Transcript Internment Camps

Internment Camps
• Between 1942 and 1945, the U.S.
government forced more than 120,000
Japanese Americans from their homes,
farms, schools, jobs and businesses, in
violation of their constitutional civil rights
and liberties.
Roosevelt’s Executive Orders
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, 40 Stat. 533, as amended
by the Act of November 30, 1940, 54 Stat. 1220, and the Act of August 21, 1941, 55 Stat. 655
(U.S.C., Title 50, Sec. 104);
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 whom he may from time to time designate, whenever he or any
designated Commander deems such action necessary or desirable, 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. The designation of military areas in any region or locality
shall supersede designations of prohibited and restricted areas by the Attorney General under the
Proclamations of December 7 and 8, 1941, and shall supersede the responsibility and authority of
the Attorney General under the said Proclamations in respect of such prohibited and restricted
areas. ….
• Basically: He gave powers to the secretary
of war to make needed decisions on the
relocation of Japanese Americans,
German Americans, and Italian Americans.
He felt it necessary to protect against
“espionage” and “sabotage”
Justification
• After World War II the United States Government ruled the
Detainment of Japanese Americans unconstitutional. Some were
given a train ticket home, while others were subject to be sent back
to Japan.
• American Japanese Claims Act ~ meant to compensate Japanese
Americans’ loss.
• Governor Ralph Lawrence publicly apologizes
• Redress Movement (1960’s)
– Demanded public apology for the wrongs done
– Demanded a decent reparation as well ( $25, 000 )
– President Ford was the president to state that the internment was wrong
Court Cases
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Korematsu v. United States, 323 U.S. 214 (1944)
Fred Korematsu was arrested and convicted for not reporting to an assembly center in May 1942
nese descent, was convicted in a federal district court for remaining in San Leandro, California, a
'Military Area', contrary to Civilian Exclusion Order No. 34 of the Commanding General [323 U.S.
214 , 216] of the Western Command, U.S. Army, which directed that after May 9, 1942, all persons
of Japanese ancestry should be excluded from that area. No question was raised as to petitioner's
loyalty to the United States.
Hirabayashi v. United States 320 U.S. 81(1943)
Hirbayashi, an American citizen of Japanese ancestry, was convicted in the district court
of knowingly disregarding restrictions made applicable by a military commander to persons in a
military area prescribed by him as such, all as authorized by an Executive Order of the President.
Yasui vs. United States, 320 U.S. 115 (1943)
Yasui, an American born person of Japanese ancestry, was convicted in the district court of an
offense of a curfew order.
Compensation and Lawsuits
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Minidoka Lawsuit
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In an effort to prevent a massive animal feedlot from being built near Minidoka
The National Trust for Historic Preservation is part of a coalition of groups and individuals that filed
suit in 5th District Court, seeking to stop the planned 13,000-animal dairy
President Bush signed a bill to expand and refurbish the monument, and to add an 8-acre site on
Bainbridge Islandas a satellite to the monument
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Civil Liberties Act of 1988
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President Ronald Reagan signed the Civil Liberties Act of 1988
Pushed through Congress by Representative Norman Mineta and Senator Alan K. Simpson
Mineta and Simpson met while Mineta was interned at a camp in Wyoming
Provided redress of $20,000 for each surviving detainee. Totaling $1.2 billion
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George Bush
Nov. 21, 1989: George Bush authorized financial reparations to the Japanese Americans to help
compensate for the damage done to their lives
Sept. 27, 1992. The amendment of the Civil Liberties Act of 1988 provided an additional 400$ in
the benefits.
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Was signed by George Bush, who also used another formal apology from the Gov.
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Civil Liberties Act of 1988, "Restitution for World War II internment of
Japanese-Americans and Aleuts," 50 App. USCA s 1989, 50 App. USCA s 1989
The purposes of this Act (sections 1989 to 1989d of this Appendix) are to (1) acknowledge the fundamental injustice of the evacuation, relocation, and
internment of United States citizens and permanent resident aliens of Japanese
ancestry during World War II;
(2) apologize on behalf of the people of the United States for the evacuation,
relocation, and internment of such citizens and permanent resident aliens;
(3) provide for a public education fund to finance efforts to inform the public about
the internment of such individuals so as to prevent the recurrence of any similar
event;
(4) make restitution to those individuals of Japanese ancestry who were interned;
(5) make restitution to Aleut residents of the Pribilof Islands and the Aleutian Islands
west of Unimak Island, in settlement of United States obligations in equity and at law,
for (A) injustices suffered and unreasonable hardships endured while those Aleut
residents were under United States control during World War II;
(B) personal property taken or destroyed by United States forces during World
War II;
(C) community property, including community church property, taken or
destroyed by United States forces during World War II; and
(D) traditional village lands on Attu Island not rehabilitated after World War II
for Aleut occupation or other productive use; (6) discourage the occurrence of similar
injustices and violations of civil liberties in the future; and
(7) make more credible and sincere any declaration of concern by the United
States over violations of human rights committed by other nations.
