HISTORICAL OVERVIEW excepted & revised from Teachers Guide: Bill of Rights and the Japanese American WWII Experience n February 19, 1942, President Franklin min industries. Some could only send their ORoosevelt signed Executive Order 9066 children to segregated schools, and in 1924, im- which set into motion the exclusion from certain migration from Japan was halted altogether. areas, the restriction of movement by cur- Like many people few, and the entering the United eventual mobiliza- States, Japanese im- tion for mass migrants faced poverty incarceration of and hardship. In addi- 120,000 persons tion, they encountered only of Japanese an- racial hostility. How- cestry on the West ever, through hard work Coast, two -thirds of and co-operation within them U.S. citizens. their ethnic group, most This represented the persevered and gained a single most foothold in America. traumatic episode in their collective lives. Japanese American store. Oakland, CA 1942. By the 1930's, Dorothea Lange photo. National Archives. Japanese com- Almost forty years later, in 1981 a government munities on the commission investigated the causes which led to West Coast grew the exclusion and eventual removal, and found especially in cities that the incareceration was not justified by "military like Los Angeles, necessity." The decisions were stated as "race San Francisco, prejudice, war hysteria, and a failure of political Seattle, and Portland. Fanning areas had their own leadership." In 1991, based on the commission's "community centers," some with grocery stores, recommendations, the U.S. government issued an bookshops, barber shops, hotels, and language apology for the injustice and monetary restitution schools, owned by Issei (first generation Japanese im- to the surviving former internees. migrants). Because of housing and employment restrictions, the Japanese in these cities formed The incarceration had been the culmination of a small communities of their own, developing a history of racial discrimination against Asians social and economic interdependence which begun in the mid-1800's, when the Chinese first enabled the Japanese population to survive and immigrated to the U.S. Like the Chinese, the prosper. Japanese had been welcomed at first as a source of cheap labor, but shortly thereafter, became tar- Japanese farmers clustered in rural areas con- gets of anti-Asian campaigns, maligned as the sidered marginal land for farming. Through their "yellow peril." They inherited much of the new skill and hard work they transformed these lands prejudice directed previously against the Chinese, into fertile fields, and by 1941 they raised 40% of especially as the Japanese moved from itinerant California's truck crops. They also aided in the farm laborers to become owners of farms and development of the floral and fishing industries as small businesses. well as an extensive distribution system in agricul- tural products. Discriminatory laws passed during the early 1900's denied the Japanese the right to become The Issei. The Issei (Ee-say), the immigrant citizens, to own land, and to marry outside of Japanese, who established their unique com- their race. In addition, they could not buy homes munities and institutions in America, instilled in in certain areas and were barred from jobs in cer- their children a strong sense of community and 1 family, which enabled the family to survive. parents were beset with name-calling, threats of Some even prospered. violence, physical attacks, and property damage. Aware of the fact that they had been denied In fact, America as a citizenship and the right to own land, the Issei put whole in the 1930's was their hopes of acceptance and success in their a place of little American-born children, the Nisei. They en- tolerance toward people couraged their offspring to excel in school and to of color. Institutional racism prevented many of go to college. They wanted their children to take them from living in places of their choice or advantage of the opportunities that had been moving about in society at will. Many unions denied them. "For the sake of the children" be- prohibited them from membership. Employers came a familiar catch phrase for the Issei, routinely barred Asians and African Americans prodding them on to work and make sacrifices from choice jobs. Native Americans lived on with fierce determination. reservations in poverty, ignored. The Nisei. Many Nisei (Nee-say) grew up in Meanwhile, Germany rose as a power in segregated communities, socially isolated from Europe and began annexing its neighboring na- the rest of the population except in school; in the tions. At the same time, Japan set upon a similar strong family environment, they generally took course in Asia. Combining their forces with those on the Japanese cultural values of hard work, of Italy, they formed the Axis Powers which be- responsibility, and a keen sensitivity to the needs came America's enemies in World War II. of others as well as to what others