Japanese Internment

Japanese Internment SWBAT: explain why Japanese Americans were interned during WWII. Homework: Do the study guide for Monday. Do not leave ten items blank claiming you don’t know the answer and expect to get credit. Do Now: watch the video clip and be prepared to discuss it.

The Japanese in America- the Stats • In 1941, there were approx. 127,000 Japanese Americans living in the U.S. mostly on the west coast. • Of those, approx. 2/3 were American citizens. • Of those 2/3, approx. 80,000 were second and third generation Americans.

Pearl Harbor • After Pearl Harbor, feelings towards Japanese Americans changed drastically. • Using the picture to the right, how would you describe the attitude many Americans had?

Authorizing internment • Franklin Roosevelt authorized the internment with Executive Order 9066, issued February 19, 1942 despite the lack of any concrete evidence that Japanese Americans were loyal to their ancestral land. • Many Americans supported this due to anger from Pearl Harbor and paranoia. • allowed local military commanders to designate "military areas" as "exclusion zones," from which "any or all persons may be excluded."

Activity- Relocation Poster Analysis • In your google drive, open the documents titled “Relocation_Poster” and “Japanese Relocation Poster Questions”. • Read the poster and answer the questions. Make sure you move the questions to your mp2 folder. • You have 15 minutes to read the document and answer the questions. • Be prepared to share with the class.

Document Questions 1. How much time is given between when the poster is dated and when the Japanese living in the area have to report for relocation? 2. What are those being relocated supposed to bring with them 3. What limitations are put in place in terms of personal belongings? In other words, how much of your personal belongings can you take with you to the camp? 4. What personal belonging are people NOT allowed to bring with them? 5. How might you feel reading this poster as a second generation Japanese American?

Where were the camps?

How would you describe the camps?How would you feel living here?

Experiences • On the whole, however, life in the relocation centers was not easy. • Camps were overcrowded and provided poor living conditions. • The camps were often too cold in the winter and too hot in the summer. • Families dined together at communal mess halls, and children were expected to attend school. • If they tried to flee, armed sentries who stood watch around the clock, would shoot them.

Time Spent Interned In 1944, two and a half years after signing Executive Order 9066, fourth-term President Franklin D. Roosevelt rescinded the order. The last internment camp was closed by the end of 1945.

Repayment • In 1980, President Jimmy Carter conducted an investigation to determine whether putting Japanese Americans into internment camps was justified well enough by the government. • The commission's report found little evidence of Japanese disloyalty at the time and recommended the government pay reparations to the survivors. • They formed a payment of $20,000 to each individual internment camp survivor. • In your opinion, did the US gov’t do enough to repay the Japanese for their forced relocation?

Drawing Connections • How does the treatment of Japanese Americans after Pearl Harbor compare to that of Muslim Americans after 9/11?

Japanese Internment