The Asian Pacific Studies Collection

The history of the Japanese in the United States began with Commodore Perry's gunboat diplomacy policy in 1868. The first small numbers of Japanese came to the West Coast in 1869. Larger groups did not begin arriving on the West Coast until after the Exclusion Act of 1882, which completely stopped the immigration of Chinese laborers. The Japanese workers were brought in as replacements to work on the railroads and mines. With the California Alien Land Laws of 1913 and 1924, all Asian immigrants were ineligible for citizenship and could not legally own or lease land. By 1925, twelve other states enacted similar legislation.

Even with the restrictions imposed upon them, many Japanese communities continued to thrive. After Japanese planes bombed Pearl Harbor, Hawaii in December 1941, President Franklin Roosevelt proclaimed Japanese, German, and Italian citizens residing on American soil to be "alien enemies" (Presidential Proclamations 2525, 2526, and 2527). On February 19, 1942, President Roosevelt signed Executive Order #9066, formally authorizing the Secretary of War to prescribe "military areas" from which alien enemies would be excluded and to provide "transportation, food, shelter, and other accommodations" for excluded residents of these areas. With this Order, the Japanese were forced to evacuate the West Coast. A few simply moved eastward with friends or family. The majority, citizens and aliens alike, were moved to "assembly centers," which were built in Merced, Portland, Pinedale, Fresno, Sacramento, and at the Santa Anita racetrack. From these centers, evacuees were transferred to government-run internment camps. There were ten main internment camps: Amache, Gila River, Poston, Manzanar, Topaz, Heart Mountain, Minidoka, Tule Lake, Jerome, and Rohwer. There were also smaller more restrictive camps designed for evacuees considered dangerous. Most German and Italian "alien enemies" were not subject to this order, though those deemed security risks were moved to internment camps.

The majority of the people confined to the camps stayed for the duration of the war. During 1944, some were allowed special passes to take jobs anywhere except in the restricted zones of the West Coast. For the most part, the residents of the camps tried to live as normally as possible. Many were employed at camp businesses, played on sports teams, and went to camp schools. Some of the young men born in the United States joined the 442nd Regimental Battalion, the most decorated unit in the history of the United States. In January 1945, the exclusion order was rescinded and internees were allowed to return to the exclusion area. The last camp was closed in 1948. The United States government, through the Civil Liberties Act of 1988, formally apologized to the survivors of the internment camps and began to provide reparation checks of $20,000 to each survivor. In 1992, the camp at Manzanar was designated a National Historic Site and is currently open to the public.