US HISTORY Name ____________________________________U6 #18 Period ___________

World War Two: Japanese-American IncarcerationHow did the United States treat Japanese Americans during World War Two?

Executive Order 9066The President

Whereas the successful prosecution of the war requires every possible protection against espionage and against sabotage for national defense…therefore, by the virtue of the authority vested in me as President of the United States, and the 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 seems 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.

Franklin D. RooseveltThe White HouseFebruary 19, 1942

Origin: When was this document created? Why is this date important? (think about why the United States got involved in the war)

Value: This document never uses the term “Japanese-Americans,” so what other language does President Roosevelt use to make clear that this order is meant to be about them?

Oral History with Samuel Mihara Origin: Is Samuel Mihara a reliable person to learn about incarceration from?

Why or why not?

Summarize the conditions of the incarceration camp that Mihara describes. What was life like for him?

May 2, 1942Photo taken by Dorothea Lange Third-generation American children of Japanese ancestry in California, awaiting the arrival of the bus that would take them to an incarceration center.

Describe what is happening in this image. Most importantly, what country are these people in the image from?

Do you find this image powerful or moving? Why or why not?

Now take a look at this reading from the 2000 edition of the US history textbook, The Americans. Note that these three paragraphs are the only time that incarceration of American citizens is mentioned.

Does this textbook reading capture all of the details you’ve studied today about Japanese incarceration? Identify some of the textbook’s biggest weaknesses.

Remember that history is made by people who make choices. Does this textbook accurately place blame (of give agency) on people who incarcerated American citizens? How do you know?

Help Make the Textbook BetterImagine that the textbook company is writing a new edition of the book and is asking for student input on what they should include. Now that you’ve done some research about the lives of Japanese-Americans, rewrite a new summary of Japanese-American incarceration during World War Two. Please write at least five sentences. Good details to include might be:

Why the government decided to incarcerate Japanese Americans Who decided to incarcerate Japanese Americans (and how) The experiences of people living in the camps

To make for a stronger and more informative textbook, you may want to include the sources you studied today, like the image in the bellringer, Executive Order 9066, the oral history with Samuel Mihara, and the image from Dorothea Lange. __________________________________________________________________________________

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