Internment camps (1942-1945)
Conflicts between the Japanese-Americans and European-Americans existed long before World War 2. The difference between the Japanese culture and the American one was fairly dramatic, and often did not make for an easy assimilation into the US for the Japanese. The Japanese Americans faced a great deal of prejudice based on their differences in appearance and culture, even before there were strong political tensions between the two countries.
On December 7th, 1941, 353 Japanese fighter planes attacked the US Naval Base at Pearl Harbor. They sank 4 out of 8 US battleships and killed 2,402 Americans (mostly soldiers living on the base). This was the first attack on American soil since the war of 1812.
The most controversial aspect of the attack was that it happened during peace negotiations between the United States government and Japan. The attack was not supposed to happen until 20 minutes after Japan had officially declared war on the US, but the message was not decoded quickly enough. Thus, at the time of the attack, the US government still believed itself to be in the middle of peace negotiations, and felt that they had been stabbed in the back by Japan. The US government quickly began to suspect Japanese-Americans of being informants for Japan, and began incarcerating them. During the first 48 hours after the attack on Pearl Harbor, 1,291 Issei (first generation Japanese immigrants) were taken into custody, with no formal charges. Most of them remained in enemy alien internment camps for the remainder of the war.
On February 19, 1942, President Roosevelt signed Executive order 9066, which made it legal for any military authority to anyone from anywhere without trial. This led the way for the widespread forced removals and incarceration of Japanese-Americans. Later, on March 18, 1942, President Roosevelt signed Executive Order 9102 establishing the War Relocation Authority.
The Japanese-Americans were housed in three types of camps. The first was a civilian assembly camp; a place capable of housing many people at once (such as a horse barn). The second type was a relocation center, which was designed to provide a more permanent living space to families. The relocation centers were more heavily armed than civilian assembly camps, and were built in remote locations. The third kind of camp was a detention center, where any internees who refused to sign a paper declaring full allegiance to the United States were sent. Internees who were identified as trouble makers were also sent to these detention centers.
The Internment of the Japanese was a dark time in US History. Families were forced from their homes with less than 48 hours notice. Most returned to find that they had lost their houses and livelihoods. In 1988, an official apology was issued by the government, and all surviving internees were given a payment of $20,000. The US government stated stated "In retrospect, we understand that the nation's actions were rooted deeply in racial prejudice, wartime hysteria, and a lack of political leadership." However, many still consider this apology "too little too late", and the Internment of the Japanese remains "one great blot on the constitution"-Hawaii Senator Spark Matsunaga.
On December 7th, 1941, 353 Japanese fighter planes attacked the US Naval Base at Pearl Harbor. They sank 4 out of 8 US battleships and killed 2,402 Americans (mostly soldiers living on the base). This was the first attack on American soil since the war of 1812.
The most controversial aspect of the attack was that it happened during peace negotiations between the United States government and Japan. The attack was not supposed to happen until 20 minutes after Japan had officially declared war on the US, but the message was not decoded quickly enough. Thus, at the time of the attack, the US government still believed itself to be in the middle of peace negotiations, and felt that they had been stabbed in the back by Japan. The US government quickly began to suspect Japanese-Americans of being informants for Japan, and began incarcerating them. During the first 48 hours after the attack on Pearl Harbor, 1,291 Issei (first generation Japanese immigrants) were taken into custody, with no formal charges. Most of them remained in enemy alien internment camps for the remainder of the war.
On February 19, 1942, President Roosevelt signed Executive order 9066, which made it legal for any military authority to anyone from anywhere without trial. This led the way for the widespread forced removals and incarceration of Japanese-Americans. Later, on March 18, 1942, President Roosevelt signed Executive Order 9102 establishing the War Relocation Authority.
The Japanese-Americans were housed in three types of camps. The first was a civilian assembly camp; a place capable of housing many people at once (such as a horse barn). The second type was a relocation center, which was designed to provide a more permanent living space to families. The relocation centers were more heavily armed than civilian assembly camps, and were built in remote locations. The third kind of camp was a detention center, where any internees who refused to sign a paper declaring full allegiance to the United States were sent. Internees who were identified as trouble makers were also sent to these detention centers.
The Internment of the Japanese was a dark time in US History. Families were forced from their homes with less than 48 hours notice. Most returned to find that they had lost their houses and livelihoods. In 1988, an official apology was issued by the government, and all surviving internees were given a payment of $20,000. The US government stated stated "In retrospect, we understand that the nation's actions were rooted deeply in racial prejudice, wartime hysteria, and a lack of political leadership." However, many still consider this apology "too little too late", and the Internment of the Japanese remains "one great blot on the constitution"-Hawaii Senator Spark Matsunaga.