Recent Events
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February 19, 2009: The 67th anniversary of the signing of Executive Order 9066
ordering the internment of persons of Japanese ancestry in the Pacific zone and the
30th annual Day of Remembrance for Japanese internment
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March 2009: The recently passed federal Omnibus Appropriations Act of 2009
appropriated $1 million for preservation of Japanese American Confinement Sites
authorized in 2006 (PL 109-441)
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Administered by the National Park Service
Camp Locations
Camp Locations
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In February 1942, President Franklin D. Roosevelt signed Executice Order 9066 and gave the
U.S. Army the authority to move and imprison anyone they considered dangerous to our national
security
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Within a month, they rounded up Japanese, Germans, and Italians, and brought to 10 Camps
across the country
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Some Camp Locations
~ Newell (Tule Lake, California) -18,789
~ Minidoka (Hunt, Idaho) - 9,397
~ Hear Mountain (Heart Mountain, Wyoming) - 10,767
~ Topaz (Topaz, Utah) - 8,130
~ Manzanar (Manzanar, California) - 10,046
~ Amache (Granada, Colorado) - 7,318
~ Colorado River (Poston, Arizona) - 17,814
~ Gila (Gila Rivers, Arizona) - 13,348
~ Rohwer (Rohwer, Arkansas) - 8,475
~erome (Denson, Arkansas) - 8,497
Camp Locations
Jerome (Denson, Arkansas)
Minidoka
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The Minidoka site was originally a 33,000-acre prison compound operated
by the War Relocation Authority at the Jerome County farming community of
Hunt
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It operated from 1942 through 1945 and held U.S. citizens of Japanese
descent
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The Bainbridge site is where 227 men, women and children were rounded
up and placed aboard a ferry in March 1942 to be sent to Minidoka
Treatment in Camps
• Block arrangements
– Singles lived barracks
– Families lived in huts
• Children in the camps treated badly
• Poor treatment by military guards
• Bad medical care
• Extreme weather conditions
• Internee work in camps
Effects on Internees and Violations
of Civil Rights
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Violations
The internees were incarcerated
without any actual factual basis
and without due process of law
for up to four years.
The reasoning U.S. leaders used
for incarcerating these people
was simply they felt that they
caused a threat to national
security. They were placed in
these camps on a basis of race
prejudice which was the result of
the ongoing war hysteria rather
then on the basis of factual
evidence and justice.
"the military authorities
considered that the need for
action was great, and time was
short."
Results
The result of their
incarceration was serious
impacts on mental and
physical health.
It has been proved that
internees have a twice as
high rate of both heart
disease and premature
death.
That Damned Fence
Anonymous poem from Poston Camp
They've sunk the posts deep into the ground
They've strung out wires all the way around.
With machine gun nests just over there,
And sentries and soldiers everywhere.
We're trapped like rats in a wired cage,
To fret and fume with impotent rage;
Yonder whispers the lure of the night,
But that DAMNED FENCE assails our sight.
We seek the softness of the midnight air,
But that DAMNED FENCE in the floodlight glare
Awakens unrest in our nocturnal quest,
And mockingly laughs with vicious jest.
With nowhere to go and nothing to do,
We feed terrible, lonesome, and blue:
That DAMNED FENCE is driving us crazy,
Destroying our youth and making us lazy.
Imprisoned in here for a long, long time,
We know we're punished--though we've committed no crime,
Our thoughts are gloomy and enthusiasm damp,
To be locked up in a concentration camp.
Loyalty we know, and patriotism we feel,
To sacrifice our utmost was our ideal,
To fight for our country, and die, perhaps;
But we're here because we happen to be Japs.
We all love life, and our country best,
Our misfortune to be here in the west,
To keep us penned behind that DAMNED FENCE,
Is someone's notion of NATIONAL DEFENCE!
Time Line
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1941
December 7 Pearl Harbor was attacked by the Japanese. Presidential Proclamation No. 2525 gives blanket
authority to Attorney General for a sweep of suspects
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December 9 Many Japanese language schools closed.
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December 11 FBI warns against possession of cameras or guns by suspected "enemy" aliens
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1942
January 1 Attorney General freezes travel by all suspected "enemy " aliens, orders surrender of weapons.
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January 14 President Roosevelt orders re-registration of suspected "enemy" aliens in West.
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January 29 US Attorney General Francis Biddle issued the first of a series of orders establishing limited strategic
areas along the Pacific Coast and requiring the removal of all suspected "enemy" aliens from these areas.
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January 31 Attorney General establishes 59 additional prohibited zones in California to be cleared by February 15.
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February 19 President Roosevelt signed Executive Order No. 9066, authorizing Secretary of War, or any military
commander designated by Secretary to establish 'military areas' and exclude therefrom 'any or all persons'.
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March 7 Army acquire Owens Valley Site for Manzanar temporary detention center.
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March 18 President Roosevelt signed Executive Order No. 9102 creating the War Relocation Authority to assist
person evacuated by the military under Executive Order No. 9066. Milton S. Eisenhower was named Director.
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1945
April 29 442--All Japanese American Regiment frees prisoners at Dachau Concentration Camps.
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August 15 V-J Day
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Oct 15- Dec 15 All WRA Internment camps are closed except for Tule Lake Center
Time Line
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1946
March 20 Tule Lake Segregation Center closed
1989
November 2 President George Bush signed Public law 101-162 which guarantees fund for reparation payments to
the WW II internment survivors beginning in October of 1990. For the Japanese American community. it marks a
victorious end to a long struggle for justice. For the nation, the President signature reaffirms the country's
commitment to equal justice under the law