Executive Order 9066: The Internment of 110,000 Japanese Americans

by Maisie Conrat, Richard Conrat

Nonfiction. Prefaces by Michael McCone and Don T. Nakanishi. The days following the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor were dark days of the American spirit. Unable to strike back effectively against the Japanese Empire , Americans in the Western states lashed out at fellow citizens and resident aliens of Japanese ancestry. Executive Order 9066, signed by President Roosevelt on February 19, 1942, was the instrument that allowed military commanders to designate areas "from which any or all persons may be excluded." Under this order all Japanese and Americans of Japanese ancestry were removed from Western coastal regions to guarded camps in the interior. Former Supreme Court Justice Tom C. Clark, who represented the Department of Justice in the "relocation," writes in the Epilogue to this book : "The truth is--as this deplorable experience proves--that constitutions and laws are not sufficient of themselves. Despite the unequivocal language of the Constitution of the United States that the writ of habeas corpus shall not be suspended, and despite the Fifth Amendment's command that no person shall be deprived of life, liberty or property without due process of law, both of these constitutional safeguards were denied by military action under Executive Order 9066."

Genres: History, Photography, War, World War II, Nonfiction

120 pages, Paperback

First published October 15, 1972

Reviews

[Brooke · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was such a fascinating read. These pictures were incredibly powerful to see. It's amazing to me that this book was published so long ago -- to think that it's closer to the internment of Japanese and Japanese Americans than we are to it today. It was constantly difficult for me to wrap my mind around that idea.

[Donald Scott · Rating 4 out of 5]

A good reminder of what happens when panic takes charge. The human tendency is to respond out of fear and predjudice.

[Dave · Rating 4 out of 5]

The title refers to FDR’s WWII order to imprison 110,000 Japanese Americans for the son of having ancestors from a country the US was fighting. Left free were descendants of people from Germany and Italy, the other WWII enemies. This boon captures some of the most striking visual documentation of this shameful period. The executive order represents “what injustice and havoc men and women have wrought upon each other,” wrote Don T. Nakanishi, director of the UCKA Asian American Atudy Center.
The images, often shown with hard-to-believe racist news stories and headlines of the day, pack a world-class wallop. The message is clear as day: Never again, America, please?

[James Crawford · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is mainly a photobook of the internment camps and the people involved with that, including photos showing the type of discrimination against Japanese-Americans at the time of World War II. There is some factual historical information given, but the main emphasis is on the photographs.

[Abbie G. · Rating 5 out of 5]

Filled with quotes, a few stories, and amazing photos by Dorothea Lange and a few others. Illuminates a part of American history that most would like to forget.

[Megan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Wonderful collection of photographs dealing with Japanese internment camps during WWII.

[Brett McLay · Rating 5 out of 5]

Timeless, eternally important in our discussion of national character.

[Regine · Rating 5 out of 5]

Important photos of the camps by Dorothea Lange and others.