Source 1: Executive Order 9066

Summary: The President gives permission for high ranking military officials to find
people/groups of people who they suspect to be spies for the axis powers/prone to sabotaging
US operations in WW2, and put them in military zones under observation.

Intention: Put Japanese Americans and Americans citizens with Japanese descent into
internment camps to prevent them from being spies for Imperial Japan and/or sabotage
Americans and their war efforts, as it is assumed that having Japanese ancestry automatically
gives you loyalty to Japan.

Source 2: Civil LIberties Act of 1988

Summary: The Act gave all people who were in internment camps in WW2 $20 000 in
compensation and a formal apology from the President.

Background: In 1948 President Harry Truman an act that allowed those who were incarcerated
to file claims for damages that took place because of the internment camps. After no action was
taken for the claims submitted, at one of the Biennial Japanese American Citizens League
conventions, a lot of people agreed to reach out to Daniel Inouye, a senator and WW2 veteran
to try to influence the house of senate. Once Ronald Reagan came into presidency, he came to
creating the Civil Liberties act of 1988

Source 3: Presidential Proclamation 2525 Enemy Aliens

Summary: Once the US declared war on Germany, Japan, and Italy, the US government gave
itself permission to remove the civil liberties of Japanese, German, and Italian Americans. So if
the government wanted, it could detain these people as POWs or interrogate them about their
loyalties and stuff.

Relation to other acts: This is related to the Executive Order 9066

Source 4: Japanese American Evacuation Claims Act

Summary: Allowed those incarcerated in WW2 to receive compensation for the troubles.
However many people didn’t get the promised claim money or got partial claim money, which
the Civil Liberties Act of 1988 resolved.

Relation to other acts: This act is the precursor to the Civil Liberties Act of 1988.

Source 5: Newspapers in Japanese American Internment Camps

Summary: There were multiple newspapers in Japanese American Internment camps including
The Rock and The Chronicle at Tule Lake. These provided news, entertainment, updates of
daily life in these camps and a platform for internees to express their views on the injustices
they faced. Even though they got censored a lot by the government, it still positively affected the
lives of Japanese Americans.

Source 6: Executive Order 9102

Summary:

- Creation of the War Relocation Authority (WRA):

- Relocated Japanese Americans to internment camps
- Also responsible for running these camps
- Source of controversy
- It was controversial because civil liberties of Japanese people were taken away
and were racially discriminated against because the government
- Classified as a very controversial chapter of US history.
Difference between Executive Order 9102 and Executive Order 9066:

Aspect Executive Order 9066 Executive Order 9102

Date Issued February 19, 1942 February 18, 1942

Main Purpose Gave military authority to Established the War

create exclusion zones and Relocation Authority (WRA)
remove people from those to oversee the internment
zones process.

Focus Military control and authority Administrative and logistical

over exclusion areas. coordination of the internment
camps.

Impact Authorized the forced Set up the infrastructure for

relocation and internment of the internment process,
Japanese Americans. including camps.

Agency Created N/A Created the War Relocation

Authority (WRA) to manage
internment.

Summary of Table: Executive order 9066 gave the military power to relocate people but
Executive Order 9102 made a government agency that would overlook the operation and
logistics of the relocation and maintenance of the internment camps.

Source 7: Manzanar Relocation center photo booth

Contains photos taken of people who reported to the relocation center to get sent to internment
camps.
The Manzanar Relocation Center, where these photos were taken was one of the 10 internment
camps in the US where Japanese Americans were forcibly relocated and detained during WW2.
It was in the Owens Valley in Eastern
California, approximately 225 miles northeast of
LA.

Caption: Out in the wilderness, if someone

escaped they would die in either the freezing
cold night temperatures of the desert or skin
scorching heat of the day in the desert.

It was located in the Mojave Desert, previously

used for agriculture but crops failed because of
the harsh desert climate. It was established in
March of 1942, a month after the Executive
Order 9066 was created. It was one of the first
internment camps which the US government
opened. Around its peak it was 10,000
internees, mainly those who are from California
and some others on west coast areas like
Oregon and Washington. Many of the internees
were born in California and their family had
been there for generations upon generations.
The living conditions weren’t so great for the
people. The people had to live in barrack style buildings, which were cramped and
uncomfortable. Those had no insulation so they were super hot in the summer and super cold in
the winter. The camps were surrounded by barbed wire and guard towers like a prison.

Interned people were forced to do labor tasks like agriculture. Some were allowed to work in
administrative roles, and others were assigned to less laborious tasks like working in camp
kitchens. Even thought they were put through such difficult circumstances, the people tried
keeping a community together. THey organized sports and religious services and cultural
events to make the community more livable. Tensions rose when the internees were pressured
to swear loyalty to the US government and pledge allegiance to the country. This was not well
received because these people were US citizens who had nothing to do with Japan except the
fact that their ancestors were from Japan, but the US government thought otherwise so they
locked them up, and are still demanding allegiance from the internees.

