Executive Order 9066
The attack on Pearl Harbor by the Japanese not only brought us into the war but also changed America's view of Japanese Americans living in the United States. Executive Order 9066 forced Japanese Americans into internment camps where camplife was degrading and was later viewed to be unjust.
On December 7th, 1941, the Imperial Japanese Navy launched a surprise attack against the United States naval base at Pearl Harbor in the Hawaii Territory. The eight U.S. Navy battleships present at Pearl Harbor were damaged with four sunk. In addition, cruisers, destroyers, and U.S. aircraft were damaged or destroyed. 2,403 Americans were killed and 1,178 wounded. The attack was a shock to the American people, and it led directly to President Franklin D. Roosevelt’s declaration of war with Japan.
Initially, American public opinion stood by the large population of Japanese Americans living on the West Coast. But, six weeks after the attack, public opinion along the Pacific began to turn against these Japanese Americans as the press and other Americans became nervous about the potential for additional Japanese activity. Many Americans started accusing Japanese Americans of espionage and even blaming them for Pearl Harbor. Especially on the West
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President Roosevelt issued Executive Order 9066. The Order was entitled “Authorizing the Secretary of War to Prescribe Military Areas” and began with the words “Whereas the successful prosecution of the war requires every possible protection against espionage and against sabotage… .” Executive Order 9066 had the effect of relocating all persons of Japanese ancestry, both citizens and aliens, inland, outside of the Pacific military zone known as Area 1. Military Area 1 included the Western half of California, Oregon, Washington, and the southern half of Arizona. At this time, eighty percent of Japanese Americans lived in