BACKGROUND-Executive Order No. 9066 Vocabulary: Espionage: the act or practice of spying Sabotage: The deliberate destruction of machines, railroads, roads and buildings by an enemy. Herein: in this writing

The President

Whereas the successful prosecution of the war requires every possible protection against espionage and against sabotage to national-defense material, national-defense premises, and national-defense utilities as defined in Section 4, Act of April 20, 1918,…

Now, therefore, by virtue of the authority vested in me as President of the United States, and Commander in Chief of the Army and Navy, I hereby authorize and direct the Secretary of War, and the Military Commanders… to prescribe military areas in such places and of such extent as he or the appropriate Military Commander may determine, from which any or all persons may be excluded, and with respect to which, the right of any person to enter, remain in, or leave shall be subject to whatever restrictions the Secretary of War or the appropriate Military Commander may impose in his discretion. The Secretary of War is hereby authorized to provide for residents of any such area who are excluded therefrom, such transportation, food, shelter, and other accommodations as may be necessary, in the judgment of the Secretary of War or the said Military Commander, and until other arrangements are made, to accomplish the purpose of this order… I hereby further authorize and direct the Secretary of War and the said Military Commanders to take such other steps as he or the appropriate Military Commander may deem advisable to enforce compliance with the restrictions applicable to each Military area hereinabove authorized to be designated, including the use of Federal troops and other Federal Agencies, with authority to accept assistance of state and local agencies.

I hereby further authorize and direct all Executive Departments, independent establishments and other Federal Agencies, to assist the Secretary of War or the said Military Commanders in carrying out this Executive Order, including the furnishing of medical aid, hospitalization, food, clothing, transportation, use of land, shelter, and other supplies, equipment, utilities, facilities, and services.

Franklin D. RooseveltFebruary 19, 1942.____________________________________________________________________________

1. Who wrote the document?

2. Who was responsible for carrying out the order?

3. What does the order state should be provided for people removed from military areas?

4. Why do you think Executive Order 9066 never mentions the Japanese, even though they are the people most directly affected?

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5. According to Executive Order 9066, was the internment of Japanese-Americans JUSTIFIED?

Document B- War Relocation Authority Confidential Office Memo

The Action taken with respect to Japanese in this country is justifiable on the grounds of military necessity for several reasons.

1. All Japanese look very much alike to a white person-it is hard for us to distinguish between them. It would be hard to tell a Japanese soldier in disguise from a resident Japanese. The danger of **infiltration by Japanese parachutists, soldiers, etc. is, therefore, reduced and the chances of detecting any attempt at infiltration are increased.

2. The Japanese Government has always tried to maintain close ties with and control over Japanese people in this country with the result that many of them have never really been absorbed into American life and culture. Many Japanese-Americans have been educated in Japan. Many, believers in Shintoism, worship the Emperor and regard his orders as superior to any loyalty they may owe the United States.

3. The action taken was reasonable and necessary for the protection of the Japanese themselves. It minimized the dangers of mob violence and local disorders growing out of war hysteria and racial discrimination. Through lessening the possibility of harsh treatment of Japanese in this country (incidents which would have exploited promptly by Axis propagandists who wish to make it appear to be a race war) it took away an excuse for even harsher retaliatory treatment of American prisoners by Japan.

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1. Who wrote the document?

2. Who is the intended audience for this document?

3. According to the document, the internment of the Japanese was JUSTIFIED for three reasons. List and explain THREE reasons.

**Infiltration= A method of attack used by military forces. Document A -Korematsu v. United States

Justice Black delivered the opinion of the court. …

It should be noted, to begin with, that all legal restrictions which curtail the civil rights of a single racial group are immediately suspect. That is not to say that all such restrictions are unconstitutional….

Exclusion of hose of Japanese origin was deemed necessary because of the presence of a number of disloyal members of the group, most of whom we have not doubt were loyal to this country. It was because we could not reject the finding of the military authorities that it was possible to bring about an immediate segregation of the disloyal from the loyal that we sustained the validity of the curfew order as applying to the whole group…. That there were members of the group who retained loyalties in Japan has been confirmed by investigations made subsequent to the exclusion. Approximately five thousand American citizens of Japanese ancestry refused to swear unqualified allegiance to the United States and to renounce allegiance to the Japanese Emperor, and several thousand evacuees requested repatriation to Japan.

We uphold the exclusion order as of the time it was made and when the petitioner violated it…. In doing so, we are not unmindful of the hardships imposed by it upon a large group of American citizens…. But hardships are part of war, and war is an aggregation of hardships. All citizens alike, both in and out of uniform, feel the impact of war in greater and lesser measure. Citizenship has its responsibilities as well as its privileges, and in time of war the burden is always heavier….

3 of the justices disagreed with the decision. They said:

This exclusion of ‘all persons of Japanese ancestry, both alien and non-alien,’ from the Pacific Coast area on a plea of military necessity in the absence of martial law ought not to be approved. Such exclusion goes over ‘the very brink of constitutional power’ and falls into the ugly abyss of racism.

