ID: Executive Order 9066
When: February 19, 1942
Who:
- President Franklin D. Roosevelt: Issued the Executive Order.
- Japanese Americans: Primarily affected, though also impacted some German and Italian Americans.
- US Government: Responsible for implementing the order.
What:
Executive Order 9066 authorized the Secretary of War (and military commanders designated by him) to prescribe certain areas as military zones, clearing the way for the incarceration of Japanese Americans, German Americans, and Italian Americans in US concentration camps during World War II. It authorized the forced removal of anyone deemed a threat to national security from these zones. This primarily led to the forced relocation and internment of over 120,000 people of Japanese ancestry, most of whom were American citizens, from the West Coast to internment camps.
Impact: Why Significant?:
- Mass Internment: Resulted in the largest mass incarceration in American history based on ethnicity.
- Civil Liberties Violations: A grave violation of the civil rights of Japanese Americans, demonstrating the wartime erosion of constitutional protections.
- Economic Losses: Japanese Americans lost homes, businesses, and livelihoods due to forced relocation and internment.
- Lasting Trauma: The experience caused profound psychological and emotional trauma for those interned and their families.
- Redress Movement: Led to a decades-long movement for redress and reparations.
- Formal Apology and Compensation: In 1988, President Reagan signed the Civil Liberties Act, formally apologizing for the internment and providing monetary compensation to surviving internees, acknowledging the injustice of Executive Order 9066.
- Constitutional Implications: Raised critical questions about the limits of executive power during wartime and the importance of protecting civil liberties even in times of crisis.