As a result of the
Japanese bombing of Pearl Harbor, the lives of
the Japanese Americans, who lived on west coast of the United States,
changed immensely. Several weeks after
the bombing, President Roosevelt signed Executive Order 9066. This ordered the relocation of all 120,000
Japanese Americans, who were living on the west coast of the United States,
to be sent to one of the ten interment camps.
These internment camps were located in California, Idaho, Utah, Arizona,
Wyoming, Colorado, and Arkansas. The internment camp that is the closest to Los Angeles is called,
Manzanar. This camp is located east of Fresno in the
mountains. Manzanar interned people from
Los Angeles,
the San Fernando Valley, San Joaquin County,
Bainbridge Island, and even some people from the
state of Washington.
When the Japanese Americans had to move to these camps, they had to leave
behind all of their personal assets including houses, cars and other family
valuables. They were only able to bring
what they could carry in one suitcase.
Since they only had a few days of notice prior to their internment, they
tried to sell things like their cars, dishes, and other valuables. When the soon-to-be internees were selling
their goods, people only wanted to pay disrespectful prices for their
merchandise. Since the Japanese
Americans desperately needed the money, they were forced to sell their goods
and accept any price.[1]
All of the camps were locked down and guarded by United States Military Personnel. There was neither freedom nor privacy, and the Japanese Americans were not allowed any of the natural rights given to them by the Constitution. So in many ways, these internment camps were like prisons for the Japanese Americans. At the camps, entire families had to share a little one room barrack. Entire interment camps were typically made out of about thirty to forty residential blocks with each having several rooms. There were about eight people assigned to one room. Also in the residential blocks, there were several different rooms per block. These camps had communal mess halls, recreation buildings, and laundry facilities. Another downside about the internment camps is that not all of the residential blocks had bathrooms attached to them. Sometime people had to go outside of their residential block to another facility, while enduring the cold weather, in order to use the bathroom. These camps were often in remote locations and these camps were usually in places with bad weather. This was especially true of the Manzanar camp which is in the mountains. It was also true of Granada which is located in the southeastern corner of Colorado, and Topaz near the western-central border of Utah. Some of the weather that the Japanese Americans had to deal with included snow, heat, and dust.[2]
At the camps, the majority of the adults had jobs. In the internment camps, there were many jobs that Japanese Americans were able to do, including working as doctors, teachers, cooks, barbers, newspaper writers, and even working as elected officials within the camp. Certain camps occasionally had certain forms of musical entertainment. Also these camps often had food shortages so they began to raise their own animals and grow their own food. The teachers and doctors were considered skilled workers and the skilled workers typically received healthier foods and bigger portions. Meals for everyone else had really small portions and were typically very starchy. Meals in the internment camps were served in the mess halls and these meals were served three times per day. When it was time to eat, a bell was rung to signal to everyone that it was mealtime.[3]
In closing, the internment camps interned an entire race of people in a particular part of the country and placed them into harsh conditions. The Japanese Americans were forced to leave behind their personal lives where they were treated like criminals. No one should have had to endure the types of treatment that they received throughout their internment.
Word Count: 644
Bibliography
"Children of the Camps: Internment History." PBS. Accessed April 5, 2015. http://www.pbs.org/childofcamp/history/.
"From Citizen to Enemy: The Tragedy of Japanese Internment." From Citizen to Enemy: The Tragedy of Japanese Internment. Accessed April 6, 2015. http://www.gilderlehrman.org/history-by-era/world-war-ii/essays/from-citizen-enemy-tragedy-japanese-internment.
"Japanese-American Internment." Ushistory.org. Accessed April 1, 2015. http://www.ushistory.org/us/51e.asp.
[1] "From Citizen to Enemy: The Tragedy of Japanese Internment," From Citizen to Enemy: The Tragedy of Japanese Internment, Accessed April 6, 2015, http://www.gilderlehrman.org/history-by-era/world-war-ii/essays/from-citizen-enemy-tragedy-japanese-internment
[2] "Japanese-American Internment," Ushistory.org, Accessed April 1, 2015, http://www.ushistory.org/us/51e.asp.
[3] "Children of the Camps: Internment History," PBS, Accessed April 5, 2015, http://www.pbs.org/childofcamp/history/
All of the camps were locked down and guarded by United States Military Personnel. There was neither freedom nor privacy, and the Japanese Americans were not allowed any of the natural rights given to them by the Constitution. So in many ways, these internment camps were like prisons for the Japanese Americans. At the camps, entire families had to share a little one room barrack. Entire interment camps were typically made out of about thirty to forty residential blocks with each having several rooms. There were about eight people assigned to one room. Also in the residential blocks, there were several different rooms per block. These camps had communal mess halls, recreation buildings, and laundry facilities. Another downside about the internment camps is that not all of the residential blocks had bathrooms attached to them. Sometime people had to go outside of their residential block to another facility, while enduring the cold weather, in order to use the bathroom. These camps were often in remote locations and these camps were usually in places with bad weather. This was especially true of the Manzanar camp which is in the mountains. It was also true of Granada which is located in the southeastern corner of Colorado, and Topaz near the western-central border of Utah. Some of the weather that the Japanese Americans had to deal with included snow, heat, and dust.[2]
At the camps, the majority of the adults had jobs. In the internment camps, there were many jobs that Japanese Americans were able to do, including working as doctors, teachers, cooks, barbers, newspaper writers, and even working as elected officials within the camp. Certain camps occasionally had certain forms of musical entertainment. Also these camps often had food shortages so they began to raise their own animals and grow their own food. The teachers and doctors were considered skilled workers and the skilled workers typically received healthier foods and bigger portions. Meals for everyone else had really small portions and were typically very starchy. Meals in the internment camps were served in the mess halls and these meals were served three times per day. When it was time to eat, a bell was rung to signal to everyone that it was mealtime.[3]
In closing, the internment camps interned an entire race of people in a particular part of the country and placed them into harsh conditions. The Japanese Americans were forced to leave behind their personal lives where they were treated like criminals. No one should have had to endure the types of treatment that they received throughout their internment.
Word Count: 644
Bibliography
"Children of the Camps: Internment History." PBS. Accessed April 5, 2015. http://www.pbs.org/childofcamp/history/.
"From Citizen to Enemy: The Tragedy of Japanese Internment." From Citizen to Enemy: The Tragedy of Japanese Internment. Accessed April 6, 2015. http://www.gilderlehrman.org/history-by-era/world-war-ii/essays/from-citizen-enemy-tragedy-japanese-internment.
"Japanese-American Internment." Ushistory.org. Accessed April 1, 2015. http://www.ushistory.org/us/51e.asp.
[1] "From Citizen to Enemy: The Tragedy of Japanese Internment," From Citizen to Enemy: The Tragedy of Japanese Internment, Accessed April 6, 2015, http://www.gilderlehrman.org/history-by-era/world-war-ii/essays/from-citizen-enemy-tragedy-japanese-internment
[2] "Japanese-American Internment," Ushistory.org, Accessed April 1, 2015, http://www.ushistory.org/us/51e.asp.
[3] "Children of the Camps: Internment History," PBS, Accessed April 5, 2015, http://www.pbs.org/childofcamp/history/