Source: Supreme Court Case Korematsu v. United States, 1944.

1. Who was Fred Korematsu?

2. What did Fred Korematsu refuse to do?

3. What was the Supreme Court decision on the case?

4. What evidence is given in the document to support the Supreme Court’s decision?

5. What is the opinion of the three justices who disagreed?

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6. How does this decision JUSTIFY the internment of the Japanese?

Document C- Civil Liberties Act 1988

Enacted by the United States CongressAugust 10, 1988

“The Congress recognizes that, as described in the Commission on Wartime Relocation and Internment of Civilians, a grave injustice was done to both citizens and permanent residents of Japanese ancestry by the evacuation, relocation, and internment of civilians during World War II.

As the Commission documents, these actions were carried out without adequate security reasons and without any acts of espionage or sabotage documented by the Commission, and were motivated largely by racial prejudice, wartime hysteria, and a failure of political leadership.

The excluded individuals of Japanese ancestry suffered enormous damages, both material and intangible, and there were incalculable losses in education and job training, all of which resulted in significant human suffering for which appropriate compensation has not been made.

For these fundamental violations of the basic civil liberties and constitutional rights of these individuals of Japanese ancestry, the Congress apologizes on behalf of the Nation.”

Based on the findings of the Commission on Wartime Relocation and Internment of Civilians (CWRIC), the purposes of the Civil Liberties Act of 1988 with respect to persons of Japanese ancestry included the following:

1) To acknowledge the fundamental injustice of the evacuation, relocation and internment of citizens and permanent resident aliens of Japanese ancestry during World War II;

2) To apologize on behalf of the people of the United States for the evacuation, internment, and relocations of such citizens and permanent residing aliens;

3) To provide for a public education fund to finance efforts to inform the public about the internment so as to prevent the recurrence of any similar event;

4) To make restitution to those individuals of Japanese ancestry who were interned;

5) To make more credible and sincere any declaration of concern by the United States over violations of human rights committed by other nations.______________________________________________________________

1. When was the Civil Liberties Act enacted, or created, by Congress? How many years after the war was this created?

2. Who wrote the document?

3. Who was Congress making an apology to?

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4. List 3 reasons why the Congress apologized.

5. How does this document help REFUTE the internment of Japanese?

Document D- Constitution

The Fifth Amendment of the Constitution states: No person shall…be deprived of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law….

By subjecting Japanese and Japanese Americans to internment as a group, the United States has denied them due process of law. Proper due process requires individuals to be proven guilty through individual, established procedures.

The Fourteenth Amendment of the Constitution states: No State shall…deny to any person within its jurisdiction the equal protection of the laws.

Though the Fourteenth Amendment refers to states, it also applies (through the Fifth Amendment) to the federal government. The government is obliged to provide equal rights; if the rights of a particular racial group are taken away, the reason for doing so must pass the highest scrutiny possible.

Article II, Section 2 of the Constitution gives the President the power as commander in chief of the military. Commanding the military includes issuing orders as necessary to help the military carry out its duties to protect the nation. Such orders include Executive Order 9066, which expressly allowed restrictions on the movement and presence of groups of people in certain areas of the country.When our shores are threatened by hostile forces, the power to protect should be commensurate with the threatened danger.The armed services must protect a society, not merely its Constitution.

Under the Alien Enemy Act of 1798, which remains in effect today, the U.S. may apprehend, intern and otherwise restrict the freedom of “alien enemies” upon declaration of war or actual, attempted or threatened invasion by a foreign nation.

1. Identify parts of the Constitution that support the internment of Japanese-Americans.

2. Identify parts of the Constitution that Do Not support the internment of Japanese Internment.

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Document E-Reading 1: Fear!

The following headlines and excerpts from articles appeared in The Los Angeles Times between December 1941 and February 1942. They provide a glimpse of what people living in Los Angeles could read in the papers in the months following Pearl Harbor:

SUICIDE REVEALS SPY RING HERE. Japanese Doctor Who Killed Self After Arrest Called Espionage Chief. (Dec. 19, 1941)

WHAT TO DO IN CASE OF POISON GAS ATTACKS. (Dec. 19, 1941)

JAP SUBS RAID CALIFORNIA SHIPS. Two Steamers Under Fire. (Dec. 21, 1941)

JAPAN PICTURED AS A NATION OF SPIES. Veteran Far Eastern Correspondent Tells About Mentality of Our Enemies in Orient. (Dec. 23, 1941)

[U. S.] REPRESENTATIVE FORD WANTS ALL COAST JAPS IN CAMPS. (Jan. 22, 1942)

NEW WEST COAST RAIDS FEARED. Unidentified Flares and Blinker Lights Ashore Worry Naval Officials. (Jan. 25, 1942)

