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![“Of all the races ineligible tO [sic]
citizenship, the Japanese are the least
assimilable and the mOst dangerOus tO
the cOuntry. … they cOme … fOr the
purpOse Of cOlOnizing and establishing
here the prOud yamatO race. they never
cease tO be Japanese.”
-Valentine S. McClatchy,
A wealthy California Newspaper
owner testifying to Congress.](https://image.slidesharecdn.com/japaneseinternment-180408034909/85/Japanese-internment-4-320.jpg)
![“[Though Japanese
internment] was
justified to us on the
grounds that the
Japanese were
potentially disloyal,
the record does not
disclose a single
case of Japanese
disloyalty.”
-Henry Steele Commager
famous American historian](https://image.slidesharecdn.com/japaneseinternment-180408034909/85/Japanese-internment-18-320.jpg)
Uploaded byJoseph Florencio
Japanese internment
After the attack on Pearl Harbor in 1941, over 120,000 Japanese Americans living on the west coast, two thirds of whom were U.S. citizens, were forcibly relocated to internment camps in the interior of the country. General John L. DeWitt advocated for their internment due to concerns about potential disloyalty, influenced by his own biases. In February 1942, President Roosevelt signed Executive Order 9066 authorizing the removal and exclusion of people from certain areas, and Japanese Americans were forced to report to camps surrounded by barbed wire in remote desert locations. While the Supreme Court upheld the internment in 1944, Fred Korematsu's conviction was later overturned when it was found the Justice Department withheld evidence
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Similar to Japanese internment
Japanese internment
- 1.
- 2. Date that willLive in Infamy
- 3. American Reaction toPearl Harbor FDR called out Japan by name … many Americans extended that to Japanese living in America Racial tensions on the West Coast flared after the attack US government moved quickly to identify “potential problems”
- 4. “Of all theraces ineligible tO [sic] citizenship, the Japanese are the least assimilable and the mOst dangerOus tO the cOuntry. … they cOme … fOr the purpOse Of cOlOnizing and establishing here the prOud yamatO race. they never cease tO be Japanese.” -Valentine S. McClatchy, A wealthy California Newspaper owner testifying to Congress.
- 5. Lt Gen John L.De Witt Western Defense Command concerned with the “enemy” aliens in his area. Influenced by his superiors and his own personal bias given power to relocate those he saw fit
- 6. “A Jap isa Jap. They are a dangerous element … There is no way to determine their loyalty … It makes no difference whether he is an American; theoretically he is still a Japanese, and you can’t change him … by giving him a piece of paper.” General De Witt, speaking to Congress.
- 7. Home in California,early 1942
- 8. Executive Order 9066 Signedby FDR 19 Feb 1942 (only 2 months after attack) Authorized government to “exclude” people from various areas deemed vulnerable to attack (only on West Coast) 120,000 Japanese Americans lived on the West Coast 2/3 were citizens People were “instructed” to report for “relocation” Another 2200 Japanese were interned in Hawaii – most sent to mainland for relocation War Relocation Authority New govt agency charged with handling the relocation
- 9. US Government Propaganda Film1942 approx. 10 min long https://www.youtube.com/watch? v=BK6ZtcLocaA
- 10. MPs guarding thetransport center, San Francisco, 1942
- 11. Trains to theCamps
- 12. Internment camps Set upin interior states away from the coast No real sense of privacy Military police “guarded” the fence lines Barbed wire kept internees “safe” Remote public land (deserts)
- 13.
- 14. Internment Housing inColorado
- 15. Jerome Relocation Center,Arkansas,
- 16. Fred Korematsu challengedthe legality of the internment order Korematsu v. United States (1944) Supreme court held that although the executive order and the relocation were “questionable”, the right of the government to exclude people from areas was justified during circumstances of “emergency and peril” Korematsu conviction was later overturned in 1983 due to an “ethics lapse” by the Justice Dept. (it withheld evidence)
- 17.
- 18. “[Though Japanese internment] was justifiedto us on the grounds that the Japanese were potentially disloyal, the record does not disclose a single case of Japanese disloyalty.” -Henry Steele Commager famous American historian
- 19. Clinton Awarded Korematsu Medalof Freedom in 1998
Editor's Notes
- #8 What do you see in this photograph? a home in California that has multiple signs saying, “Japs Keep Moving, This is a White Man’s Neighborhood” and “Japs Keep Out You are Not Wanted” Who and why might someone put a sign like this on their home? a white person might possibly put a sign like this on their home they might put a sign like this on their home because they want the Japanese-Americans or Japanese immigrants out of their neighborhoods because they are “dangerous” and “enemies” What could this tell us about the general population on the west coast? these signs could tell us that the white people were very prejudiced against those of Japanese ancestry and don’t want them to live near them and want nothing to do with them http://education.eastwestcenter.org/asiapacificed/ph2006/PH2006projects/7_clip_image001.jpg
- #11 People were allowed to take “only what we could carry.” Could you pack everything you wanted to take with you for who knows how long in one suitcase? (By the way: no electronics of any kind allowed.) No, I couldn’t. I could take one suitcase full of my most prized possessions, but it wouldn’t be enough for ALL of what I would want to take. http://static.howstuffworks.com/gif/japanese-internment-camp-2.jpg
- #12 What do you see in this photograph? I see a train and a person inside a cargo car with men around the door on the outside with piles of luggage (suitcases, bundles, etc.) It looks like chaos! Where do you think these people are going? I think these people are going to assembly centers or relocation/internment camps to live for the duration of the war. Do you think this looks organized? Not really. I would be worried about my luggage being lost and, since I’m going somewhere I don’t know http://questgarden.com/12/37/9/051210192950/
- #16 What do you see in this photograph? A room in a barracks. There is a woman. The room looks fairly nice, with some homey touches. The room has, sort of, been separated into two rooms by the way of a decorative sheet/drape. Do you think it would be easy to make a room like this feel like home? Probably not. I doubt the government would have provided such items to the people in the camps, so they must have, through some means or other, managed to get their own homey touches. MAIL ORDER CATALOGUES How many people do you think would be expected to live in a room like this? Up to around 10 people in a family could be expected to live in this area http://americanhistory.si.edu/perfectunion/non-flash/internment_barracks.html
- #18 442nd Regimental Combat Teamunit composed mostly of Japanese Americans who fought in Europe in WWIIunit became the most highly decorated regiment in the history of the US Armed Forces, including 21 Medal of Honor recipients. What do you see in this photograph? The 442nd Regimental Combat Team, a unit comprised mostly of Japanese American soldiers; J-A soldiers Why might some of the Japanese-American men be allowed to leave the camps to join the war effort? The draft—the US needed soldiers Do you think it was a good idea that the US military let what they classified as “enemies” fight for them in war? I think it’s a little silly that the US trusted hundreds of “enemies” together in one group to fight, especially if they were to be sent to Japan http://americanhistory.si.edu/perfectunion/experience/index.html