Executive Order 9066 (1942)

Forced Evacuations

The War Department was charged with removing people of Japanese descent from the military zones. A voluntary removal programs was tried at first, but only about 5,000 Japanese people responded. The first forced evacuations took place in February 1942 at Terminal Island, near Los Angeles Harbor, and in March on Bainbridge Island, in Puget Sound, Washington. Large-scale evacuations began later that month. Over 90,000 evacuees (about 70 percent of whom were American citizens) were brought to one of 16 assembly centers located in California, Oregon, Washington, and Arizona.

Most evacuees had only a few weeks to sell their homes and personal property and get their finances in order. Assembly centers were hastily prepared and often located in inhospitable areas. For instance, one camp in California's Owens [Page 854]Valley recorded temperatures of over 110 degrees in the summer.

Most evacuees stayed at the assembly centers for one to four months before being moved to more permanent relocation centers. Ten relocation centers were established in isolated regions of Utah, Arizona, Arkansas, Colorado, Wyoming, Idaho, and California, and were constructed on the model of military barracks. Each family was allotted one room, no matter how many people were in the family. Bathing and toilet facilities were communal, and meals were served in communal mess halls. Although it originally had been thought that residents of these centers could work in agriculture, many locations were unsuitable for this purpose, including Manzanar, California; and Gila River, Arizona; which were located in deserts, and Jerome and Rohwer, Arkansas, located in swamp areas. Ultimately, the War Relocation Authority interned over 120,000 people during World War II.

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