OLSEN SAYS WAR MAY HIT STATE. Shift of Combat to California Possible, Governor Declares. (Jan. 26, 1942)

EVICTION OF JAP ALIENS SOUGHT. Immediate Removal of Nipponese Near Harbor and Defense Areas Urged by Southland Officials. (Jan 28, 1942)

THE QUESTION OF JAPANESE-AMERICANSby W. H. AndersonPerhaps the most difficult and delicate question that confronts our powers that be is the handling--the safe and proper treatment--of our American-born Japanese, our Japanese-American citizens by the accident of birth. But who are Japanese nevertheless. A viper is nonetheless a viper wherever the egg is hatched. (Feb. 2, 1942)

CALIFORNIANS SEEK MORE ALIEN CURBS. Washington and Oregon Members of Congress Join in Plea for Expansion of Program. (Feb. 3, 1942)

AMERICAN JAPS REMOVAL URGED. Internment of All Dual Citizens Asked by [Los Angeles] County Defense Council. (Feb. 3, 1942)

VENTURA COUNTY URGES REMOVAL OF ALL JAPANESE. Supervisor Demands Drastic Measures in Seeking Evacuation From Coast Area. (Feb. 4, 1942)

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LOYAL JAPS MUST AID FIGHT AGAINST SABOTAGE, SAYS OLSON. Governor Asserts Action Will be Taken to Curb Spy and Fifth Columnist Activities. (Feb. 5, 1942)

JAPANESE HERE SENT VITAL DATA TO TOKYO. American-Born Nipponese Had Powerful Radios to Transmit Messages, Dies [Chairman, House Un-American Activities Committee] Will Disclose. (Feb. 6, 1942)

BOWRON ASKS REMOVAL OF ALL JAPANESE INLAND. Mayor would Establish Both Alien and Native-Born Hundreds of Miles From Coast. (Feb. 6, 1942)

ARMY ORDERS SABOTAGE ALERT HERE. Warning Issued for All California. City Placed on Air Raid Alert. (Feb. 7, 1942)

ALIEN ISOLATION PLEA MISUNDERSTOOD. Washington Seems to Feel Coast is Panicky; [Says] All Necessary Measures Have Been Taken. (Feb. 8, 1942)

MILITARY CONTROL OF ALIENS ADVOCATED. Defense Council Wants Army and Navy to Police Foreigners in Combat Zones. (Feb. 12, 1942)

LINCOLN WOULD INTERN JAPS. [Mayor] Bowron Says Civil War President Would Move Aliens If In Office Today. (Feb. 13, 1942)

DANGER IN DELAYING JAP REMOVAL CITED. Congress Warned Speed Necessary to Prevent Widespread Sabotage Attempts on West Coast. (Feb. 14, 1942)

1. Based on the headlines, what do you think people living in Los Angeles were afraid of?

2. What words were used to refer to people of Japanese ancestry? For most Japanese, the word "Jap" was and is highly offensive. Why do you think it was used so often?

3. If you were a Japanese American living in Los Angeles, how would you react to these headlines?

4. Pick 2 headlines to JUSTIFY or REFUTE the Internment of Japanese.

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D E F G

The headlines in Reading 1 were compiled from The Los Angeles Times, Dec. 1941-Feb. 1942. The text of Executive Order 9066 is taken from "War Relocation Authority Camps in Arizona, 1942-1946" on-line exhibit.

Document F- Propaganda

Propaganda Poster parodying Dorothea Lange's "I am an American"This is America photograph, from Library of Congress.

B

1. Describe the different types of propaganda used in America after Pearl Harbor was attacked. What is the purpose of each type?

2. How does the propaganda help to answer the question, was America JUSTIFIED in the Internment of Japanese?

Document E-In Defense of Internment In a time of war, the survival of the nation comes first. Civil Liberties are not sacrosanct…No one was exempt from the hardships of World War II, which demanded a wide range of civil rights sacrifices on the part of citizen and non-citizen, majority and minority alike. Ethnic Japanese forced to leave the West Coast of the United States and relocate outside of prescribed military zones after the Pearl Harbor attack endured a heavy burden, but they were not the only ones who suffered and sacrificed. Enemy aliens from all Axis nations – not just Japan – were subjected to curfews, registration, censorship, and exclusion from sensitive areas. Thousands of foreign nationals from Germany, Italy, Hungary, Romania, Bulgaria, and elsewhere were deemed dangerous, interned, and eventually deported.

Source: Michelle Malkin wrote a book, “In Defense of Internment: The Case for ‘Racial Profiling’ in World War II and the War on Terror.” The passage above is an excerpt from that book._____________________________________________

1. When was the passage written?

2. Why does the author believe the internment of the Japanese was justified?

3. The author argues that people from what other countries also suffered?

4. List the 4 punishments that enemy aliens, including the Japanese, had to endure in the United States

5. According to Michelle Malkin, was the internment of Japanese-Americans justified during World War II?

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