![]() ![]() From there they were transported to a "Relocation Center" where they might live for months before transfer to a permanent "Wartime Residence."Īssembly Centers were located in remote areas, often reconfigured fairgrounds and racetracks featuring buildings not meant for human habitation, like horse stalls or cow sheds, that had been converted for that purpose. Japanese Americans reported to "Assembly Centers" near their homes. People had six days notice to dispose of their belongings other than what they could carry.Īnyone who was at least 1/16th Japanese was evacuated, including 17,000 children under age 10, as well as several thousand elderly and disabled residents. ![]() Eisenhower only lasted until June 1942, resigning in protest over what he characterized as incarcerating innocent citizens.įlashback: How Japanese Americans Were Forced Into Concentration Camps During WWII Relocation to 'Assembly Centers'Īrmy-directed removals began on March 24. Eisenhower from the Department of Agriculture to lead it. Ten state governors voiced opposition, fearing the Japanese Americans might never leave, and demanded they be locked up if the states were forced to accept them.Ī civilian organization called the War Relocation Authority was set up in March 1942 to administer the plan, with Milton S. Inland state citizens were not keen for new Japanese American residents, and they were met with racist resistance. War Relocation AuthorityĪfter much organizational chaos, about 15,000 Japanese Americans willingly moved out of prohibited areas. Olson and State Attorney General Earl Warren, declared that all Japanese should be removed.īiddle pleaded with the president that mass incarceration of citizens was not required, preferring smaller, more targeted security measures. His original plan included Italians and Germans, though the idea of rounding-up Americans of European descent was not as popular.Īt Congressional hearings in February 1942, a majority of the testimonies, including those from California Governor Culbert L. To argue his case, DeWitt prepared a report filled with known falsehoods, such as examples of sabotage that were later revealed to be the result of cattle damaging power lines.ĭeWitt suggested the creation of the military zones and Japanese detainment to Secretary of War Henry Stimson and Attorney General Francis Biddle. DeWitt, leader of the Western Defense Command, believed that the civilian population needed to be taken control of to prevent a repeat of Pearl Harbor. ![]() Photos of Japanese American Relocation and Incarceration Some Japanese American residents were arrested and 1,500 people-one percent of the Japanese population in Hawaii-were sent to prison camps on the U.S. Japanese-owned fishing boats were impounded. In a panic, some politicians called for their mass incarceration. One-third of Hawaii’s population was of Japanese descent. In January, the arrestees were transferred to prison camps in Montana, New Mexico and North Dakota, many unable to inform their families and most remaining for the duration of the war.Ĭoncurrently, the FBI searched the private homes of thousands of Japanese American residents on the West Coast, seizing items considered contraband. On December 7, 1941, just hours after the bombing of Pearl Harbor, the FBI rounded-up 1,291 Japanese American community and religious leaders, arresting them without evidence and freezing their assets. Weeks before the order, the Navy removed citizens of Japanese descent from Terminal Island near the Port of Los Angeles. Mexico enacted its own version, and eventually 2,264 more people of Japanese descent were forcibly removed from Peru, Brazil, Chile and Argentina to the United States. Executive Order 9066 affected the lives about 120,000 people-the majority of whom were American citizens.Ĭanada soon followed suit, forcibly removing 21,000 of its residents of Japanese descent from its west coast. Then Roosevelt’s executive order forcibly removed Americans of Japanese ancestry from their homes. Military zones were created in California, Washington and Oregon-states with a large population of Japanese Americans. On February 19, 1942, shortly after the bombing of Pearl Harbor by Japanese forces, President Roosevelt signed Executive Order 9066 with the stated intention of preventing espionage on American shores. Japanese-American Relocation Executive Order 9066 ![]()
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