1942+Japanese+Internment—Executive+Order+9066

Home TIMELINE TOPICS ASSIGNMENT: Who Is A Person In America?

Japanese-American Internment Executive Order 9066Mitch N. Place photos or graphics in the table below. Save to desktop, then upload by clicking on "file" on the menu bar (above). Japanese-Americans on their way to Internment Camps Japanese Internment Camps. N.d. //AP Images//. Web. 26 Sept. 2011. . ||
 * [[image:buchholtzsidoramericanstudies/japs.PNG width="374" height="282"]]

Write a journal/newspaper style article in which you take a neutral stance (as a reporter) and give the facts about the actual event. What led up to the event? What happened during the actual event? Did it have an “end” or is it unresolved? You are to write about this event __when it happened__, you are assuming the role of a reporter in 1850, 1920, etc., __not someone looking back from 2011__. You need to cite your sources, and they must include information only available during that time period. At least one source must be primary and/or an eyewitness account. **Important - This work will be submitted to TurnItIn.com. We will provide you information about using this helpful resource**!
 * TASK I: **

**Imprisoned Japanese-Americans Now Moved to Internment Camps** 100,000 + Japanese-Americans are now to relocate yet again

Yesterday, November 9, 1942, the government started moving the 100,000 plus Japanese-Americans who were imprisoned with the concern of disloyalty out of their assembly centers into internment camps.

With the attacks on Pearl Harbor and now the U.S. being at war with Japan, the sole reason for this imprisonment is due to the concern of “possible saboteurs or spies” (“A Grave Wrong”) that Japan would invade the West Coast with.

Caged in by barbed wire, these internment camps are located in “remote, desolate desert areas... surrounded by dust, sand, and barbed wire…” (“Internment of Japanese”). These camps extended from West Coast states like California, Idaho, Arizona, Colorado, Utah, and Wyoming, even all the way to the state of Arkansas.

These centers were in unintended places for human inhabitation. Though the majority of the internees are American natives and did not commit any crimes other than their ethnic background, the United States government did not attempt to distinguish between those who were loyal and disloyal to our country.

6 months ago, Executive Order 9066 was signed by President Roosevelt. This order “authorized the military to designate zones in which Japanese-Americans could not live… and all people of Japanese ancestry…were (ordered) to gather at assembly centers in fairgrounds and racetracks for resettlement” (A Grave Wrong).

"Internment of Japanese American during World War II." //Gale Student Resources in// //Context//. N.p., n.d. Web. 21 Sept. 2011. .

"A Grave Wro ng." //eLibrary Curriculum Edition//. N.p., n.d. Web. 21 Sept. 2011. .

Task 1: Mastery Rubric A quality news article will: •open with an attention-grabbing headline •identify the author's name and the date of the publication (in the past) •develop the 5 W's in three power paragraphs •paragraph 1: contain an interesting lead •paragraph 2: correctly cite a secondary source (an indirect quote) •paragraph 3: correctly cite a primary source (eyewitness account) •maintain appropriate journalistic voice •read like an article written in the same time period as the event occurred •be free of mechanics and Works Cited e rrors

TASK II What is the Argument?

Were all Japanese people living in America during World War II threats to our country?

PROMPT 1: Why did the majority of Americans not recognize the rights of members of this group? After the Japanese attacks on Pearl Harbor, many Americans did not view the Japanese-Americans as persons, but rather as spies and disloyal threats to our country that would attack through “espionage or sabotage” (Japanese-American Internment). While America was at war with Japan, the American people were scared and stereotyped the Japanese race as being dangerous, without reason or background knowledge to believe any of them were actual threats. Soon after the attacks on Pearl Harbor, even “politicians and citizens' groups in California began accusing Japanese Americans on the West Coast of collaboration with Japan and called for Japanese immigrants and Japanese Americans to be ‘secured’ by the federal government” (Japanese-American Internment). These politicians and citizens’ groups had no reason to believe the Japanese Americans had any collaboration with Japan, other than the fact that they were scared about the potential of another attack. Much like the discrimination of Muslims after 9/11, all Japanese Americans living on the West Coast were discriminated and “suffered through all this not because of crimes they had committed but because of their ethnic background” (A Grave Wrong). Just because of the fear of another attack and their ethnic background, the majority of Americans did not recognize the rights of Japanese Americans and the government decided to throw 120,000 innocent people into internment camps without probable cause.

"A Grave Wrong." //eLibrary Curriculum Edition//. N.p., n.d. Web. 21 Sept. 2011. .

"Japanese-American Internment." //Gale Student Resources in Context//. N.p., n.d. Web. 26 Sept. 2011. .

PROMPT 2: How did advocates for the minority group shed light on this injustice?

