The Japanese Americans were living in horse stalls under unsanitary conditions,often by open sewers. They were truly prisoners. The only difference between them and prisoners was that they had no clear timeline of how long they would be there.
Discuss the claim by U.S. Government that the camps were for the protection of Japanese Americans. Were the barbed wire fences and guard towers meant to keep vigilantes out or Japanese American inmates in?
The guard towers and fences were said to be meant for vigilantes, but as time went on the Japanese Americans realized that they were to keep the Japanese in to assure the safety of America. These camps weren't internment camps but instead they had become the concentration camps for the American holocaust.
We're the camps "resettlement camps" or prisons? What's the difference between the two?
These camps in the eye of the "residents" there were prisons. They had 24 hour guard watch and barbed wire fences. They also had inadequate space for living and sleeping. What the Japanese American lived in were defined as prisons, a resettlement camp would've had adequate space,food portions, and clothing. A resettlement camp is a place where u have space to live.
Did the WRA take measures to protect family life and privacy?
The WRA went to great lengths to provide recreational activities. Family life deteriorated as commanders arranged activities. This caused children to spend time away from their families which caused parental authority to diminish and a long kept anger to erupt.
How did Japanese Americans respond after being incarcerated without due process of law, to questions asking them whether or not they were unquestionably loyal to this country?
On February 8,1943 the WRA distributed applications for leave clearance titled"statement of U.S. citizenship of Japanese American ancestry". They were required to complete the questionnaire, one that would lead to the greatest upheaval within camps. The camps intended to separate the loyal from the disloyal.
We're those who answered "no" to the loyalty questions clearly disloyal or were they voicing discontent with their treatment?
Those who answered no were branded and separated as disloyal. They were sent to tule lake segregation center in Northern California. Half were there due to the fact of not wanting to dishonor their parents.
Why did these young men resist being drafted into the military?
Many men refused the draft on a count of their rights and their family had been violated while incarcerated or were still behind barbed wire . 267 refused the draft and were placed in federal penetentaries for 3 years.
What did it take to fight for a country that kept your family interned behind barbed wire?
It took getting over pride and yourself, courage, and the want for freedom and equality for all.
Friends say good-bye as family of Japanese ancestry await evacuation bus. Hayward, California, 8 May 1942
The 442nd Regimental Combat Team, which was composed primarily of Japanese Americans, served with uncommon distinction in the European Theatre of World War II.Many of the US soldiers serving in the unit had their families interned at home while they fought abroad.
Heart Mountain Relocation Center, January 10, 1943
A Japanese American unfurled this banner the day after the Pearl Harbor attack. This Dorothea Lange photograph was taken in March 1942, just prior to the man's internment
Official notice of exclusion and removal
U.S. President Ronald Reagan signs the Civil Liberties Act of 1988, which granted reparations for the internment of Japanese Americans