Japanese Internment
Camp Locations

The Japanese Imperial Navy attacked Pearl Harbor on the Island of O'ahu, Hawaii (then only a territory of the United States) on December 7,1941.

The U.S. Supreme Court argued that the internment camps were legal and justified for military and security reasons. The internment of Japanese-Americans is best know; but German-Americans and Italian-Americans, as well as their respective nationals, who were often married to native or naturalized U.S. citizens; all of whom were interned in camps. The U.S. government identified 600,00 Italian "aliens" (none citizens) during World War II.

1) But what does the U.S. legal system guarantee?
2) What are the names of the largest and most well-known camps?

Let's examine the camps in more detail.

 

 

 

Read the lecture notes on the Japanese Internment Camps

Answers:
1) The U.S. legal system guarantees:

  • a person's innocence until he/she is proven guilty

  • due process: a person must be accused of having broken a law before being charged with a crime

  • equal protection: a clause in the constitution states that a person's background (i.e. ethnic, racial, gender, age, income, etc.) is suppose to be irrelevant in the legal system

2) The largest camp was Colorado River with 17,814; the most well-known camp was Manzanar.

 

Created by Ingolf Vogeler on 1 June 1996; last revised on 10 March 2011.