INTERNMENT OF JAPANESE AMERICANS

• When the war began, 120,000 Japanese Americans lived in the U.S. – mostly on the West Coast

• After Pearl Harbor, many people were suspicious of possible spy activity by Japanese Americans

• In 1942, FDR ordered Japanese Americans into 10 relocation centers

Japanese Americans felt the sting of discrimination during WWII

Location of the 10 Internment camps

Jerome camp in Arkansas

“Forgetting the Constitution”2. In response to these fears, President Roosevelt signed

Executive Order 9066 on February 19, 1942.

“Forgetting the Constitution”3. About 120,000 Japanese Americans from the West Coast were forced to leave their homes and businesses.

“Forgetting the Constitution”5. Most Japanese Americans were torn or confused about

being moved.

6. They were United States citizens but they were also proud of their Japanese heritage.

Most of the hastily constructed camps were located in bleak deserts. Families were crowded together in flimsy housing with no running

water.

Barbed wire and armed guards surrounded each camp.

One resident recalled, “We struggled with the heat, the sandstorms , the scorpions, the rattlesnakes, the confusion, the overcrowded

barracks, and the lack of privacy.”

“Forgetting the Constitution”7. They established schools, churches, recreational centers, newspapers and their own camp governments.

“Forgetting the Constitution”8. Despite the injustices suffered by their families, over

16,000 young Japanese American men in the camps volunteered for military service.

“Forgetting the Constitution”9. Eventually, the internment camps were closed and

people went out and did their best to build new lives.

10. Many Japanese Americans still faced racism when they tried to find jobs and new homes.

In 1988, Congress passed legislation that gave $20,000 to every Japanese American who had been interned in the camps. In signing

House Bill 442, Reagan said, “We are here to right a grave wrong….It is not for us to pass judgment on those who made

mistakes. And yet the internment was just that– a mistake.” The first payments were made to those 80 years and older in October

1990 accompanied with a formal letter of apology.