Japanese Internment Camps
In 1940, there was an estimated 127,000 Japanese-Americans living in the United States according to the census. After the Pearl Harbor attack, there was a suspicion that these Japanese-Americans were trying to sabotage the United States’ war effort. In 1942, Roosevelt and his administration, were pressured by the American people to remove people of Japanese ancestry.
Roosevelt signed Executive Order 9066, on February 19, 1942. This made Japanese-Americans, whether they were citizens or not, to leave the West Coast. This severely affected Hawaii whose population was one-third Japanese-American. There were ten internment camps set up along the western United States. These camps were located in California, Utah, Wyoming, Idaho, Arizona, Colorado, and Arkansas. The camps held over 120,000 people. The people in the camps often had to sell their property before they left. Also, the system of the camps started social problems between the Japanese-Americans in the camp. Instead of the older immigrants getting their respect, the younger, American-born people, were given authority positions in the camps. Many of the Japanese-American citizens, renounced their citizenship after being put in the camps. Also, many people in the camps joined the military, along with many Japanese who lived outside the relocation zone, like in Hawaii. Two Supreme Court cases were used to uphold the legality of Executive Order 9066. These cases were Hirabayashi v. United States and Korematsu v. United States. In 1945, Japanese-American citizens were able to return to the West Coast, and the last internment camp closed in March 1946. A law was created in 1948 that allowed Japanese-Americans in the camps to reimburse for property losses. Then in 1988, the survivors of the camps were awarded restitution payments of twenty thousand dollars by Congress. An estimated 73,000 people will receive these restitution payments because of the internment camps.
Roosevelt signed Executive Order 9066, on February 19, 1942. This made Japanese-Americans, whether they were citizens or not, to leave the West Coast. This severely affected Hawaii whose population was one-third Japanese-American. There were ten internment camps set up along the western United States. These camps were located in California, Utah, Wyoming, Idaho, Arizona, Colorado, and Arkansas. The camps held over 120,000 people. The people in the camps often had to sell their property before they left. Also, the system of the camps started social problems between the Japanese-Americans in the camp. Instead of the older immigrants getting their respect, the younger, American-born people, were given authority positions in the camps. Many of the Japanese-American citizens, renounced their citizenship after being put in the camps. Also, many people in the camps joined the military, along with many Japanese who lived outside the relocation zone, like in Hawaii. Two Supreme Court cases were used to uphold the legality of Executive Order 9066. These cases were Hirabayashi v. United States and Korematsu v. United States. In 1945, Japanese-American citizens were able to return to the West Coast, and the last internment camp closed in March 1946. A law was created in 1948 that allowed Japanese-Americans in the camps to reimburse for property losses. Then in 1988, the survivors of the camps were awarded restitution payments of twenty thousand dollars by Congress. An estimated 73,000 people will receive these restitution payments because of the internment camps.
Works Cited
History.com Staff. "Japanese-American Relocation." History.com. A&E Television Networks, 01 Jan. 2009. Web. 08 May 2016.
<http://www.history.com/topics/world-war-ii/japanese-american-relocation>.
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<http://www.history.com/topics/world-war-ii/japanese-american-relocation>.
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