An American History

THE AMERICAN DILEMMA ★^891

Japanese-American Internment

California, as discussed in Chapter 19, had a long history of hostility toward
the Japanese. Now, inspired by exaggerated fears of a Japanese invasion of the
West Coast and pressured by whites who saw an opportunity to gain posses-
sion of Japanese-American property, the military persuaded FDR to issue Exec-
utive Order 9066. Promulgated in February 1942, this ordered the relocation of
all persons of Japanese descent from the West Coast. That spring and summer,
authorities removed more than 110,000 men, women, and children—nearly
two-thirds of them American citizens—to camps far from their homes. The
order did not apply to persons of Japanese descent living in Hawaii, where they
represented nearly 40 percent of the population. Despite Hawaii’s vulnera-
bility, its economy could not function without Japanese-American labor. But
Japanese-American internment provided ammunition for Japan’s claim that
its aggressions in Asia were intended to defend the rights of non-white peoples
against colonial rule and a racist United States.

How did American minorities face threats to their freedom at home

and abroad during World War II?

San Francisco

San Diego

Portland

Seattle

Klamath Falls

Twin Falls

Los Angeles

Bakersfield

Fresno Lone Pine

Sacramento

Cody

Nephi

Gila Bend

Lamar

Pine Bluff

Hear10,767t Mountain

Tule La18,789ke Minidok9,397 a

Manzanar10,046

Poston17,814

Gila River13,348

Topaz8,310

Amache7,318

Jerome8,497 Ro8,475hwer

MI

LIT

ARY

(^)
(^) A
RE
A (^)
(^)
(^)
MICHIGAN
ILLINOIS
WISCONSIN
INDIANAOHIO
MISSOURI KENTUCKY
TENNESSEE
ARKANSAS
LOUISIANA
MISSISSIPPIALABAMA
TEXAS
MINNESOTA
IOWA
DANORKOTHTA
DASOUTHKOTA
NEBRASKA
KANSAS
OKLAHOMA
MONTANA
WYOMING
COLORADO
IDAHO
NEVADA UTAH
OREGON
WASHINGTON
CALIFORNIA
ARIZONA MEXICNEWO
MEXICO Gulf of Mexico
Pacific
Ocean
0
0
200
200
400 miles
400 kilometers
Internment camps
Figures shointerned at each campw highest number.
Demarcates area from whichJapanese-Americans were excluded
JAPANESE-AMERICAN INTERNMENT, 1942–1945
More than 100,000 Japanese-Americans—the majority American citizens—were forcibly moved
from their homes to internment camps during World War II.