1. Were Japanese Americans given adequate care and accommodations as they were rounded up? Were they given assurances and clear information on what the future held for them?
- No, because some Japanese did not have the proper clothing and a lot of them were cold in their homes. They lived in horse stable with unsanitary conditions.The restrooms were unsanitary and not private. No, the Japanese thought they were going to be there forever or until the war ended.
- Permanent WRA Camps-
2. Discuss the claim by the U.S. Government that the camps were for the protection of Japanese Americans. Were the barbed wire fences and guard towers meant to keep vigilantes out or Japanese inmates in?
- The U.S. Government claimed that the barbed wire fences and the towers were to protect them from other people, but they were really made to keep them out of society. The government was afraid that some of them were spies so they stripped them down and sprayed them with a chemical powder.
- Camp Life -
3. Were the camps "resettlement communities," or prisons? What's the difference between the two?- The camps were prisons so they could stop the Japanese from what they thought they were doing which is spying on the U.S. Government which was not correct. The government made them think that they were going to resettlement communities, it was more like a prison with military police and barbed wire fence.
4.Did the War Relocation Authority take measures to protect family life and privacy? No, because the children were not home due to the recreational activities the WRA created for them.
- Questions of Loyalty -
5. How did Japanese Americans respond after being incarcerated without due process of law, to questions asking them whether or not they were unquestioningly loyal to this country?
-Some were angry and some joined the army do to those questions. The questions were ridiculous because one is asking for you to serve in the army and the other is asking you to leave the country if you don't.
- Tule Lake Segregation -
6. Were those who answered "no" to the loyalty questions clearly "disloyal" or were they voicing discontent with their treatment?
- They were voicing edicontent to their treatment because of how they were being treated and the Japanese did not like it. They were being denied citizenship to the only country they were citizens in.
- Draft Resisters -
7. Why did these young men resist being drafted into the military? Write or improvise a conversation between two brothers in an internment camp who make two different opposing decisions on the draft: one enlists, the other resists. What are their points of agreement if any? How do they differ? Is one brother more patriotic than the other?
- These young men did not want to be drafted to fight for a country that did not respect them. The U.S. Government put them in these camps to so call protect them, but now they want them to protect the country.
Brother 1: Are you going to enlist?
Brother 2: No, who else will take care of the family and why should i join for a country that does not trust Japanese.
No, the brother is not more patriotic than the other.
- Military Service -
8. What did it take to fight for a country that kept your family interned behind barbed wire?
- It took proving that you are a good and loyal citizen to the U.S. . For a Japanese they thought that would get them out of the internment camps faster.
1. How do we prevent the injustice of internment from happening again? Perhaps it
starts with learning about this historic mistake, as well as working to
eliminate the causes for continuing racial prejudice today. To prevent internment camps do not assume anything. I understand your trying to protect the country, but what would all Japanese Americans have to do with the bombing of Pearl Harbor. Just because whoever bombed Pearl Harbor does not mean to imprison their whole race.2. What do you think? What is your responsibility? What can you do as one individual? Your voice and actions can be an important part not only of preventing the gross injustice of internment from happening again, but also preventing the other negative effects of racial hatred and prejudice. I think that white people believe that they are the superior race, but there is no superior race in the world. My responsibility is to speak my mind and fight for my and other peoples rights. As one individual I can make a stand and get buck with the system.
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| Sign, Warning Photographer: Richard Simon |
Photographer: Richard Simon
Photographer: Richard Simon
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| Japanese Americans, Fence Photographer: Richard Simon |
Photographer: Richard Simon
