Japanese-American Relocation in the U.S. During World War II

Size: px

Start display at page:

Download "Japanese-American Relocation in the U.S. During World War II"

Delphia Bruce
5 years ago
Views:

Japanese-American Relocation in the U.S. During World War II By National Archives, adapted by Newsela staff on 02.

1 Japanese-American Relocation in the U.S. During World War II By National Archives, adapted by Newsela staff on Word Count 731 This photo, taken on May 9, 1942, in Centerville, California, shows Japanese-Americans boarding an evacuation bus. People of Japanese ancestry were sent to be housed in War Relocation Authority centers for the duration of World War II. Photo from: U.S. National Archives and Records Administration President Franklin Delano Roosevelt declared that the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor would live in infamy. The attack, on December 7, 1941, launched the United States fully into World War II. Before Pearl Harbor, the United States had been involved in the European war only by supplying England and other allies with arms. Roosevelt orders persons of Japanese ancestry to relocation centers The attack on Pearl Harbor also created widespread fear about national security, especially on the West Coast. In February 1942, just two months after Pearl Harbor, President Roosevelt as commander-in-chief issued Executive Order It relocated all persons of Japanese ancestry, both citizens and noncitizens, inland and away from the Pacific military zone. The purpose of the order was to prevent espionage and also to protect people of Japanese descent from Americans who might take their anger over Pearl Harbor out on them. This article is available at 5 reading levels at 1

2 In Washington and Oregon, the eastern boundary of the military zone was an imaginary line along the rim of the Cascade Mountains; this line continued down California from north to south. 117,000 Japanese-Americans affected Roosevelt's order affected 117,000 people of Japanese descent, two-thirds of whom were native-born citizens of the United States. The first generation of Japanese in this country were called the Issei; the Nisei were the second generation, and there were 70,000 Nisei American citizens at the time of internment. Within weeks, all persons of Japanese ancestry whether citizens or not, young or old, rich or poor were ordered to assembly centers near their homes. Soon they were sent to permanent relocation centers outside the restricted military zones. For example, persons of Japanese ancestry in western Washington State went to the assembly center at the Puyallup Fairgrounds near Tacoma. Their home for the next several months was a cowshed at a fairgrounds or a horse stall at a racetrack. Next, they were taken to permanent relocation centers many miles from the ocean, often in remote and desolate locales. Sites included Tule Lake, California; Minidoka, Idaho; Manzanar, California; Topaz, Utah; Jerome, Arkansas; Heart Mountain, Wyoming; Poston, Arizona; Granada, Colorado; and Rohwer, Arkansas. Four or five families squeezed into tar-papered barracks. Children went to school, but families ate in common dining halls and adults had limited opportunities to work. People who became troublesome and spoke out against the internment were sent to a special camp at Tule Lake, California. Combat unit of Japanese-Americans won most medals in WWII In 1943 and 1944, the government organized a combat unit of Japanese-Americans to fight in Europe. It became the 442nd Regimental Combat Team and gained fame as the military unit that won the most medals in World War II. Many Americans doubted the loyalty of the Japanese-Americans, but the military record of the 442nd speaks to how patriotic they were. As the war drew to a close, the relocation centers were slowly emptied. While some people returned to their hometowns, others went to live in new places. For example, the Japanese- American community of Tacoma, Washington, had been sent to three different centers, but only 30 percent returned to Tacoma after the war. Likewise, only 80 percent of Japanese- Americans from Fresno, California, went back. This article is available at 5 reading levels at 2

3 "A great injustice" The internment of persons of Japanese ancestry during World War II sparked constitutional and political debate. In the 1940s, two men and one woman challenged the constitutionality of orders that relocated Japanese-Americans and forced them to follow a curfew. The two men lost their cases. However, in 1944, the Supreme Court ruled that "Mitsuye Endo is entitled to an unconditional release by the War Relocation Authority." Some people thought of the relocation centers as concentration camps, referring to the concentration camps where Nazis confined Jews during World War II. In 1988, Congress passed Public Law , which acknowledged that the internment was unjust, apologized for it, and gave $20,000 to each person who was interned. On December 7, 1991, on the 50th anniversary of the Pearl Harbor attack, President George H. W. Bush said, "The internment of Americans of Japanese ancestry was a great injustice, and it will never be repeated." One of the most stunning ironies of the internment came from an internee. When told that the Japanese were put in those camps for their own protection, the person said, "If we were put there for our protection, why were the guns at the guard towers pointed inward, instead of outward?" This article is available at 5 reading levels at 3

4 Quiz 1 All four sentences below help make the claim that relocation centers were primarily intended to protect America from Japanese-Americans, not to protect Japanese-Americans from Americans. Which of the following is the STRONGEST piece of evidence to support this idea? The purpose of the order was to prevent espionage and also to protect people of Japanese descent from Americans who might take their anger over Pearl Harbor out on them. Within weeks, all persons of Japanese ancestry whether citizens or not, young or old, rich or poor were ordered to assembly centers near their homes. Their home for the next several months was a cowshed at a fairgrounds or a horse stall at a racetrack. Next, they were taken to permanent relocation centers many miles from the ocean, often in remote and desolate locales. When told that the Japanese were put in those camps for their own protection, the person said, "If we were put there for our protection, why were the guns at the guard towers pointed inward, instead of outward?" 2 Read the paragraph from the article. Four or five families squeezed into tar-papered barracks. Children went to school, but families ate in common dining halls and adults had limited opportunities to work. People who became troublesome and spoke out against the internment were sent to a special camp at Tule Lake, California. Which idea is BEST supported by the paragraph above? Life at the camps was crowded, and people were unhappy. Life at the camps was similar to life in the Pacific military zone. People preferred the conditions at the camp in Lake Tule. People preferred to live and eat with many other people. This article is available at 5 reading levels at 4

5 3 How did the 442nd Regimental Combat Team MOST influence American opinion of Japanese- Americans? It showed Americans that Japanese-Americans could fight bravely. It showed Americans that Japanese-Americans were loyal to the U.S. It showed Americans that Japanese-Americans wanted to return home. It showed Americans that Japanese-Americans had strong military skills. 4 Which of the following BEST represents the government's approach to the internment camps after the end of World War II? The government apologized to citizens who were innocent but continued to retain the others. The government insisted that people who were interned be quickly granted release. The government apologized for the injustice and promised it would never happen again. The government insisted it was a good decision but gave money to those who were affected. This article is available at 5 reading levels at 5

Japanese Relocation During World War II By National Archives 2016

Name: Class: Japanese Relocation During World War II By National Archives 2016 Following the attack on Pearl Harbor, President Roosevelt ordered the relocation and internment of Japanese Americans in the