Internment Camps: 1942-1946
The attack on Pearl Harbor led to tension between Americans and Japanese Americans in the United States. The U.S. government suspected that these citizens would remain loyal to their ancestral land and they were feared as a security risk. In February of 1942, President Roosevelt ordered all Americans of Japanese ancestry to relocate to concentration camps located in the middle of the United States. Many Japanese American families were required to sell their homes, stores, and many of their belongings and were not promised them back upon their return from the camps. The concentration camps weren’t completed when the Japanese American citizens were forced to relocate, so many of them were held in temporary centers. Approximately two-thirds of the interns were Nisei, or Japanese Americans born in the United States, and some people had never even been to Japan. Nevertheless, every citizen who was of Japanese ancestry was forced to leave their home. Ten internment camps were completed in remote areas of seven western states: California, Arizona, Utah, Idaho, Wyoming, Colorado, and Arkansas. These internment camps would house, feed, and educate the citizens, and even provided adults with the opportunity to work for five dollars per day. Despite the many opportunities provided in these camps, life was not easy. The weather was harsh in the winter and summer, the food was poor quality, and the armed guards circling the camps weren’t afraid to shoot anyone who was trying to flee. After the last camp closed, the United States’ government provided a $20,000 cash payment to each person who was interned. These Japanese American internment camps were a significant event in World War II because they illustrated that the United States was fearful of Japan and did not want to be bombed again, and also that the U.S. did not trust their citizens and decided to hold many innocent people in internment camps similar to Nazi concentration camps.
Chin, Aimee. "Long‐Run Labor Market Effects of Japanese American Internment during World War II on Working‐Age Male Internees."Journal of Labor Economics 23.3 (2005): 491-525. Library of Congress. Teaching with Primary Sources. Web. 25 Nov. 2014. <http://www.loc.gov/teachers/classroommaterials/primarysourcesets/internment/pdf/teacher_guide.pdf>.
Foner, Eric. "Japanese-American Relocation." History.com. A&E Television Networks, 1991. Web. 23 Nov. 2014. <http://www.history.com/topics/world-war-ii/japanese-american-relocation>.
"Japanese-American Internment." Ushistory.org. Independence Hall Association, n.d. Web. 23 Nov. 2014. <http://www.ushistory.org/us/51e.asp>.
"Japanese Relocation During World War II." National Archives and Records Administration. National Archives and Records Administration, n.d. Web. 23 Nov. 2014. <http://www.archives.gov/education/lessons/japanese-relocation/>.
"World War Two - Japanese Internment Camps in the USA." From Ancient Times to the 20th Century. History on the Net, 5 Aug. 2014. Web. 24 Nov. 2014. <http://www.historyonthenet.com/ww2/japan_internment_camps.htm>.
Foner, Eric. "Japanese-American Relocation." History.com. A&E Television Networks, 1991. Web. 23 Nov. 2014. <http://www.history.com/topics/world-war-ii/japanese-american-relocation>.
"Japanese-American Internment." Ushistory.org. Independence Hall Association, n.d. Web. 23 Nov. 2014. <http://www.ushistory.org/us/51e.asp>.
"Japanese Relocation During World War II." National Archives and Records Administration. National Archives and Records Administration, n.d. Web. 23 Nov. 2014. <http://www.archives.gov/education/lessons/japanese-relocation/>.
"World War Two - Japanese Internment Camps in the USA." From Ancient Times to the 20th Century. History on the Net, 5 Aug. 2014. Web. 24 Nov. 2014. <http://www.historyonthenet.com/ww2/japan_internment_camps.htm>.