The Attack on Pearl Harbor by the Japanese Army - Research Paper Example

Essay The attack on Pearl Harbor by the Japan army in 1941, which destroyed much of the naval fleet in the harbor, forced the United s to enter the World War and it declared war against Japan. Within the US, this attack was considered by many as a means of sabotage by the Japanese Americans and hence people in power evoked interest to remove all those of Japanese descent living in the US citing security and military reasons (Exploring the Japanese American internment; Japanese Internment; Historical Overview; World War II). Though the reports presented after investigation of the bombing provided no concrete evidence of sabotage by the Japanese Americans, the heads of the war department concluded that the Japanese were organized and would not hesitate to put forth an attack at any given favorable moment. Thus the recommendation by the commanding officer, General DeWitt, to relocate the Japanese residents was approved without any further enquiry. An order was passed calling for mass evacuation of all those who were of Japanese descent by the Justice Department, which however, did consider the evacuation to be unnecessary and unconstitutional but had to give in to the views expressed by those in power. Being an election year and also faced with the uncertainty of a war and for want of support from the people, the then President, Franklin Roosevelt signed the Executive Order 9066 on February, 1942, which ordered the army to exclude any one form areas designated by the military. The order never mentioned that people of Japanese descent be excluded or interned, but was however, used only against them (Exploring the Japanese American internment; Japanese Internment). Thus the signing of the order was the starting point for one of the largest ever migration in world history and the evacuation of more than 110,000 Japanese Americans from the West Coast began in early spring that year (Exploring the Japanese American internment; Japanese Internment; Historical Overview; World War II; Relocation). A mass removal of such magnitude took place over a short time between the months of March to November, 1942 (Exploring the Japanese American internment; World War II). The people were not told why they were subjected to such hardships, no charges were leveled against them and they did not know where they were relocated. Families were told to sell their properties within a short notice period and told to carry minimum household belongings required for daily living. The families were given number tags and it was with such an uncertainty about their future that all the thousands of families moved to their detention centers (Exploring the Japanese American internment). The families were initially lodged in about 15 temporary detention camps, which the army had set up in places such as the race tracks. The relocation and detention of the Japanese Americans was monitored by the War Relocation Authority personnel who were entrusted the job of administering the camps. People lived in these dwellings under unsanitary conditions with common toilets and open sewages. The centers were surrounded by wire fences and towers with guns facing the inmates. The people almost led a prisoner’s life and had to wait in queues for everything right from food to toilets. The food supplied was poor and medical services were inadequate. However, the inmates accustomed themselves to the harsh living conditions and even began working for minimal wages (Exploring the Japanese American internment; Historical Overview). While these were the conditions in the temporary camps the permanent WRA camps were even more hostile for the people. There were a total of 10 permanent bases where the civilians were lodged. The 10 camps were located at Colorado, three camps in Arkansas, Wyoming, two camps at California, Idaho, Arizona and Utah (Exploring the Japanese American internment; Japanese Internment). The camps at all these places were present in the remote desert interiors or at swampy grounds. The inmates, for the first time, experienced bitter climatic conditions with dust storms and cold winters. Those who had come with the hope that these permanent dwellings would be better were completely disappointed as the new housing was in many ways similar to the temporary shelters (Exploring the Japanese American internment; Historical Overview). The houses were made of barracks and about 5 to 6 families were lodged in a single tiny room which only had cots and a stove. Communal areas were used for toilet and laundry (Exploring the Japanese American internment; World War II; Relocation). The food in camps was prepared by the inmates from the vegetables and poultry that were cultivated the inmates themselves by in government owned farmlands. The food was rationed and the inmates ate in mess halls which was usually overcrowded and had to wait in long queues for food. Medical care was available at the centers and the inmates were treated free of cost except for those who asked for special treatment as they had to pay the medical charges. Most of the inmates were engaged in some form of employment either in the farmlands or hospitals or any other internal work and the manpower was utilized to the fullest potential. They were paid according to their skill and were given clothing. Some interns also worked as teachers in the schools and vocational training institutions that were built within the centers. More than 1000 inmates also joined the American army and fought for the US in the war while their families were lodged in the detention centers (Exploring the Japanese American internment; Historical Overview; Relocation). The main job of the WRA was to help the inmates acclimatize themselves to the life in the detention camps. And while they tried to ease the life at the camps, violence erupted frequently and family life began to get disintegrated with parents losing their hold in the upbringing of their children. The harsh conditions in the camps fostered anger and violence both among children and adults as a result of which riots broke out in several camps and military was called in for settling the issue. Within the centers, the security was taken care of by Special Forces from the police while the external security was taken care of by the military. The inmates were punished for their offences and removed from work. Violence also erupted when the interns were asked to sign a questionnaire about their loyalty before they were inducted into the US army. Those who replied in the negation were separated and sent to the Tule Lake, California. Thus this center had a high number of detainees who did not comply with the norms enforced by the US forces (Exploring the Japanese American internment; Japanese Internment; World War II; Relocation). Thus the entire detention period for the Japanese Americans were futile years during which many people irrespective of age and gender suffered many hardships. Business, education and property were lost. Those who were forced to join the army fought for a nation which imprisoned their dear ones. And above all the treatment meted out to these people despite being US citizens was horrendous. Being considered and treated as traitors without any proof was considered to be the biggest humiliation until all this came to an end with the announcement by President Roosevelt that the camps be closed and the interns be sent back to their homes. By the year 1946 all the detention camps were closed and the detainees were sent home. It took nearly 46 years after this incident for the US government to formally apologize for the detention of the Japanese Americans and approve financial aid for the affected families (Japanese Internment). However no compensation can ever bring back all the lost years for these people and their children who, despite losing millions in property, were striped of a normal livelihood and made to suffer for no fault of theirs. Reference: 1. Exploring the Japanese American internment through film and the Internet. 2002. National Asian American Telecommunications Association. 2 November 2009. < http://www.asianamericanmedia.org/jainternment/camps/index.html> 2. Japanese Internment. Oregon Coast Magazine Online. 2 November 2009. http://www.u-s-history.com/pages/h1679.html 3. Historical Overview of the Japanese American Internment. CLPEF network. 2 November 2009. http://www.momomedia.com/CLPEF/history.html#Anchor 4. World War II- Japanese Internment Camps in the USA. 14 May 2009. History on the net. 2 November 2009. http://www.historyonthenet.com/WW2/japan_internment_camps.htm 5. Relocation of Japanese Americans. The Virtual Museum of the City of San Francisco. 2 November 2009. http://www.sfmuseum.org/hist10/relocbook.html Read More