Japanese in America In the 1880s, came to West Coast to work Issei = 1st Japanese immigrant...
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Transcript of Japanese in America In the 1880s, came to West Coast to work Issei = 1st Japanese immigrant...
Japanese in America
In the 1880s, came to West Coast to work
Issei = 1st Japanese immigrant generation
Federal law prohibited Issei from becoming naturalized American citizens
Illegal for Issei to own agricultural land in California
Nisei
Nisei = 2nd generation Japanese Automatically American citizens Attended public school and
college, spoke English, worked, and voted in elections
Thought of themselves as “Americans”
In 1940, 127,000 persons of Japanese ancestry lived in U.S.
63 percent were Nisei
Reaction to Pearl Harbor
California barbershop: “free shaves for Japs—not responsible for accidents”
Governor of Idaho: “A good solution to the Jap problem would be to send them all back to Japan, then sink the island. They live like rats, breed like rats, and act like rats.”
General John L. DeWitt
Responsible for the defense of the West Coast
False rumors spread about preparations for a Japanese invasion
Believed Japanese could not be trusted
DeWitt: Lack of sabotage on the West Coast only proved that they were waiting for a Japanese invasion to begin
Relocation Plan
DeWitt develops plan to remove all Japanese and lock them in prison camps
The Justice Department, FBI and Army Intelligence all concluded that such a drastic action was not necessary
FDR accepted General DeWitt’s recommendation
Executive Order 9066
Signed by FDR on February 9, 1942
Gave DeWitt authority to order the mass evacuation of Issei and Nisei from West Coast
Affected 120,000 Japanese-Americans
“for protection against espionage and against sabotage.”
Congress made it a crime to refuse to leave a military area
March 2, 1942
DeWitt issued orders requiring all persons of Japanese ancestry in 8 western states to report to temporary assembly centers
Transported to permanent “relocation centers”
They would remain there for up to four years
Evacuation Families usually had only a few
days to sell their homes, businesses, vehicles and property
Almost all cooperated, believing that by doing so they proved their loyalty
60 percent evacuated were U.S. citizens
None had a hearing or trial Once in the camps, were required
to sign a “loyalty oath”
Camp Conditions
Army barracks—little or no privacy
Plenty of food—nobody starved
Encouraged to make as normal a life as possible
Could set up communities in the camps: shops, religious centers, schools, theater
Korematsu v. United States
Hirabayashi v. United StatesRead and Write:
1. What are the basic facts of the case?2. What are the constitutional issues
involved?3. What was the ruling (the vote) and the
reasons given for the vote? Did anyone dissent? What did they say?
4. What was the significance of the case?
Results By the time the evacuation was complete, the U.S.
was already in command of the Pacific. Danger of possible invasion was past.
17,600 Japanese Americans distinguished themselves fighting in the armed services for the U.S. in World War II
At the end of the war, Japanese found their property sold for taxes or storage fees and their areas overrun
About 26,000 were reimbursed for their losses at about 1/3 of the claimed value
Demand for Justice A young generation of Japanese-American students inspired by
the civil rights movement started the “Redress Movement” to seek justice for their parents and grandparents
President Gerald Ford in 1978 called Japanese Internment a “national mistake”
In 1978 the Japanese American Citizens League (JACL) asked for
1. $25,000 for each person who was detained 2. A formal apology from Congress 3. Release of funds to set up educational foundation for
Japanese Americans
Justice Delayed
President Ronald Reagan signed the Civil Liberties Act of 1988, which provided $20,000 for each former detainee (total of $1.2 billion dollars).
Apology
In 1992, President George H.W. Bush signed an amendment to the Civil Liberties Act which gave an additional $400,000 to remaining detainees
He also wrote an apology letter.
Ponder This…
An internment like that of Japanese Americans during World War II could never happen again in the United States.
YES or NO?