Incarceration on the Continent

Immigrating to America

Starting in 1861, Japanese immigrants, in search of better wages, came to the Territory of Hawai‘i and mainland America to work on sugar cane plantations. By 1940, nearly 275,000 Japanese had arrived. Communities became more concentrated since real estate agents would refuse services to Japanese immigrants, relegating them to only certain sects of land. Here, they opened up their own shops, became farmers, fishermen, and small business owners, settling into their new life in America.

All this changed when the Japanese Imperial Army launched a surprise attack on Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941.

Anti-Japanese Sentiment Rises

Anti-Asian sentiment settled quickly into society, and the sudden realization of how many Japanese had made their homes along western America stoked the flames of fear for many. Pressure from lobbyists to make Congress forcibly remove the issei (first generation) and nisei (second generation) Japanese persons from the west coast mounted. Congress, concerned about violating the Constitution, turned to the Army to execute this task instead.

Executive Order 9066

President Roosevelt signed Executive Order 9066, actively calling for the detainment of all Japanese American citizens on suspicion of being enemies of the state. The west coast was then divided into military zones, a move made because Executive Order 9066 allowed the military to remove civilians from military areas. Although those of Japanese ancestry were not specified in the Order itself, restrictions such as curfews targeted towards the Japaense community were instantly made.

Lieutenant General John L. DeWitt was an instrumental figure in executing the presidential Order. He made his position known when he stated that Japanese people were an "enemy race" and even if they were U.S. citizens, they would always pose a threat. At first, he appealed to any volunteers who would willingly remove themselves, but only seven percent accepted. Congress then authorized Public Law 503 making it a misdemeanor to not follow 9066, punishable by jail time and a $5,000 fine. Using the President's Executive Order and Public Law 503, DeWitt issued Public Proclamation 4 that gave only 48 hours of notice to the hundreds of thousands of Japanese residents along the West Coast of their forced evacuation and detention.

Removal of the Japanese

In March of 1942, for the next six months, 122,000 Japanese civilians were only given a week's notice to prepare to move to the makeshift detention centers that were once used as racetracks and fairgrounds, called "assembly centers". Nearly 2/3 of this population were American citizens. Later, they were moved from these temporary assembly centers into confinement sites that are widely known as internment camps. This would be the largest forced relocation of citizens in American History.

Getting to the camps was a long, emotional, and exhausting journey. Families had to leave their homes, businesses, and lifestyles behind that they had spent generations cultivating in a matter of days. Any precious heirlooms or belongings they had were left behind or quickly sold, as they were only allowed what they could carry which would often just be essentials.

Often times people were packed into trains for days at a time to be relocated to a camp. Once they boarded the trains they had no idea where it would take them or how long they would be on it. Each person was given a tag with a number on it for identification and to keep family units together while traveling. Many described the experience as humiliating, being treated no better than cattle. Depending on the location, conditions during the travel period could be either sweltering hot or freezing cold with little room to lie down or sit.

This discriminatory and prejudice-based treatment was also compounded by the fact that due process rights were revoked. No one who was detained was allowed to a trial or a lawyer and could not appeal the decision. Those who attempted to fight the forced removal in court were rejected by the Supreme Court. By the time the internment camps had closed down and the incarcerated released, no one had been charged with any crime for espionage against the U.S.

Aftermath

On January 2, 1945, Public Proclamation No. 21 was issued, allowing all incarcerated Japanese residents to return home. However, many people came back to find their homes and businesses vandalized, or even worse, inhabited. Many of these once-thriving establishments never reopened. The economic loss in property has been estimated to be about $1.3 billion.

Reparations by the government began as early as 1948 to make up for some of these losses through the Japanese-American Claims Act, but it wasn't until the Civil Liberties Act of 1988 when President Ronald Reagan gave a formal apology to all incarcerated individuals, calling the act unconstitutional and unjust. Through this act, survivors were each given $20,000, a fraction of what they lost. Many never received these reparations, as the issei (first generation) were barred from obtaining it because of their foreign citizenship status, and relatives of the nisei (second generation) who had passed away were not qualified.

The following decades, many advocated for the preservation of the former Relocation Centers to safeguard that era of American History. Their calls were heard when Minidoka Relocation Center was the first site to be added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1979. In the decades to come, Rohwer, Granada, and Tule Lake all received dedications as National Historic Landmarks. Manzanar was the first to become a National Historic Site in 1988. In 2008, Minidoka was re-designated as a National Historic Site and Tule Lake as a National Monument.

The Japanese American Confinement Sites (JACS) grant program was approved by Congress to fund the preservation of former internment camps across the United States. The grant received $38 million in funding across all sites to preserve the lessons learned for future generations. The grant was reauthorized again by Congress in 2023.

Archaeological excavations continue at many sites on the continent, and they have been met with positive partnerships from the local communities and universities surrounding them. Through this work, the dark history of the internment camps will forever be a reminder of how America must not give in to the pitfalls of "racial prejudice, wartime hysteria, and [failed] political leadership", stated as the official cause of Japanese incarceration and internment according to the Civil Liberties Act of 1988 and based on the Commission on Wartime Relocation and Internment of Civilians.

The Camps

There were 10 main internment camps spread across six states in the west. Due to the unprecedented removal of so many residents and the short time period the government needed to imprison them, the camps were hastily built and purposefully placed in the most desolate locations. Some camps were even built by incarcerees who were moved from a different camp. Hard labor was a way people continued to work jobs while incarcerated, although the pay was meager, the hours long, and the work backbreaking.

Despite this, the incarcerated Japanese banded together to form communities in the camps. Cultural mindsets and practices such as 我慢 gaman (enduring your current circumstances) and 仕方がない shikata ga nai (it is what it is) helped them stay mentally stalwart in spite of the heartbreak. Those values continue to be passed down to younger generations and remain a symbol of strength of the Japanese American people.

Individual Stories

Heart Mountain Relocation Center
First Person History: Sam Mihara on Internment

Granada Relocation Center
A Return to the Internment Camp (Video)