https://storymaps.esri.com/stories/2017/japanese-internment/index.html
Part 1: Introduction
⦁ How many Japanese Americans were forcibly removed from their homes and detained in concentration camps during World War II?
Over 120,000
⦁ Why were Japanese Americans placed in concentration camps according to the American government in World War II?
The Government declared the “Japanese race” an “enemy race”
⦁ What did the American government state about the internment of Japanese Americans during World War II in 1982?
The American government stated that the internment of Japanese Americans was for national security but later admitted that it was a mistake based on collective misinformation and fear.
Part 2: The Prelude
⦁ During what time period did the Japanese start migrating to the United States in large numbers?
The Mid-1880s
⦁ Who are the Issei?
Issei were the first generation of immigrants from Japan
⦁ How did the federal government try to prevent Japanese immigration to the United States?
The U.S. government signed a “Gentleman’s Agreement” in 1907, that would limit the flow of Japanese laborers. By 1924 they also added the “National Origins” act, which prohibited any further immigration from Japan.
⦁ In what three states did most Japanese and Japanese Americans live in by 1940?
Washington, Oregon, and California
⦁ Why were Japanese communities so segregated?
White real estate agents would sell the property to Japanese-Americans in Japantowns, which resulted in segregating their communities.
⦁ Who were Nisei and Sansei?
Nisei and Sansei were Japanese-Americans, born in the U.S, and considered themselves Americans.
⦁ What rights and advantages did Nisei and Sansei have over the Issei?
Younger generations were viewed more as Americans than Japanese-Americans.
⦁About what percent of the American population was Japanese and Japanese American around 1940?
Less than 1%
Part 3: The Order
⦁Why did General John L. DeWitt believe the United States needed the establishment of military zones of exclusion for Japanese Americans?
He believed that the Japanese invasion was imminent.
⦁When was Executive Order 9066 signed?
It was signed on February 19, 1942
⦁ What did Executive Order 9066 allow?
This authorized the army to remove any civilians from designated military exclusion zones
⦁How many assembly centers were there on the West Coast for Japanese Americans?
There were 15 assembly centers on the west coast
⦁What types of buildings or areas were used for assembly centers by the American government?
They were usually used for public spaces such as fairgrounds, lumber mills, racetracks, and livestock pens
⦁What were relocation centers? What parts of the United States were they usually located within?
They were federally owned land and usually were located across the west and south areas
⦁ Did Executive Order 9066 use the words Japanese Americans in its order?
Japanese American was not used in the order it was the word civilians
Part 4: The Relocation
⦁How did most Americans or popular opinion view Japanese Americans during World War II?
Most Americans’ opinions about Japanese Americans were assuming their guilt.
⦁What did mountain states demand if Japanese Americans were to be sent to their states?
Mountain states refused the arrival of Japanese Americans so they made WCCA which forced the removal of Japanese Americans
⦁What happened to the property and personal possessions of most Japanese Americans during the relocation?
They usually stored it or sold it off,
⦁How were Japanese and Japanese Americans moved to the internment camps?
By car, bus, and train the WCCA WRA evacuated families.
⦁What was the only way Japanese and Japanese Americans could show their loyalty to the United States?
If they complied with what the WRA told them to do then they’d be considered loyal
⦁By the end of 1942, how many Japanese and Japanese Americans had been moved to internment camps?
120,000 people were moved into internment camps.
⦁About how many years did most Japanese and Japanese Americans spend in the internment camps?
About 4 years
Part 5: The Camps
⦁What were the camps like when the first Japanese Americans arrived?
Each family was given a single tar-papered barracks-style room measuring 20 feet by 20 feet. Cots and blankets, stoves, electricity, and a clothing stipend were provided by the government, as well as mass teaching, eating, and bathing facilities.
⦁How much space did each family get in a barrack?
The families would get 20 by 20 feet barracks.
⦁List some of the few supplies or resources the government provided to families:
Cots and blankets, stoves, electricity, and a clothing stipend were provided by the government, as well as mass teaching, eating, and bathing facilities.
⦁About how much were people paid for work in the camps?
Jobs in the camp paid at a rate of $12 per month for unskilled labor, up to as much as $19 per month for professional services
⦁What did the WRA believe or assume about most incarcerated or imprisoned Japanese-American families?
The WRA was founded on the premise that the majority of incarcerated families were loyal. The WRA assumed that its wards had not fully adapted to Western values, therefore it imposed an “Americanization” strategy on them.
⦁List several ways that Japanese-Americans tried to have a “normal” life in the internment camps:
Incarcerated families attempted to live regular lives in the camps if only to protect their children from the horror of incarceration. Community governments, newspapers, and businesses such as grocery stores, barbershops, and cobblers were established by Japanese Americans. They held baseball tournaments and built basketball hoops out of local materials. The WRA promoted activities that aligned with its Americanization objective.
⦁What were all of the internment camps surrounded by?
All of the camps were surrounded by barbed-wire fences and armed watchtowers.
⦁What would happen if Japanese-Americans got too close to a prison wall or fence?
The Japanese – Americans would be shot if they were too close.
⦁How many Japanese Americans served in the United States military during World War II?
33,000 Japanese Americans
⦁What camp were the 12,000 “disloyal” Japanese and Japanese Americans sent to?
Tule Lake
Part 6: Resettlement
⦁For what reason were some Japanese-Americans allowed to leave the internment camps?
Some were allowed to leave for agricultural labor or pursuit of education.
⦁Why did President Roosevelt wait on ending or closing some of the internment camps in 1944?
The election was motivated by political considerations
⦁About what percent of Japanese-Americans returned to the West Coast after World War II ended in 1945?
Little more than 50%
⦁What did Executive Order 9742 do?
Dissolving the wartime relocation authority
⦁What problems did many Japanese American families face when they tried to return home?
Land overgrown and possessions looted
Part 7: The Legacy
⦁What did many Japanese Americans want the United States government to do in the 1960s all the way through the 1980s?
Pushing for public acknowledgment and reparations
⦁What did the Civil Liberties Act do?
Formally apologizing to the American people of Japanese descent incarcerated during the war
⦁What is something new or interesting you learned about the internment of Japanese Americans during World War II?
The Japanese Americans didn’t get any public acknowledgment until they asked for it, and the government admitted its mistake
⦁What lesson do you think the United States could learn from the operation of internment camps and the mistreatment of American citizens during World War II?
They can learn to not do it again and find better ways of going about a war
⦁Executive Order 9066 was very controversial; can you think of any policies or other activities by the United States government that have been controversial during your lifetime?
California’s vehicle laws, the death penalty
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