FDR Orders Japanese Americans into Internment Camps

Context

• Date: February 19, 1942
• President: Franklin D. Roosevelt
• Event: Signing of Executive Order 9066
• Reason: Response to fears of Japanese attack or sabotage post-Pearl Harbor attack

Executive Order 9066

• Purpose: Forced removal of resident "enemy aliens" from military areas in the West
• Targeted Groups: Primarily Japanese Americans, also affected Italian and German Americans
• Areas Affected: West Coast cities, ports, industrial and agricultural regions

Impact on Japanese Americans

• Racism and Jealousy: Long-standing racism fueled by jealousy over Japanese American commercial success
• Internment: En masse relocation to "Relocation Centers"
• Conditions: Cramped, crude accommodations; loss of businesses, homes, and family separations

Specific Events and Details

• Mochida Family: Among the 117,000 forced into camps by June 1942
• Business Closures: Example of a Japanese-American grocery owner in Oakland declaring his patriotism but still interned
• Notable Camps: Manzanar, Tule Lake
  • First group arrived at Manzanar on March 21, 1942
  • Manzanar's peak population was over 10,000
• Children's Relocation: Japanese ancestry children moved from schools to camps

Political and Legal Challenges

• War Department: Enforced by Secretary of War Henry Stimson
• Attorney General Biddle's Observations: Roosevelt's determination and disregard for Bill of Rights implications
• Eleanor Roosevelt's Reaction: Opposed the decision
• Supreme Court Rulings: Upheld the constitutionality of Executive Order 9066 twice

Aftermath

• Gerald Ford: 1976 order prohibiting re-institution of such orders
• Ronald Reagan: 1988 public apology and reparations to former internees

Visual Documentation

• Photographs: Display Japanese Americans in camps, their conditions, and interactions with government officials
  • Includes images from the Bettmann Archive/Getty Images

Legacy

• Controversy: Acknowledgment of the violation of civil rights and freedoms
• Historical Reflection: Recognition and apology decades later for the unjust treatment of Japanese Americans during WWII

This summary captures the key points from the history.com's documentation of FDR's Executive Order 9066 and its profound impact on Japanese Americans during WWII. It provides a concise overview of the events, political context, and subsequent legal and moral reckonings.