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War at home

Japanese Internment

1942-1946

Executive Order No. 9066 February, 1942

Executive Order No. 9066

The President

Executive Order

Authorizing the Secretary of War to Prescribe Military Areas

Whereas the successful prosecution of the war requires every possible protection against espionage and against sabotage to national-defense material, national-defense premises, and national-defense utilities as defined in Section 4, Act of April 20, 1918, 40 Stat. 533, as amended by the Act of November 30, 1940, 54 Stat. 1220, and the Act of August 21, 1941, 55 Stat. 655 (U.S.C., Title 50, Sec. 104);

Now, therefore, by virtue of the authority vested in me as President of the United States, and Commander in Chief of the Army and Navy, I hereby authorize and direct the Secretary of War, and the Military Commanders whom he may from time to time designate, whenever he or any designated Commander deems such action necessary or desirable, to prescribe military areas in such places and of such extent as he or the appropriate Military Commander may determine, from which any or all persons may be excluded, and with respect to which, the right of any person to enter, remain in, or leave shall be subject to whatever restrictions the Secretary of War or the appropriate Military Commander may impose in his discretion. The Secretary of War is hereby authorized to provide for residents of any such area who are excluded therefrom, such transportation, food, shelter, and other accommodations as may be necessary, in the judgment of the Secretary of War or the said Military Commander, and until other arrangements are made, to accomplish the purpose of this order. The designation of military areas in any region or locality shall supersede designations of prohibited and restricted areas by the Attorney General under the Proclamations of December 7 and 8, 1941, and shall supersede the responsibility and authority of the Attorney General under the said Proclamations in respect of such prohibited and restricted areas.

I hereby further authorize and direct the Secretary of War and the said Military Commanders to take such other steps as he or the appropriate Military Commander may deem advisable to enforce compliance with the restrictions applicable to each Military area hereinabove authorized to be designated, including the use of Federal troops and other Federal Agencies, with authority to accept assistance of state and local agencies.

I hereby further authorize and direct all Executive Departments, independent establishments and other Federal Agencies, to assist the Secretary of War or the said Military Commanders in carrying out this Executive Order, including the furnishing of medical aid, hospitalization, food, clothing, transportation, use of land, shelter, and other supplies, equipment, utilities, facilities, and services.

This order shall not be construed as modifying or limiting in any way the authority heretofore granted under Executive Order No. 8972, dated December 12, 1941, nor shall it be construed as limiting or modifying the duty and responsibility of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, with respect to the investigation of alleged acts of sabotage or the duty and responsibility of the Attorney General and the Department of Justice under the Proclamations of December 7 and 8, 1941, prescribing regulations for the conduct and control of alien enemies, except as such duty and responsibility is superseded by the designation of military areas hereunder.

Franklin D. Roosevelt

The White House,

February 19, 1942.

[F.R. Doc. 42–1563; Filed, February 21, 1942; 12:51 p.m.]

Source: Executive Order No. 9066, February 19, 1942.

JAPANESE INTERNMENT, 1943. - Workers picking potatoes and packing them into crates at the Manzanar Relocation Center for Japanese-Americans at Owens Valley, California. Photograph by Ansel Adams, 1943.

A Japanese family at the Manzanar Relocation Center for Japanese-Americans at Owens Valley, California. Photograph by Ansel Adams, 1943.

Internment / Japanese after arrival. Internment of 110,000 Americans of Japanese origin in camps (after declaration of war on Japan on 8 December 1941). - Japanese at the Manzanar internment camp (California) fill sacks with straw to serve as mattresses. - Photo, 23 March 1942.

JAPANESE INTERNMENT, 1943. - The Manzanar Relocation Center for Japanese-Americans at Owens Valley, California. Photographed by Ansel Adams, from a guard tower, 1943.

"In the detention centers, families lived in substandard housing, had inadequate nutrition and health care, and had their livelihoods destroyed: many continued to suffer psychologically long after their release."

- "Personal Justice Denied: Report of the Commission on Wartime Relocation and Internment of Civilians“

“In 1988, President Reagan signed the Civil Liberties Act to compensate more than 100,000 people of Japanese descent who were incarcerated in internment camps during World War II. The legislation offered a formal apology and paid out $20,000 in compensation to each surviving victim. The law won congressional approval only after a decade-long campaign by the Japanese-American community.”

Excerpt from Qureshi, Bilal. "From Wrong To Right: A U.S. Apology For Japanese Internment." National Public Radio. August 9, 2013. Accessed August 21, 2019. https://www.npr.org/sections/codeswitch/2013/08/09/210138278/japanese-internment-redress

Zoot suit riots june, 1943

Modern-Day Zoot Suits

During WWII, the gov’t pushed for for mutual dependence, planned and coordinated action, and for civic-minded responsibility.

We were expected to preserve materials and goods in support of the troops.

The Zoot Suit and its wearer represented the antithesis of this public, patriotic sentiment.

A group of sailors on leave in Los Angeles clashed with a group of Zoot Suited young Mexicans

–Over the following days, several clashes resulted in stabbings and increased violence as more and more sailors and gangs joined in.

–Mexicans were hunted out and dragged from cars, bars shops, buses, and cinemas and beaten in the street with a ‘sadistic frenzy.’

When Hispanic Americans retaliated, police arrested only the Hispanics.

One Los Angeles paper printed a guide on how to "de-zoot" a zoot suiter:

–"Grab a zooter. Take off his pants and frock coat and tear them up or burn them."

On June 7, a crowd of 5,000 civilians gathered downtown.

By this time the mob was no longer made up of only sailors.

–Soldiers, Marines, and sailors from other installations as far away as Las Vegas eagerly joined in the assaults.

–Part of the mob headed south for the predominately African-American section of Watts and another group headed east for Mexican-American East Los Angeles.

Sailors in the armed forces patrol the streets with clubs, ready to fight anyone they see in a zoot suit. Los Angeles. 1943. Library of Congress

The police arrested dozens of young Mexican Americans.

"Why am I being arrested?" one of them asked.

–The response was a savage clubbing with a nightstick.

–Although the boy fell to the sidewalk unconscious, he was kicked in the face by police.

–Many were stripped naked and displayed on the street.

Two men, after being stripped of their zoot suits and beaten by US servicemen, lay bleeding on the sidewalk. Los Angeles. June 1943.Anthony Potter Collection/Hulton Archive/Getty Images

A crowd of zoot suiters behind bars. Los Angeles. 1943.UCLA Library

A Citizens' Committee was formed to determine the cause of the riots. They stated:

“In undertaking to deal with the cause of these outbreaks, the existence of race prejudice cannot be ignored.”

HOWEVER…

They also stated:

“The wearers of zoot suits are not necessarily persons of Mexican descent, criminals or juveniles. Many young people today wear zoot suits.”