"TO PROTECT AGAINST ESPIONAGE & SABOTAGE TO NATIONAL DEFENSE"

JAPANESE-AMERICANS TO BE MOVED TO INTERNMENT CAMPS

Washington, D.C. (JFK+50) On February 19, 1942, President Franklin D. Roosevelt signed Executive Order #9066 authorizing the removal of all people from military areas "as deemed necessary."  The order stated...

"Whereas the successful prosecution of the war requires every possible protection against espionage and...sabotage to national defense...I hereby authorize and direct the Secretary of War to designate...military areas...from which any or all persons may be excluded."

FDR was advised the areas in question included all the west coast of the United States. It is estimated that 120,000 Americans of Japanese descent were moved to internment camps,  70,000 of which were American citizens.

In the case of Korematsu vs. United States, the Supreme Court ruled 6-3 that the order to relocate Americans of Japanese descent was constitutional.  The six majority votes were from FDR-appointed justices.
  
Hugo Black*, who wrote the majority opinion, argued that the necessity of protecting the nation against espionage outweighed the individual rights of Fred Korematsu and those of all Americans of Japanese descent.

Those relocated by the order  would not be allowed to return to their homes until December 17, 1944.  President Ronald Reagan signed the Civil Liberties Act in 1988 which gave each survivor of the internment camps $20,000 tax free along with the government's apology.

*Hugo Lafayette Black (1886-1971) was born in Ashland, AL & graduated from the University of Alabama School of Law in 1906.  HLB served in WWI and practiced law in Birmingham.   He served in the U.S. Sentate 1927-1937 & on the Supreme Court for 34 years.

Japanese-American Grocer
Oakland, California
March 1942
Photo by Dorothea Lange
Library of Congress
Prints & Photographs Division

"WHY WERE THE GUNS AT THE GUARD TOWERS POINTED INWARD?"

JAPANESE AMERICANS TO BE RELOCATED TO INTERNMENT CAMPS

Washington, D.C. (JFK+50) On February 19, 1942, President Franklin D. Roosevelt signed Executive Order #9066 authorizing the removal of all people from military areas "as deemed necessary."

This order stated...

"Whereas the successful prosecution of the war requires every possible protection against espionage and...sabotage to national defense...I hereby authorize and direct the Secretary of War to designate...military areas...from which any or all persons may be excluded."

Japanese Americans were first dispatched to assembly centers before being transported to various relocation centers located outside restricted military zones.  These centers included locations at Tule Lake CA, Topaz UT, Jerome AR and Granada CO.

An internee was told the reason for the internment was for his own protection. He responded...

"Why were the guns at the guard towers pointed inward?"

It is estimated that 120,000 Americans of Japanese descent were moved to internment camps.  70,000 of these were American citizens. Those relocated by the order  would not be allowed to return to their homes until December 17, 1944.

President Ronald Reagan signed the Civil Liberties Act in 1988 which gave each survivor of the internment camps $20,000 tax free along with the government's apology.

SOURCE

"Japanese Relocation During World War II," National Archives, www.archives.gov/

Japanese American Grocer

Oakland CA (1942)

Photo by Dorothea Lange

Library of Congress Image

THE FEMININE MYSTIQUE

BETTY FRIEDAN'S FEMININE MYSTIQUE PUBLISHED 51 YEARS AGO TODAY

Fifty-one years ago today, February 19, 1963, Betty Friedan published her non-fiction work, The Feminine Mystique.  

The idea for the book came from a survey Miss Friedan gave to 200 of her fellow classmates of Smith women's college.

The survey results proved what Friedan suspected:  American women were not happy campers and did not know why.

In The Feminine Mystique, Friedan placed blame for the unhappy state of women on the "idealized image of femininity" which confined women to the role of housewife.

This was a role that limited the ability of women to pursue personal career goals.

The Feminine Mystique launched a second feminist movement.

Betty Friedan

MARINES INVADED IWO JIMA 69 YEARS AGO

The USMC launched an invasion of the Japanese occupied Iwo Jima, an island 660 miles from mainland Japan, 69 years ago today, February 19, 1945.

The island was defended by 21,000 soldiers who were protected by a network of caves.

The amphibious landings were resisted by seven Japanese battalions.  

By evening, the Marines lost 550 dead and 1800 wounded.  On February 23 the US flag was raised on Mt. Suribachi.

The Battle of Iwo Jima ended with a decisive American victory on March 26, 1945.

US Marines on Iwo Jima

FDR SIGNS ORDER TO MOVE JAPANESE-AMERICANS

Washington, D.C. (JFK+50) President Franklin D. Roosevelt signed Executive Order #9066 72 years ago today, February 19, 1942, authorizing the removal of all people from military areas "as deemed necessary."

The military determined this would include all of the west coast of the United States

By June 1942, 110,000 Japanese-Americans were moved to internment camps where they lived in poor conditions and under guard.  They would not be allowed to return to their homes until December 17, 1944.

San Francisco store owner is relocated

Photo by Dorothea Lange, March 1942

President Ronald Reagan signed the Civil Liberties Act in 1988 which gave each survivor of the internment camps $20,000 tax free along with the government's apology.

President Reagan Signs Civil Liberties Act