Executive Order 9066 Flashcards, test questions and answers
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What is Executive Order 9066?
Executive Order 9066 was a United States presidential executive order issued on February 19, 1942 by President Franklin D. Roosevelt during World War II. This executive order authorized the Secretary of War to prescribe certain areas as military zones, clearing the way for the relocation of Japanese Americans from the West Coast to internment camps within the continental United States. This order was issued in response to fears of espionage and sabotage on the part of Japanese Americans following Japan’s attack on Pearl Harbor in December 1941. Despite protests from civil rights groups and some members of Congress, Executive Order 9066 was upheld by the Supreme Court in 1944 as a military necessity that superseded individual constitutional rights. The implementation of Executive Order 9066 resulted in more than 110,000 people being forcibly removed from their homes and placed in 10 internment camps across seven states, including California, Arizona, Wyoming, Utah, Colorado and Arkansas. The majority were American citizens; only about 12 percent were immigrants who had not obtained U.S. citizenship yet or had been denied it due to racial discrimination laws at that time (notably Chinese immigrants). The conditions at these camps were harsh: internees lived in cramped quarters with little privacy or comfort; they received inadequate food rations; they had few opportunities for meaningful work; and they received no compensation for their labor even when working long hours on projects such as building roads or constructing buildings for other government agencies. As if this weren’t bad enough, those who resisted relocation or repatriation could face serious repercussions like jail time or deportation back to Japan after WWII ended. This treatment has been widely criticized as unjust and unconstitutional since then Despite its controversial nature at the time it was signed into law over 80 years ago today Executive Order 9066 is seen as a black mark on America’s history one that serves as a reminder that fear can lead us down dark paths without proper checks and balances being put into place beforehand.