On this day in 1942, President Franklin D. Roosevelt issued Executive Order 9066, which granted US military authorities with the power to declare exclusion zones and to relocate persons of Japanese ancestry. 110,000 people were eventually moved to ten internment camps, including the infamous facilities located at Manzanar.

Before we comment, let’s watch what the US government had to say about the incident at the time:

Most of us know the bare facts concerning what happened, and here is how the US Government explains the incident now: After Roosevelt issues Executive Order 9066, more than 120,000 people, including children and the elderly, were required to leave their homes in California and parts of Washington, Oregon and Arizona. Most of these people did not have time to store or sell their household goods, let alone get a fair price for them. Some people were able to move to other states, but the majority went to internment camps. They were allowed to take very few personal belongings with them, and many families lost virtually everything they owned except what they could carry. The internees then spent many years in the camps, kept behind barbed wire fences with armed guards patrolling them. Entire families often lived in cramped, one room quarters that were poorly constructed. (Based on a text from the US Department of Justice. Edited for grammar and clarity.)

In 1943, photographer Ansel Adams visited the internment camp at Manzanar in order to document what was happening there. A selection of his photographs was published in 1944 by US Camera, with the title Born Free and Equal. Adams’s 242 negatives and 209 prints are now part of the collection at the Library of Congress, as part of an exhibition titled Suffering under a Great Injustice: Ansel Adams’s Photographs of Japanese-American Internment at Manzanar. The Library’s online ‘collection highlights’ include photos of Daily Life, Portraits, Agricultural Scenes and Sports and Leisure Activities. Adams’s portraits are a must-see.

Children of the Camps is a documentary produced by PBS that:

captures the experiences of six Americans of Japanese ancestry who were confined as innocent children to internment camps by the U.S. government during World War II. The film vividly portrays their personal journey to heal the deep wounds they suffered from this experience.

The website includes information on the documentary, history of the camps, other resources, and of course a way to purchase the documentary itself.

Exploring the Japanese-American Internment Through Film and the Internet is another site with loads of information, images and video on the internment.

Back to the history:

Roosevelt’s Executive Order was terminated exactly 34 years later, on February 19, 1976, by President Gerald Ford, as part of Proclamation 4417. In issuing the Proclamation, President Ford said:

February 19th is the anniversary of a sad day in American history. It was on that date in 1942, in the midst of the response to the hostilities that began on December 7, 1941, that Executive Order 9066 was issued, subsequently enforced by the criminal penalties of a statute enacted March 21, 1942, resulting in the uprooting of loyal Americans. Over one hundred thousand persons of Japanese ancestry were removed from their homes, detained in special camps, and eventually relocated.
The tremendous effort by the War Relocation Authority and concerned Americans for the welfare of these Japanese-Americans may add perspective to that story, but it does not erase the setback to fundamental American principles. Fortunately, the Japanese-American community in Hawaii was spared the indignities suffered by those on our mainland.
We now know what we should have known then–not only was that evacuation wrong, but Japanese-Americans were and are loyal Americans. On the battlefield and at home, Japanese-Americans — names like Hamada, Mitsumori, Marimoto, Noguchi, Yamasaki, Kido, Munemori and Miyamura — have been and continue to be written in our history for the sacrifices and the contributions they have made to the well-being and security of this, our common Nation.

In 1980, the Commission on Wartime Relocation and Internment of Civilians was established by Congress. This commission reviewed the impact of Executive Order 9066 on Japanese-Americans and determined that they were the victims of discrimination by the Federal government. This document stated unequivocally that, “There was no military or security reason for the internment.” and, “the internment of the individuals of Japanese ancestry was caused by racial prejudice, war hysteria, and a failure of political leadership.”

Again from the Department of Justice:

On August 10, 1988, President Ronald Reagan signed the Civil Liberties Act of 1988. The Act was passed by Congress to provide a Presidential apology and symbolic payment of $20,000.00 to the internees, evacuees, and persons of Japanese ancestry who lost liberty or property because of discriminatory action by the Federal government during World War II. The Act also created the Civil Liberties Public Education Fund to help teach children and the public about the internment period.

The act called for these five actions to be undertaken:

1) To acknowledge the fundamental injustice of the evacuation, relocation and internment of citizens and permanent resident aliens of Japanese ancestry during World War II;

2) To apologize on behalf of the people of the United States for the evacuation, internment, and relocations of such citizens and permanent residing aliens;

3) To provide for a public education fund to finance efforts to inform the public about the internment so as to prevent the recurrence of any similar event;

4) To make restitution to those individuals of Japanese ancestry who were interned;

5) To make more credible and sincere any declaration of concern by the United States over violations of human rights committed by other nations.

The US Government’s formal written apology was made by President George H.W. Bush the following year:

A monetary sum and words alone cannot restore lost years or erase painful memories; neither can they fully convey our Nation’s resolve to rectify injustice and to uphold the rights of individuals. We can never fully right the wrongs of the past. But we can take a clear stand for justice and recognize that serious injustices were done to Japanese Americans during World War II.

In enacting a law calling for restitution and offering a sincere apology, your fellow Americans have, in a very real sense, renewed their commitment to the ideals of freedom, equality and justice. You and your family have our best wishes for the future.

Nearly twenty years on from those words, as events in President Bush’s son’s administration continue to unfold, it seems pertinent for us to remember not only what his father said, but also another portion of what President Ford said on this day in 1976:

I call upon the American people to affirm with me this American Promise — that we have learned from the tragedy of that long-ago experience forever to treasure liberty and justice for each individual American, and resolve that this kind of action shall never again be repeated.

As the Asian-American Media website asks: “Could it happen again to another group of Americans?”