might think. At the same time, as they entered school, they By September 1939, adapted to Americanized ways which emphasized Europe was embroiled individual freedom and initiative. in World War II. The U.S. remained nominally neutral, although sym- Nisei graduates from high schools and colleges pathetic to the Allies led by England and France. during the Depression years of the 1930's found After the U.S. cut down its sales of scrap iron and very limited job opportunities primarily because oil to Japan, the latter signed an affiance with Ger- of discrimination. Most worked on farms, at fruit many and Italy, further straining already stands, in small Japanese businesses, or in the ser- heightened tensions between Japan and the U.S. vice industry. On December 7, 1941, Japan bombed Pearl In the world outside home and community, the Harbor, Hawaii, destroying much of the naval Nisei often found contradictions: In school, while fleet stationed there. The U.S. declared war on they learned about freedom and equality, some Japan the next day. On December 11, Germany were required to enroll in segregated elementary and Italy declared war on the U.S. The U.S. schools or were denied access to public recreation- declared war and plunged into World War H. al facilities. While their democratic principles in America called for tolerance, they and their Japan's attack on Pearl Harbor shocked Americans, including Japanese Americans. Early Left: rumors of sabotage and espionage by Japanese Local JAPS KEEP MOVIN ordinances residents in Hawaii and the West Coast had been this is A WHITE MAN'S NEIGHBORHOOD. supported found to be false by the FBI and other govern- racial mental agencies, but these findings were intolerance in the 1920's, suppressed by high U.S. officials in government. Hollywood There was not one instance of sabotage or Protective espionage by Japanese American citizens or resi- Association, Los Angeles, dents of the U.S. before or during the war. CA. National Nevertheless, the government did not deny these Archives. rumors. 2 Not until the end of January 1942 was there a Within hours of the concerted drive by some news from Hawaii, FBI press, civic, business, and agents, many without agricultural interests to remove all persons of evidence, search or ar- Japanese ancestry, citizens and aliens. According rest warrants, conducted house to house round- to business and agriculture reports, a number of ups of 1,212 Issei in Hawaii and the mainland. thriving businesses owned by Japanese They were prominent leaders in the Japanese com- Americans posed as strong competitors in the munities: priests, teachers in language schools, agricultural industry. officers of community organizations, and newspaper editors. Often they were arrested in the Government's Rationale. General John middle of the night, taken to unknown destina- Lesesne DeWitt, commanding officer of the U.S. tions, and treated as prisoners of war. Army's Western Defense Command, pursued Subsequently, many lssei leaders were placed greater power to remove all enemy aliens from into U.S. Justice Department internment camps in New Mexico, North Dakota, Texas, and Montana. Some were paroled to their families after clearance by an Enemy Alien Hearing Board. In the days that followed, presidential proclama- tions declared various restrictions on German, Italian, and Japanese residents in the U.S. All na- tionals and subjects of Axis countries were identified as "enemy alien." Ironically, the Nisei, who were American citizens by birth, were desig- nated as "non-aliens" and were subjected to the same restrictions. Their travel, work hours, and social gatherings were severely restricted and their contraband articles confiscated. Those deemed "dangerous to the public peace or safety FBI searching home of Japanese American family. Dec. 1941. of the U.S." were subject to apprehension. The National Archives. U.S. Justice Department assumed the respon- sibility to implement their alien-enemy control zones around strategic West Coast installations. plan. In the months that followed, these restric- DeWitt's Final Report: Japanese Evacuation tions on travel and the possession of contraband from the West Coast did not present any evidence items were placed upon aliens from Japan with in- of sabotage or espionage that had occurred, mere- creasing severity. ly that there were indications that these [Japanese] are organized and ready for con- Many Japanese Americans already serving in certed action at a favorable opportunity. The very the U.S. military were re-classified as "4-C fact that no sabotage or espionage has taken enemy aliens," disarmed and reassigned to non- place to date is disturbing and confirming indica- combat duty. tion that such action will take place. The report claimed the "evacuation" was necessary based on International Implications. From 1942, some an estimate of the situation, and the disposition of the 2,260 persons of Japanese ancestry were deported Japanese and other subversive persons.