Pre-World War II
Searching for a better life, millions of immigrants flocked to America’s
shores from all directions in the late 19th and early 20th centuries.
Among them were immigrants from Japan. Most settled in Hawaii
and on the West Coast to work as agricultural laborers. Discriminatory
laws prevented Japanese and other Asian immigrants from becoming
naturalized citizens. Powerless and small in number, they became
scapegoats for opportunistic politicians, organized labor and newspaper
publishers. Despite this, Japanese Americans found economic niches in
agriculture and small business, and built thriving communities. By 1940,
a new American-born generation was coming of age and native-born
U.S. citizens made up two-thirds of the Japanese American population.
But war with the land of their ancestors would change things forever.
The Lineup, Courtesy of Roger Shimomura
Seattle Boy Scouts.
Courtesy of Seattle Nisei Veterans Committee
What should we call the camps?
During World War II, the U.S. government used euphemisms
— words that made things sound better than they were — to
describe the forced removal and incarceration of Japanese
Americans. For instance, the government said that Japanese
Americans were “evacuated” to “relocation centers” — implying
that this was being done for their protection, as in a natural
disaster — while the camps were surrounded by barbed wire with
armed guards posted with their guns facing into the camps.
This educational supplement uses the term “concentration
camp” to refer to the facilities in which Japanese Americans were
held. These camps fit the dictionary definition of “concentration
camps” and were referred to as such by many people at the
time, including President Franklin Roosevelt. Use of this term is
not meant to compare what happened to Japanese Americans to
what happened in Europe, where the term “concentration camp”
might itself be considered euphemistic.
What happened to Japanese Americans during World War II?
December 7, 1941
The Japanese attack Pearl
Harbor, crippling the United
States Pacific Fleet and killing
2,390 Americans.
1941
January – February, 1942
The strong consensus of American media against Japanese
Americans is a factor in influencing the decision makers to push
for forcibly removing all Japanese Americans including native-
born U.S. citizens from the West Coast.
1942
February 19, 1942
President Franklin D. Roosevelt signs Executive Order 9066,
which authorizes the designation of military areas from
which both aliens and citizens can be excluded.
March 24, 1942
The first of 108 civilian exclusion orders are issued to Japanese
Americans living on Bainbridge Island, Washington. They are
told to report a week later with only what they could carry.
Spring – Summer 1942
Japanese Americans are removed neighborhood by
neighborhood to live in temporary “assembly centers,”
often the horse stalls at facilities such as the Tanforan Race
Track and the Puyallup Fairgrounds.
Summer – Fall 1942
Japanese Americans move from temporary “assembly
centers” to ten concentration camps. These crudely built
facilities are located in inhospitable areas of California,
Arizona, Utah, Wyoming, Idaho, Colorado and Arkansas.
November – December 1942
Unrest breaks out over administration policies at the Manzanar,
California and Poston, Arizona camps. Military police fire into
the crowd at Manzanar and kill two inmates.
February 1943
President Roosevelt says, “Americanism is not, and never was, a
matter of race or ancestry,” as he announces the formation of the
entirely Japanese American 442nd Regimental Combat Team.
February 1943
The War Relocation Authority (WRA) administers a
questionnaire to all incarcerated Japanese Americans to
separate the “loyal” from the “disloyal,” which causes further
unrest in the camps.
1943
Fall 1943
Those who answer “no” on the loyalty questions do this for
many reasons — most of which have little to do with “loyalty”
— such as to keep their family together. The “disloyal” are
segregated, and sent to the Tule Lake, California camp.
January 1944
The military draft is reinstated for Japanese Americans,
including those held in the camps. While most report for
induction, draft resistance movements break out at some
of the camps.
1944
January 1945
The exclusion of Japanese Americans from the West Coast is
lifted after being delayed for political purposes until after the
November elections.
Summer – Fall 1945
The War Relocation Authority closes most of the camps.
Ironically, many of those left in the camps — mostly the
elderly and families with young children — do not want to
leave because they have no place to go and fear violence and
discrimination on the outside.
1945
Minidoka Barracks.
Courtesy of Wing Luke Museum
An American Enemy.
Courtesy of Roger Shimomura
Leaving Minidoka.
Courtesy of WIng Luke Musuem
A government trying
to right a wrong
A Congressional commission was
formed to investigate the Japanese
American incarceration. The commission
issued a report stating there was “no
military necessity” and citing the
causes of the wartime incarceration
as “racial prejudice, wartime hysteria
and a lack of political leadership.”
They recommended that the federal
government apologize and provide
$20,000 for Japanese Americans
who had been unjustly incarcerated.
President Ronald Reagan signed the
Civil Liberties Act of 1988 which turned
these recommendations into law.
President Reagan signing the Civil Liberties Act of 1988.
Norm Mineta is second from left. Courtesy of Cherry Kinoshita
Go to
Densho.org/Times
for additional information about
the World War II incarceration of Japanese Americans.
The Lineup, Roger Shimomura
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