How Fear, Not Evidence, Authorized the Mass Removal of Japanese Americans

Cultures · Published 3 October 2026 Swipe more like this →

In short: On February 19, 1942, President Roosevelt signed an order that authorized the forced removal of people from the West Coast. Though the text did not specify an ethnicity, it was rapidly applied to Japanese Americans, leading to mass incarceration.

Executive Order 9066, issued by President Franklin D. Roosevelt on February 19, 1942, granted the Secretary of War and military commanders the authority to designate military areas from which people could be excluded. While the order's language was broad, it was quickly used to justify the exclusion of virtually all Japanese Americans on the West Coast. This action followed the attack on Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941, which fueled widespread fear regarding national security.

The impetus for the order was a confluence of factors, including economic competition, deep-seated anti-Asian racism, and distrust over cultural differences. Lobbyists from western states, representing various economic and nativist interests, pressured Congress and the President to mandate the removal of persons of Japanese descent, encompassing both foreign-born individuals and American citizens. Despite ethical and constitutional objections raised by Department of Justice representatives during committee hearings, the military proceeded with the action.

The consequences were devastating: over six months saw approximately 122,000 people forcibly moved to assembly centers and then confined to guarded 'relocation centers.' These sites, including Manzanar in California and Tule Lake in California, were in remote areas across six western states and Arkansas. Notably, nearly 70,000 of those incarcerated were American citizens, and the government pursued no charges against them, nor was there an avenue for appeal. The resulting loss of property was estimated at $1.3 billion, with net income loss reaching $2.7 billion (in 1983 dollars, per a 1948 commission investigation).

While some Japanese Americans were encouraged to serve in the armed forces, more than 30,000 served with distinction in segregated units. Later efforts to provide redress included the Japanese American Evacuation Claims Act of 1948, which offered limited payments. A more significant acknowledgment came in 1988 with Public Law 100-383, which apologized for the injustice and provided a partial restitution of $20,000 to each person incarcerated.

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