On December 7th, 1941 Pearl Harbor was attacked by Japanese fighters. The American people were in shock after this attack, leaving them fearful of what the Japanese Americans had to do with the attack. This sparked mass hysteria in the U.S. over the intentions of its Japanese citizens. The fear and hysteria in this time period led to the imprisonment of around 127,000 Japanese Americans (Japanese 1). Many of these people were called Nisei, a term used for Japanese Americans who were born in the U.S. and whose parents were immigrants from Japan, and most were American citizens who had never even been to Japan, and had no connection to the Japanese Army. These Japanese Americans were wrongfully Interned during World War II out of fear that
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Government. Many of these people were homeowners and small business owners, and had to sell their possessions and properties at a fraction of their true value (Japanese 1). Before they were moved to the permanent internment camps, they were to be held at one of 16 temporary assembly camps throughout the U.S. (World 1). Internees would usually spend three months at these camps before they were moved to the permanent camps, and on many occasions these camps were only used because the internment camps were not even built yet. These makeshift camps were commonly assembled on racetracks, fairgrounds, and horse stables (Japanese 1). Some people were even held in animals pens due to lack of space (Historical 1). Often times these assembly camps were much worse than the permanent camps would be, some of them being without electricity, plumbing, or sanitation equipment (Historical 1). Some of these camps became very overcrowded while prisoner waited to be moved, camp Puyallup in Washington, and camp Tanforan in California both held upwards of seven thousand people waiting to be moved (Assembly 1). A new organization was formed to oversee the movement of these Japanese Americans, The War Relocation Authority, or WRA. The WRA was responsible for transporting Japanese Americans from their former homes to the temporary internment camps, and eventually to the permanent camps. The WRA used various forms of transportation to move the inmates such as trains and busses (Historical
Government. Many of these people were homeowners and small business owners, and had to sell their possessions and properties at a fraction of their true value (Japanese 1). Before they were moved to the permanent internment camps, they were to be held at one of 16 temporary assembly camps throughout the U.S. (World 1). Internees would usually spend three months at these camps before they were moved to the permanent camps, and on many occasions these camps were only used because the internment camps were not even built yet. These makeshift camps were commonly assembled on racetracks, fairgrounds, and horse stables (Japanese 1). Some people were even held in animals pens due to lack of space (Historical 1). Often times these assembly camps were much worse than the permanent camps would be, some of them being without electricity, plumbing, or sanitation equipment (Historical 1). Some of these camps became very overcrowded while prisoner waited to be moved, camp Puyallup in Washington, and camp Tanforan in California both held upwards of seven thousand people waiting to be moved (Assembly 1). A new organization was formed to oversee the movement of these Japanese Americans, The War Relocation Authority, or WRA. The WRA was responsible for transporting Japanese Americans from their former homes to the temporary internment camps, and eventually to the permanent camps. The WRA used various forms of transportation to move the inmates such as trains and busses (Historical