Japanese-American Internment Camps
Japanese-American Internment Camps
A historical fact that is not really talked about is the fact that, during World War II, over 100,000 Japanese-American people, the vast majority of which were actually American citizens, were rounded up and shipped to internment camps. These consisted of poorly constructed barracks surrounded by barbed wire, sentry posts and armed guards.
It all began when Franklin D. Roosevelt gave this war message to Congress on December 8th, 1941; “Yesterday, December 7th, 1941- a date which will live in infamy- the United States of America was suddenly and deliberately attacked by naval and air forces of the Empire of Japan.” After Japan bombed Pearl Harbor, rumors spread, fueled by race prejudice, of a plot among Japanese-Americans to sabotage the war effort. So anyone who looked Japanese were put into these camps, not because they had done anything wrong, but because either they or their parents or ancestors were from Japan and, as such, they were deemed a "threat" to national security. They were easily identifiable due to their race.
All of these people were forced to leave their businesses, their homes and, in many cases, their families as some individuals were taken elsewhere and held for years. The Japanese-Americans suffered severe economic losses, personal humiliation and, sometimes, death, due to this relocation.
The internment camps were overcrowded and the Japanese people were provided with poor living conditions. They were housed in tarpaper-covered barracks of simple frame construction without any kind of plumbing or cooking resources. Coal was hard to come by, and people slept under as many blankets as they were given. Food was limited and cost 48 cents per person, and served by fellow “campers” in a mess hall of 250-300 people.
Leadership positions within the camps were only offered to the Nisei, or American-born, Japanese. The older generation, or the Issei, was forced to watch as the government promoted their
A historical fact that is not really talked about is the fact that, during World War II, over 100,000 Japanese-American people, the vast majority of which were actually American citizens, were rounded up and shipped to internment camps. These consisted of poorly constructed barracks surrounded by barbed wire, sentry posts and armed guards.
It all began when Franklin D. Roosevelt gave this war message to Congress on December 8th, 1941; “Yesterday, December 7th, 1941- a date which will live in infamy- the United States of America was suddenly and deliberately attacked by naval and air forces of the Empire of Japan.” After Japan bombed Pearl Harbor, rumors spread, fueled by race prejudice, of a plot among Japanese-Americans to sabotage the war effort. So anyone who looked Japanese were put into these camps, not because they had done anything wrong, but because either they or their parents or ancestors were from Japan and, as such, they were deemed a "threat" to national security. They were easily identifiable due to their race.
All of these people were forced to leave their businesses, their homes and, in many cases, their families as some individuals were taken elsewhere and held for years. The Japanese-Americans suffered severe economic losses, personal humiliation and, sometimes, death, due to this relocation.
The internment camps were overcrowded and the Japanese people were provided with poor living conditions. They were housed in tarpaper-covered barracks of simple frame construction without any kind of plumbing or cooking resources. Coal was hard to come by, and people slept under as many blankets as they were given. Food was limited and cost 48 cents per person, and served by fellow “campers” in a mess hall of 250-300 people.
Leadership positions within the camps were only offered to the Nisei, or American-born, Japanese. The older generation, or the Issei, was forced to watch as the government promoted their