Bombing of Pearl Harbor in 1941 |
Pearl Harbor BombingOn January 7th 1941, Japanese fighter planes bombed an American Navy Base near Honolulu, Hawaii. Over 2,000 soldiers were killed and 1,000 more were injured. Soon after, Congress declared war on Japan. Pearl Harbor also evoked a nationwide fear of Japanese people. On February 19, 1942, executive order 9066 was enacted. The U.S. government became suspicious that the Japanese, even if they were American citizens, would serve as spies to the Japanese military/government. Therefore, Roosevelt considered the "safest" option for the United States was to intern all people of Japanese descent.
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Vacating homeOrder 9066 stated that all people with Japanese ancestry had to evacuate their homes. Since the Japanese did not know when they would be returning, they were forced to sell all of their belongings including their homes, stores, and personal items. They traded their old lives for new ones in internment camps. While many people felt hurt, betrayed, and upset, they complied.
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A picture of a flyer with instructions on how to evacuate
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Prejudice and RacismDiscrimination in the United States against Asians began in the mid-1800's, when many Chinese and Japanese started to migrate to the U.S. Laws were passed in the early 1900's that prevented the Japanese from becoming legal citizens, to marry outside of their race, to own land, and from working in certain industries. Many of the Japanese Americans were segregated from public places such as schools, bathrooms, etc. Discrimination became worse through America's tough years during the 1930's.
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