All Japanese-Americans, whether they were interned or not, believed there needed to be reparations for the hell they went through during World War II. What the government did was unconstitutional, and the Japanese-Americans believed someone had to pay for the government’s wrongdoing. Bert Nakano, the spokesperson for the National Coalition for Redress-Reparations said, “No sum of money can approach complete compensation for the tremendous social, economic and psychological trauma or the violation of constitutional right” ($3 Billion Reparation). Nakano was correct, but in retrospect there had to be some form of reparation that the government would pay to compensate the 120,313 Japanese-Americans that were interned. In July of 1981, every single one of 120,313 received $25,000 in reparations that Nakano said would “compensate for property loans, conservatively estimated that $400 million plus interest and inflation, lost wages and job and educational opportunities, damages for the false imprisonment and compensation for psychological and emotional suffering” ($3 Billion Reparation). Though the government can never repay enough for those who were interned, a total of $3 billion dollars was spent on compensation for their wrongdoing, and many advocate groups for the interned believed that would be suffice.

"$3 Billion Reparation Asked By Japanese-American Unit." //Washington Post//.

//ProQuest Historical Newspapers//. Web. 26 Sept. 2011. .


 * TASK III: **

[]


 * "Kenji" By Fort Minor**

My father came from Japan in 1905 He was 15 when he immigrated from Japan He worked until he was able to buy respect and build a store

Let me tell you the story in the form of a dream, I don't know why I have to tell it but I know what it means, Close your eyes, just picture the scene, As I paint it for you, it was World War II, When this man named Kenji woke up, Ken was not a soldier, He was just a man with a family who owned a store in LA, That day, he crawled out of bed like he always did, Bacon and eggs with wife and kids, He lived on the second floor of a little store he ran, He moved to LA from Japan, They called him 'Immigrant,' In Japanese, he'd say he was called "Issei," That meant 'First Generation In The United States,' When everybody was afraid of the Germans, afraid of the Japs, But most of all afraid of a homeland attack, And that morning when Ken went out on the doormat, His world went black 'cause, Right there; front page news, Three weeks before 1942, "Pearl Harbour's Been Bombed And The Japs Are Comin'," Pictures of soldiers dyin' and runnin', Ken knew what it would lead to, Just like he guessed, the President said, "The evil Japanese in our home country will be locked away," They gave Ken, a couple of days, To get his whole life packed in two bags, Just two bags, couldn't even pack his clothes, Some folks didn't even have a suitcase, to pack anything in, So two trash bags is all they gave them, When the kids asked mom "Where are we goin'?" Nobody even knew what to say to them, Ken didn't wanna lie, he said "The US is lookin' for spies, So we have to live in a place called Manzanar, Where a lot of Japanese people are," Stop it don't look at the gunmen, You don't wanna get the soldiers wonderin', If you gonna run or not, 'Cause if you run then you might get shot, Other than that try not to think about it, Try not to worry 'bout it; bein' so crowded, Someday we'll get out, someday, someday.

As soon as war broke out The F.B.I. came and they just come to the house and "You have to come" "All the Japanese have to go" They took Mr. Ni People didn't understand Why did they have to take him? Because he's an innocent laborer

So now they're in a town with soldiers surroundin' them, Every day, every night look down at them, From watch towers up on the wall, Ken couldn't really hate them at all; They were just doin' their job and, He wasn't gonna make any problems, He had a little garden with vegetables and fruits that, He gave to the troops in a basket his wife made, But in the back of his mind, he wanted his families life saved, Prisoners of war in their own damn country, What for? Time passed in the prison town, He wondered if they would live it down, if and when they were free, The only way out was joinin' the army, And supposedly, some men went out for the army, signed on, And ended up flyin' to Japan with a bomb, That 15 kilotonne blast, put an end to the war pretty fast, Two cities were blown to bits; the end of the war came quick, Ken got out, big hopes of a normal life, with his kids and his wife, But, when they got back to their home, What they saw made them feel so alone, These people had trashed every room, Smashed in the windows and bashed in the doors, Written on the walls and the floor, "Japs not welcome anymore." And Kenji dropped both of his bags at his sides and just stood outside, He, looked at his wife without words to say, She looked back at him wiping tears away, And, said "Someday we'll be OK, someday," Now the names have been changed, but the story's true, My family was locked up back in '42, My family was there it was dark and damp, And they called it an internment camp

When we first got back from camp... uh It was... pretty... pretty bad

I, I remember my husband said "Are we gonna stay 'til last?" Then my husband died before they close the camp.

"Kenji." //A-Z Lyrics//. N.p., n.d. Web. 4 Oct. 2011. .

__Paragraph 1:__ Analyze the impact of the literary or artistic work for the minority group and/or American society as a whole.

