The Japanese Internment
A Document Based Question
by Nancy George
Historical Context: After Pearl Harbor was attacked by the Japanese, President Roosevelt gave the Army authority to designate certain vital defense areas and exclude from them all persons, citizens and aliens alike. On February 19, 1942, President Roosevelt signed Executive Order 9066 authorizing the Secretary of War to designate parts of the country as "military areas" from which any any and all persons might be excluded, and in which travel restrictions might be imposed. A few weeks later General John L. DeWitt, in charge of the Western Defense Command, designated the entire Pacific coast as a military area because of its susceptibility to attack. Curfews were established, and Japanese Americans were at first prohibited from leaving the area, and then from being in the area. The only way Japanese Americans could comply with these contradictory orders was to submit to evacuation to relocation centers in other regions of the country. The evacuation may have affected 200,000 Pacific Coast Japanese Americans and their American-born children. Governors of states between the Pacific Ocean and the Mississippi would permit Japanese aliens to live only in relocation centers.
Part A: Short Answer
Directions: Carefully examine and read the following eight documents. Following each document will be questions. Answer each of these questions by using the information contained in the document.
1
2
3
4
5
6
Certificate Program | Graduate Courses | Special
Events
Summer Workshops | After-School Workshops
About Us | Staff | Links | Contact Us
| Home
|
