Life in the Holding Camp
After declaring war on the
Japanese, all the Japanese-American citizens had to be put into the holding camps. There were over 120,000 people who were forced into imprisonment. Theses citizens had not committed any crime or broken any law.
The reason why they were forced into imprisonment was because they all had Japanese ancestry.
During World
War II, the Japanese imprisoned belonged to one of the two groups, called Issei and Nisei. Issei were Japanese citizens who had migrated to America to live better. However, unlike the immigrants from England, France, and other European countries, the Issei couldn't become citizens of the United States. The Naturalization Act of 1790 limited citizenship, which meant that Asians were considered nonwhite, even though African Americans had been granted citizenship in 1870.
The children of the Issei were known as Nisei because they were born in America. They were automatically the citizens of the United States. America was the only country that the Nisei knew and so they spoke English more than they spoke Japanese. They also practiced American customs. Even though the Issei and the Nisei are both Japanese, they had different customs. For example, the Issei were Buddhists and the Nisei were Christians. Unlike their parents, both groups (Issei and Nisei) acted and thought of themselves as Americans.
For Japanese to gain acceptance as Americans, in 1930 the Nisei formed the Japanese American Citizens League. This was influential in Washington, Oregon, and California, the areas were ninety-five percent of Japanese lived. The purpose of the Japanese American Citizens League was to fight discrimination against the Japanese and demonstrate the Nisei loyalty to America. The Japanese showed their pride in their American citizenship by reciting a pledge.
Japanese, all the Japanese-American citizens had to be put into the holding camps. There were over 120,000 people who were forced into imprisonment. Theses citizens had not committed any crime or broken any law.
The reason why they were forced into imprisonment was because they all had Japanese ancestry.
During World
War II, the Japanese imprisoned belonged to one of the two groups, called Issei and Nisei. Issei were Japanese citizens who had migrated to America to live better. However, unlike the immigrants from England, France, and other European countries, the Issei couldn't become citizens of the United States. The Naturalization Act of 1790 limited citizenship, which meant that Asians were considered nonwhite, even though African Americans had been granted citizenship in 1870.
The children of the Issei were known as Nisei because they were born in America. They were automatically the citizens of the United States. America was the only country that the Nisei knew and so they spoke English more than they spoke Japanese. They also practiced American customs. Even though the Issei and the Nisei are both Japanese, they had different customs. For example, the Issei were Buddhists and the Nisei were Christians. Unlike their parents, both groups (Issei and Nisei) acted and thought of themselves as Americans.
For Japanese to gain acceptance as Americans, in 1930 the Nisei formed the Japanese American Citizens League. This was influential in Washington, Oregon, and California, the areas were ninety-five percent of Japanese lived. The purpose of the Japanese American Citizens League was to fight discrimination against the Japanese and demonstrate the Nisei loyalty to America. The Japanese showed their pride in their American citizenship by reciting a pledge.
"I am proud that I am an American citizen of Japanese ancestry, for my very background makes me appreciate more fully the wonderful advantages of this nation. I believe in her institutions, ideals, and her future. I am firm in my belief that American sportsmanship and attitude of fair play will judge citizenship and patriotism on the basis of action and achievement and not on the basis of physical characteristics."
-Pledge the Japanese had to recite to show their loyalty to America
On February 19, 1942, President Roosevelt authorized the removal of all Japanese from the west coast and also their confinement into a relocation camp. The reason why all the Japanese had to be sent to a relocation camp wasn't because they did anything wrong, it was because they were of Japanese descent. The relocation of the Japanese-America citizens was known as Japanese internment.