The song //Kenji// by Fort Minor is about a Japanese man named Kenji who was forced out of his home into an assembly center and then into Manzanar Internments Camp along with his family in 1942 during World War II. This song starts off talking about Kenji living a normal life, and then when the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor, his and around the lives of 120,000 other Japanese-Americans became forever changed. Fort Minor writes, “‘The evil Japanese in our home country will be locked away;’ They gave Ken, a couple of days; To get his whole life packed in two bags; Just two bags, couldn't even pack his clothes” (//Kenji,// Fort Minor). This was only the start of what was to become of the impact this had on Kenji’s family and the rest of the 120,000 who were later to be interned. Later in the song Fort Minor talks about Kenji enlisting in the military stating, “The only way out was joinin' the army; And supposedly, some men went out for the army, signed on; And ended up flyin' to Japan with a bomb; That 15 kilotonne blast, put an end to the war pretty fast; Two cities were blown to bits; the end of the war came quick” (//Kenji//, Fort Minor). This excerpt is a very powerful example of the hell Japanese-Americans went though, which included enlisted Japanese-American soldiers having to drop the bomb on Nagasaki and Hiroshima which ultimately ended World War II. The song //Kenji// by Fort Minor is an excellent example that shows the impact the internment had on the 120,000 Japanese-American.

"Kenji." //A-Z Lyrics//. N.p., n.d. Web. 4 Oct. 2011. .

__Paragraph 2:__ CLOSING-- How did the event impact the debate on the argument? The main argument that came about during and after the internment of Japanese-Americans during World War II was whether or not what the government did was unconstitutional. Some people, including me, believe that it was unconstitutional because the government detained 120,000 citizens without due process of the law, while others believed it was in the best interest for the safety of our country. One of the reasons they were being detained, according to Fort Minor's song //Kenji,// was because "The US (was) lookin' for spies" (Kenji, Fort Minor). Now you tell me, were Japanese-American citizens during World War II actual threats to our country and deserved the treatment they got?

**Works Cited** //Children Playing//. N.d. //Free Info Society//. N.p., n.d. Web. 4 Oct. 2011. .

“A Grave Wrong.” //eLibrary Curriculum Edition//. N.p., n.d. Web. 21 Sept. 2011. .

“Internment of Japanese American during World War II.” //Gale Student Resources in Context//. N.p., n.d. Web. 21 Sept. 2011. .

“Japanese-American Internment.” //Gale Student Resources in Context//. N.p., n.d. Web. 26 Sept. 2011. <http://www.ic.galegroup.com>.

//Japanese Camps//. N.d. //AP Images//. Web. 26 Sept. 2011. <http://www.apimages.com> . Japanese Internment Camps. N.d. //AP Images//. Web. 26 Sept. 2011. <http://www.apimages.com>.

“Kenji.” //A-Z Lyrics//. N.p., n.d. Web. 4 Oct. 2011. <http://www.azlyrics.com>.

“$3 Billion Reparation Asked By Japanese-American Unit.” //Washington Post//. //ProQuest Historical Newspapers//. Web. 26 Sept. 2011. <http://hngraphical.proquest.com>. <span style="color: #008080; font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 14px;">An outstanding product will. <span style="color: #008080; font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 14px;">•showcase a work that expresses a profound idea about your event and the argument surrounding it <span style="color: #008080; font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 14px;">•be the **best** example available, not simply the first one you find <span style="color: #800080; font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 14px;">This is a great choice that demonstrates the issue very clearly <span style="color: #008080; font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 14px;">•demonstrate your ability to interpret the meaning of the literary or artistic piece <span style="color: #008080; font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 14px;">•use the extended power paragraph format as a means to express your understanding of the event, argument, and how art literature and art <span style="color: #008080; font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 14px;">can reveal emotions and ideas <span style="color: #800080; font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 14px;">Remember that a power paragraph begins with a topic sentence that is a clear and focused response to the prompt and each sentence has a specific function <span style="color: #008080; font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 14px;">•reference sources accurately <span style="color: #008080; font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 14px;">•mechanics are clean and effective <span style="color: #800080; font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 14px;">Be sure to edit and polish your work <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 10pt;">An outstanding time line entry includes the following: <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 10pt;">• Opens by identifying you, the author, and your event with a banner headline (see an example of a banner on the top of this page). <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 10pt;">•<span style="color: #ff0000; font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 10pt;"> Under the banner, in the table place two graphics or photos that illustrates an important aspect of the event. <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif;">• Thoughtful responses to each prompt are supported by credible sources representing diverse perspectives on the event. <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif;">• Each response should be posted in order (follow template instructions), contain few mechanic errors and follow the power paragraph format. <span style="display: block; font-family: 'times new roman',times,serif; text-align: left;"> • The credibility of each cited source is established and internal citations accurately match the Works Cited.• TASK I and TASK II each introduce and cite two new sources; TASK III cites one new source.• The Works Cited lists 5 credible sources from the LC databases.
 * <span style="color: #008080; font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 17px;">TASK III: Artistic Expression Element Rubric **
 * Rubric for the Time Line Page **