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| FEBRUARY 19, 2017
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As Japan’s army advanced acrossAsia in the 1930s, theU.S. government became
suspicious of JapaneseAmericans, conducting surveillance and
of people
tobedetained ifwar brokeout.Within a fewhours of thePearl Harbor attackonDec. 7,
1941, theFBI startedmaking arrests. As news of the raids spread, a senseof fear gripped
the community. “At that juncture, youhadno idea if theywere leading themoff to
imprison themor to execute themor to send themback to Japanorwhat,” recalled
. “This is something that youdon’t think happened in this country.”
OnFeb. 19, 1942, President Roosevelt issued an executiveorder authorizingmilitary
commanders todesignatehigh-security zones and remove “anyor all persons” from
those areas. The entireWest Coastwas soondeclaredoff-limits to JapaneseAmericans.
Over the springof 1942, JapaneseAmericans inWashington, Oregon, California and
Arizonawere removed from their homes and, inmost cases, transportedfirst to
temporary
and later tomorepermanent concentration camps called
“relocation centers.”
Thismass removal was referred to as an “evacuation,” as if theywerebeing rescued from
a natural disaster. JapaneseAmericans, even citizens born in this country, weredescribed
simply as “Japanese,” erasing their American identity. Newspapers remarkedon the
“orderly fashion” of the removal and ranphotos of smiling, well-dressed families, giving
the impression that JapaneseAmericanswere content tohave their lives uprooted.
MASSREMOVAL:
‘ANORDERLYEVACUATION’
Bainbridge Island, March 1942.
Photo reprintedwithpermission fromTheSeattleTimes
SEE, THINK,WONDER
You can learn a lot from a historic imageor news
report if you take the time to examine it closely.
Read this article at right, published inTheSeattle
Times onMarch30, 1942, and then look at the
photo. Ask yourself:
• What do I see?
• What do I think is goingon?
• What does itmakemewonder?
Are your answers the same for the article and
thephoto?Although theseprompts seem simple,
let them evoke careful observation, enrich your
interpretations, and raisenewquestions.
Adapted from “See, Think,Wonder” byHarvardProject Zero’s
VisibleThinkingProject. This andother thinking routines are at
and in “MakingThingsVisible: How
toPromoteEngagement, Understanding, and Independence for
All Learners,” byRonRitchart, KarinMorrison andMarkChurch,
publishedby Jossey-Bass, 2011.
