsible for accidents”

Governor of Idaho: “A good solution to the Jap problem would be to send them all back to Japan, then sink the island. They live like rats, breed like rats, and act like rats.”

General John L. DeWitt

Responsible for the defense of the West Coast

False rumors spread about preparations for a Japanese invasion

Believed Japanese could not be trusted

DeWitt: Lack of sabotage on the West Coast only proved that they were waiting for a Japanese invasion to begin

Relocation Plan

DeWitt develops plan to remove all Japanese and lock them in prison camps

The Justice Department, FBI and Army Intelligence all concluded that such a drastic action was not necessary

FDR accepted General DeWitt’s recommendation

Executive Order 9066

Signed by FDR on February 9, 1942

Gave DeWitt authority to order the mass evacuation of Issei and Nisei from West Coast

Affected 120,000 Japanese-Americans

“for protection against espionage and against sabotage.”

Congress made it a crime to refuse to leave a military area

March 2, 1942

DeWitt issued orders requiring all persons of Japanese ancestry in 8 western states to report to temporary assembly centers

Transported to permanent “relocation centers”

They would remain there for up to four years

Evacuation Families usually had only a few

days to sell their homes, businesses, vehicles and property

Almost all cooperated, believing that by doing so they proved their loyalty

60 percent evacuated were U.S. citizens

None had a hearing or trial Once in the camps, were required

to sign a “loyalty oath”

The Internment Camps

Amache (Granada)

Manzanar Today(well…the summer of

2008)

Camp Conditions

Army barracks—little or no privacy

Plenty of food—nobody starved

Encouraged to make as normal a life as possible

Could set up communities in the camps: shops, religious centers, schools, theater

Korematsu v. United States

Hirabayashi v. United StatesRead and Write:

1. What are the basic facts of the case?2. What are the constitutional issues

involved?3. What was the ruling (the vote) and the

reasons given for the vote? Did anyone dissent? What did they say?

4. What was the significance of the case?

Results By the time the evacuation was complete, the U.S.

was already in command of the Pacific. Danger of possible invasion was past.

17,600 Japanese Americans distinguished themselves fighting in the armed services for the U.S. in World War II

At the end of the war, Japanese found their property sold for taxes or storage fees and their areas overrun

About 26,000 were reimbursed for their losses at about 1/3 of the claimed value

Demand for Justice A young generation of Japanese-American students inspired by

the civil rights movement started the “Redress Movement” to seek justice for their parents and grandparents

President Gerald Ford in 1978 called Japanese Internment a “national mistake”

In 1978 the Japanese American Citizens League (JACL) asked for

1. $25,000 for each person who was detained 2. A formal apology from Congress 3. Release of funds to set up educational foundation for

Japanese Americans

Justice Delayed

President Ronald Reagan signed the Civil Liberties Act of 1988, which provided $20,000 for each former detainee (total of $1.2 billion dollars).

Apology

In 1992, President George H.W. Bush signed an amendment to the Civil Liberties Act which gave an additional $400,000 to remaining detainees

He also wrote an apology letter.

Ponder This…

An internment like that of Japanese Americans during World War II could never happen again in the United States.

YES or NO?

Prompt

Was the internment of the Japanese during World War II justified? Present at least three pieces of evidence from class discussions, your knowledge of U.S. history or the U.S. Constitution to support your position.