Following the 1941 attack of Pearl Harbor, a wave of Anti-Japanese hysteria sweeps the west coast. Fears of sabotage and further invasion are fanned by the rabid Hearst Press, politicians, business protectionist groups and the military. The American people quickly begin to look for a scapegoat.

Executive Order 9066
At the urging of the War Department, President Roosevelt signs Executive Order 9066 authorizing the removal of all Japanese-Americans from the Pacific coast. In one broad stroke the civil liberties of over 100,000 American citizens are destroyed. Four days later, a Japanese submarine bombards, ineffectually, an oil field near Santa Barbara, California... a timely affirmation of existing fears.

War Relocation
All Japanese-Americans are told to wind up their business affairs in 7 to 10 days and to report to the newly established War Relocation authority. The evacuees have three choices: They can sell their property, store it or abandon it - but because of future uncertainly, many dispose of their property and businesses at a fraction of the value. They are permitted to take only what they can carry. They are taken on buses and trains to temporary quarters like Santa Anita Raceway in California until permanent quarters are completed. Army newsreels and propaganda films are slanted to mask the crude living conditions and to justify the mandated actions. Few spoke out.

Internment Camps
Throughout the summer, the army moves over 100,000 Japanese-American citizens to ten hastily prepared internment camps in the harsh interiors of the country stretching from Death Valley, CA to Southern Arkansas. Life inside these camps is alien for people who only recently enjoyed complete freedom. Although they create a microcosm of the world they left behind, few ever get accustomed to living behind barbed wire and being watched by armed guards.

After V-J Day, Victory over Japan, the camps are quietly emptied one by one. Each family is given a meager stipend of $50 to return to their neighborhood. Although, many have nothing to return home to. Now, the ex-internees face another challenge - starting over. The Japanese-Americans, begin to rebuild their lives with typical grace and courage.

Some might argue that it is difficult to avoid all inequalities in time of war, but the United States has little excuse for its treatment of citizens of Japanese ancestry. Forty years later, Congress formally acknowledges that the internment of Japanese-Americans was a mistake.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com
 

Related Product
"Profiles of Courage, Controversy & Sacrifice"