Japanese+Internment

__Japanese Internment__
__Background Information:__ After Pearl Harbor many Americans were feeling an strong hate towards the Japanese, in Japan, and in the United States. Americans were afraid that the Japanese already in the United States might commit acts of spying and sabotage for the Japanese military. Fear was very high during this time, because people were fearful that the Japanese may be plotting a full-scale attack on the West Coast. About ninety percent of Japanese immigrants in the United States settled in the state of California. The Department of the American Legion decieded to place all Japanese of "dual citizenship" into Internment Camps. However, a small portion of German and Italian "enemy aliens" suspected disloyalty. It did not seem to matter if Japanese immigrants had obtained citizenship, since that "does not prove loyalty." Even citizens who were 1/16th percent Japanese could be placed into an Internment Camp, including orphaned infants who had any Japanese blood in their veins. Three Presidential Proclamations were created to make the Japanese, German, and Italian nationals "enemy aliens" to the United States.

__How many Japanese people were placed into these Internment Camps/Relocation Centeres?__ About 120,000 of Japanese decent were taken from their homese and put into Internment Camps. They were only allowed to bring a few of their posessions to the camps with them. In most cases they had fourty-eight hours to evacuates their homes and other belongings, which would then be sold to fortune hunters for much less than they were worth. More than two thirds of those who had been interned were American citizens, and half of them were children who were not old enough to show disloyalty to the United States. About 1,200 to 1,800 Japanese nationals and Japanese Americans from Hawaii were put into Internment Camps too. However, the majority of Japanese Americans and their parents in Hawaii were not interned, because Hawaii was already under martial rule. Another reason most Japanese Americans in Hawaii were not interned was because they formed thirty-five percent of Hawaiian territory's population and Hawaiian society depended on their productivity. By the end of the war only ten people were arrested of spying for Japan...all of which were Caucasian.

__What were the Internment Camps like?__ The Internees were housed in barracks covered in tar, and used shared areas for washing, laundry and eating the food. The barraks provided were simple and did not have any sort of plumbing or cooking facilities. They were designed to be military barraks, and were not intended for whole families to live in. Internees used cots for beds and recieved 45 cents daily to buy rationed food. Some Internees ended up dying from unsufficient medical care and a high level of emotional stress. Those being interned usually were able to stay with their family and were treated well, unless they violated the rules for any reason. Some camps were located in desert areas so many had to deal with the heat, and others were located in cold climates as well. Although many families were allowed to bring some of their other clothes, they were not told which camp they would be forced to live in. As a result of be so uninformed, the majority of Internees did not bring appropriate clothing, or only brought what was on their backs. The camps were guarded by military employees and surrounded by barbed wire. In a few cases the armed guards did shoot and kill Internees who tried to walk outside the surrounding fences. The shooting of a man named James Wakasa led to a re-evaluation of the camp's security measures, and in some cases, camp administrations allowed relatively free travel outside the camp boundaries. The facilities provided met international laws, but did not satisfy those forced to live in the Internment Camps. About 1/4 of the Internees left the camps to live and work outside of the exclusion zone in the United States.

__What was the Loyalty Test?__ The loyalty test was very short, consisting of only two questions, and all Internees over seventeen had to take one in 1943. The first asked to the male Internees if they would be willing to serve in the armed forces of the United States on combat duty wherever ordered. The female Internees were asked another question first because they were not allowed to serve directly in the armed forces at that time. Instead they were asked if they would be willing to serve in the Army Nurse Corps or the Women's Army Corps. The second question in the loyalty test was the same for both genders. It asked if the Internee would defend the United States faithfully, and strongly reject allegiance and obedience to Japan's emperor and other powerful organizations in Japan.

__Where were the Internment Camps/Relocation Centers in the United States?__ -Amache (Granada), CO -Gila River, AZ -Heart Mountain, WY -Jerome, AR -Manzanar, CA -Minidoka, ID -Poston, AZ -Rohwer, AR -Topaz, UT -Tule Lake, CA *held the largest Peak Population (listed): 18,789

__Internment Ends:__ In December of 1944, the Supreme Cout decided that the exclusion process as a whole was unconstitutional, especially of detaining loyal citizens. By January 2, 1945, the exclusion order was completely canceled out. After that many Internees began to move back to where they lived previous to being interned. Others were not ready to leave the Internment Camps, so they were left open for these people. Some Japanese Americans actually returned back to Japan after they were allowed to leave the Internment Camps. The last Internment Camp was not closed until 1946, some Japanese Americans that were taken from Peru were still being interned in Santa Fe until April 1946.

__Aftermath & Losses:__ The majority of Internees lost many of their posessions because of the restriction on what they were allowed to bring to the camps. When they returned to their home cities, they found theft and destruction of items placed into government storage. Some Japanese Americans also lost their lives while in these Internment Camps (as stated before) becasue of unsufficient medical treatment and by armed guards also known as sentries. Japanese Americans in a few camps also experienced psychological injury. They grew more depressed, feelings of helplessness, and personal insecurity. Many older Japanese Americans were Tenant Farmers, and during internment lost their right to the land. To make up for their losses during internment, Congress passed the American Japanese Claims Act on July 2, 1948. Because of this Act, Japanese American families filed about 26,568 claims totaling $148 million, and aproximately $37 million were approved paid. Later many Japanese Americans were paid thousands of dollars to compensate for all of the injustices suffered. The United States government also came to the conclusion that the exclusion act was a violation of civil rights.

__What name should be used to refer to the Internment Camps/Relocation Centers?__ They are officially called "War Relocation Centers." The National Park Service refers to these camps as "relocation centers," but some historians and scholars disagree with this term as well as former Internees. The term "Internment Camp" is the official name of the seperate camps that some Japanese Americans were imprisoned during World War II. The Internment Camps were run by the United States Department of Justices while they were still in use. The term "Concentration Camp" is widely avoided, although they were referenced as concentration camps at the time. After much debating, both terms of "Relocation Centers" and "Internment Camps" are appropriate for naming these particular camps in the United States.

-Lexi