JAPANESE INTERNMENT CAMPS

JAPANESE INTERNMENT CAMPS

By: Shelby Patterson2008-2009

By: Shelby Patterson2008-2009

It all started on December 7, 1941, when Japanese planes bombed U.S. ships at Pearl Harbor, Hawaii. The U.S.

declared war on Japan. They were forced into relocation centers because Americans were afraid that Japan would

attack again.

Japanese families living in the U.S. were forced to leave behind homes, friends, and businesses and travel by bus and train to “relocation’’ centers. Many were American citizens.

An official government notice gave one week to get rid of their belongings before they were taken to relocation centers.

A few cots were the only furnishings that the evacuees had. Over 100,000 Japanese Americans were living in ten relocation centers.

Executive order 9066 was rescinded by President Roosevelt in 1944, and the rest of the camps were closed in March, 1946. In 1988, the government agreed to give $20,000 to all American internees still alive.