Internment of Japanese AmericansWhat kind of hardships did WWII create for Americans at home?

Concerns About Disloyalty at the Beginning of WWII

Who? ◦People of German or Italian ancestry

Why?◦Afraid they will work with the enemy

and cause a national security riskInferAmericans may have been scared that Germans and Italians were a threat to the United States because…

After the Attack on Pearl Harbor

President Roosevelt signed proclamations declaring all German, Italian, and Japanese nationals (non-U.S. citizens) “enemy aliens.”

All “enemy aliens” had to…◦Register with the government and carry

identification cards.◦Turn in all firearms(guns), cameras, and

shortwave radios. Anything that could be used to communicate with the enemy.

◦Needed a travel permit to go more than 5 miles from their home.

Make a ConnectionThe requirements of “enemy

aliens” during WWII reminds me of…

I wonder…

Discrimination Against Japanese Americans

Japanese Americans were a smaller group with less political power than the Italians and Germans.

Why?◦Nonwhite, non-European ancestry◦Had not assimilated into American

culture as well as other immigrant groups. Kept the culture/beliefs/values from their home country.

◦Lived mainly on the West Coast where fear of a Japanese invasion was strongest.

Roosevelt Removes Japanese Americans

Internment Camps: A center for confining people who are considered a threat to national safety/security (flashcard)

Executive Order 9066President Roosevelt

creates large military zones to house current U.S. residents considered to be a threat to national security.

March 1942, military orders mass evacuation of Japanese from Pacific Coast (closest to Japan)

Life in Internment CampsForced to sell possessions and

homes within a few weeks.In desert regions away from any

towns/cities.Rows of barracks with common

bathing and dining areas.High barbed wire fencesMachine gun towers to prevent

escapeInternees created libraries, schools, and

newspapers to make life more bearable.

ReflectI think living in an interment

camp would be…I think the Japanese Americans

must have felt…I wonder…

Some ReliefGovernment officials allowed

10,000 farm workers and 4,300 college students leave camps.

1943: thousands of young Japanese men allowed to leave to join the army.

1944: People remaining in camps allowed to leave.