Japanese-American Relocation in the

U.S. During World War II

By National Archives, adapted by Newsela staff on 02.02.17
Word Count 603
Level 750L

This photo, taken on May 9, 1942, in Centerville, California, shows Japanese-Americans boarding an evacuation bus. People
of Japanese ancestry were sent to be housed in War Relocation Authority centers for the duration of World War II. Photo from:
U.S. National Archives and Records Administration

On December 7, 1941, Japan attacked Pearl Harbor. It was an American Navy

base in Hawaii. About 20 ships and 300 planes were destroyed. The attack killed
more than 2,000 soldiers and sailors. Within a few days, the United States entered
World War II and declared war on Japan and Germany. The war involved most of
the countries in the world.

President sends Japanese-Americans to special camps

After Pearl Harbor, many Americans became very afraid of a Japanese invasion. In
February 1942, just two months after Pearl Harbor, President Franklin Delano
Roosevelt signed Executive Order 9066. It was aimed at people whose families
were from Japan. It said that they could not live along the West Coast. They had to

This article is available at 5 reading levels at https://newsela.com. 1

live in special camps away from the Pacific military zone. The order had two
purposes. The first was to prevent spying. Many people thought that Japanese-
Americans might give military information to Japan. The second was to protect
Japanese-Americans from being hurt. At the time, many Americans were angry at
the Japanese.

The military zone was along the Pacific Ocean in Washington, Oregon and
California.

Two-thirds of those sent to relocation centers were born in America

Roosevelt's order affected 117,000 Japanese-American people. Two-thirds of them

were born in the United States. People who were born in Japan were called the
Issei. The Nisei were the second generation and were born in America. At the
time of Roosevelt's order, there were 70,000 Nisei American citizens. Within
weeks, all Japanese-Americans were ordered to report to centers near their
homes. It did not matter if they were citizens or not, young or old, or rich or poor.
Soon they were sent to special camps outside the military zone. These were called
relocation centers or internment camps.

Life was very different

For example, Japanese-Americans in western Washington State went to a

gathering point at the Puyallup Fairgrounds near Tacoma. They lived in a cowshed
at a fairgrounds or a horse stall at a racetrack for the next several months. Next,
the Japanese-Americans were taken to permanent relocation centers. These were
often in remote areas far from home. Some of them were in Idaho, Utah, Arizona
and Arkansas.

Children went to school, but life was very different. Four or five families had to
live together. They ate together in dining halls and there were few jobs. People
who made trouble were sent to a special camp at Tule Lake, California.

Fighting unit showed how patriotic Japanese-Americans were

In 1943 and 1944, the government organized a fighting unit of Japanese-

Americans soldiers. It was called the 442nd Regimental Combat Team. They won
the most medals for bravery in World War II. Many Americans had claimed that
Japanese-Americans were loyal to Japan. But these soldiers show how patriotic
Japanese-Americans were.

This article is available at 5 reading levels at https://newsela.com. 2

As the war ended, Japanese-Americans were allowed to leave the relocation
centers. Some people returned to their hometowns. Many others went to live in
new places.

Some people think the relocation centers were like concentration camps. During
World War II, Nazi Germany forced Jews to live in concentration camps. They
were kept in terrible conditions and were given little food. In 1988, lawmakers
passed a law. It apologized to Japanese-Americans for the internment and said it
was unfair. The law also gave $20,000 to each person who was interned.

Guns at the guard towers pointed inward

After the war, a Japanese-American was told they were put in the internment
camps for their own protection. The person asked if that was the case, why were
they not allowed to leave. "Why were the guns at the guard towers pointed
inward, instead of outward?"

This article is available at 5 reading levels at https://newsela.com. 3