The camp was closed in November 1945, and the internees were released, but many faced
difficulties of rebuilding their lives after being locked up for no reason. The US government did
not apologize for decades until 1988 when the Civil Liberties Act was passed, giving a formal
apology to those who were locked up and $20,000 redress.
Tule Lake

Tule lake was located near Newell California, largest and most notorious of the ten Japanese
AMerican internment camps established during WWII.

Stats:

● Established: May 27, 1942

● Location: Modoc County, in California near the Oregon border
● Size: Approximately 7,400 acres, housing over 18000 internees at its peak
● Uniqueness: It was at first an internment camp just like the other 9, but soon was a
segregation center for individuals deemed “disloyal” by the government

The process: The WRA issued a loyalty questionnaire to internees across all camps. It asked if
they swore allegiance to the US and if it didn’t swear loyalty to the Japanese Emperor. It they
answered no to both questions they would be sent to Tule Lake. This camp also held those who
resisted relocation. The conditions in the camp were horrible. It was super hot in the summer
and super cold in the winter. The food rations were really short and people rioted and went on
strikes from doing labor.

It was the last labor camp to close on March 20, 1946 and was made a national historic site.

Gila River Internment camp

Stats:
● Established: July 20, 1942
● Location: Pinal County, Arizona
● 16,500 acres although most things needed less land
● At the peak around 13,349 internees
● It was slightly better than other internment camps because each family had a small
room, it was bare minimum, but better than the internment camps in California
● The camp had schools and community stuff, making it a more suitable living place than
other internment camps.
It was closed on November 10, 1945. Surprisingly, the camp was on Gila River Indian
Reservation, and the tribal government for some reason liked the Japanese people so they
coerced the US government to keep the camp. Of course some stuff was removed but for the
most part, most stuff was kept the same and was turned into a National Historic Site.

Poston internment camp

Stats:

● Established: May 8, 1942

 ● Location: On the Colorado River reservation in La Paz County, Arizona
● It was round 71,000 acres, making it the largest internment camp by area
● Population: peaked around 17,814 internees, primarily from Southern California
This site was chosen because the US government wanted to use the labor force to make
infrastructure and agricultural projects for the reservation.

Facilities:
● Internees were housed in barracks built of wood and tar paper.
● Every barrack had washrooms, showers and places to eat dinner, however the privacy
just wasn’t there, leading to discomfort for families.
● The camp had a hospital, but it wasn’t funded enough to deal with the entire population.

Life in the camps:

● Meals were served in mess halls, but the food was often bad quality, which people
disliked
● Schools were made for children, where the teachers were the adult internees.
○ These schools were unconventional, often being held outdoors or in makeshift
places
● Internees hosted get togethers and sports, primarily baseball.
● People were frustrated with the things that were happening so they protested and it led
to strikes.
Environmental challenges: It was super hard to deal with the heat of the Arizona desert, and
hard to grow crops used in the war, but they succeeded.

Topaz Internment Camp

Stats:

● Established: September 11, 1942

● Location: 16 miles northwest of Delta, Utah
● Population: Approximately 8100 people at its peak
● Area: 19800 acres with the residential area covering 640 acres
Camp Layout and Conditions

● Housing:
○ Residents lived in barracks built of tarpaper and wood, offering little insulation
against the sweltering summers and freezing winters.
○ Each barrack was divided into small apartments, usually one room per family,
furnished only with cots, a stove, and minimal furniture

● Communal Facilities:
○ Shared mess halls, latrines, and showers meant a significant loss of privacy for
internees
 ○ The camp also had a hospital, schools, and a few recreational areas, although
these were underfunded and inadequately equipped.
Life at Topaz

Daily Life
● Work: had jobs in the camps, and roles in administration, agriculture, and maintenance
● Agriculture: cultivated crops to support camp
Education and Recreation
● Had schools for children, but the teachers were volunteer adult internees
● Had music recitals, art classes, sports, and traditional japanese activities like tea
ceremonies.
● Had a famous artist named Chiura Obata

One of Chiura Obata’s art pieces

Challenges and Protests:

● Climate: Intense desert conditions: very hot daytimes and cold nighttimes
● Medical Care: Lack of resources
● Tensions: Frustrations due to the poor conditions led to protests and conflicts with camp
authority
● Tragedy: In 1943, a guard shot and killed a 63 year old man named James Wakasa
because according to the guard, Wakasa was trying to escape. THis sparked outrage
and indignities that the internees faced.
Legacy
● Topaz Museum: It is in Delta, Utah and it preserves artifacts, photographs and stories
from the campy and it educates people about the camp
● It was made a National Historic Landmark in 2007
● Artistic Legacy: Artwork created by internees helps with documenting the internment
experience
Significance: It teaches the resilience of the Japanese American Community. It also serves a
reminder of the consequences of the power of the government and how it can take rights away
from the community.

Granada Internment Camp

Stats:

● Established: August 27, 1942

● Location: Near Granada, Colorado
● Population: Approximately 7,300 internees at its peak
● Area: 10,500 acres, with the central residential area covering 640 acres
●