Race and war

Question 1

who were the first and second generation of Japanese Americans?

Answer 1

the Issei and the second generation were the Nisei

Question 2

how many Japanese Americans were relocated to camps?

Answer 2

110,000

Question 3

what was the living conditions of the camps?

Answer 3

they were built quickly in the Californian desert, poorly built and surrounded by barbed wire and patrolled by guards.

Question 4

what were the reasons for the Internment of Japanese Americans?

Answer 4

the public feared Japanese sabotage and the right wing had stirred up backlash against Japanese Americans. (xenophobia)

Question 5

what was the difference in treatment with Japanese and germans?

Answer 5

the Japanese were put into camps, yet the German Americans and Italian Americans were not, yet they were also the axis force.

Question 6

how did some get out of the camps during war time?

Answer 6

men would apply to serve in combat battalions within the war, around 3600 did this.

Question 7

when were the camps created and how many?

Answer 7

feburary 1942 10 relocation camps were established.

Question 8

what were the Japanese attitudes to the camps?

Answer 8

some were angered by the treatment in the country they called home, some returned to Japan. others proved their compliance to be good Americans. some saw it as being kept dafe from the hostile public

Question 9

where did Japanese Americans go after the war?

Answer 9

many were discouraged from returning to the west coast and stayed in the mid west, many faced public hostility to re enter life

Question 10

what was life like within the camps?

Answer 10

there were activities to keep people occupied and people could work. some turned to art to express their emotion which the govt actually encouraged.

Question 11

what kinds of jobs did Japanese Americans do in the camps?

Answer 11

many were farmers on the harsh land but others involved in agricultural science in the rubber project, many being rubber chemists.

Question 12

what did the government ban and what did they commission instead?

Answer 12

they banned the Japanese from having cameras so they couldn’t document the conditions. but they did allow artwork that depicted the camps. some artists being allowed to work on mosaics commissioned by the Govt.

Question 13

what were the questionaries that were sent round the camps?

Answer 13

a long list of questioned posed to Japanese Americans to determine their loyalty.

Question 14

what were questions 27 and 28 of the questionnaire related to?

Answer 14

they asked the willingness to enlist in the military and pledge loyalty to the US.

Question 15

what was the problem for the government posed by questionnaires?

Answer 15

why are those who are considered loyal to America being kept in camps

Question 16

what was the problem with asking first generation Japanese and non citizens the question of serving?

Answer 16

they were not citizens, and asking them to serve for that country and defend from foreign attack, which included their own country. they are asked to fight for a country they arent a citizen of against one they are.

Question 17

what was the sentiment of those officials in charge of the questionaries?

Answer 17

people such as deWitt distrusted the Japanese as a race and he had little care for rights and liberties. only saw them as threats.

Question 18

how was the idea of becoming American through naturalisation misleading?

Answer 18

naturalisation didn’t apply to Issei, but their children the Nisei were citizens by birth however they had been excluded from society through internment and had been rejected equal legal rights to whites.

Question 19

what would happen to those in the camps considered disloyal or troublemakers?

Answer 19

they would be placed in isolation centres and some put in jail. others would be moved to other camps which would be known for holding the troublemakers

Question 20

which of the camps were the troublemakers sent to?

Answer 20

Tule lake the camp was used for forced labour of prisoners. the camp also segregated the loyal from the disloyal.

Question 21

what happened after pearl harbour to Japanese Americans?

Answer 21

there was a sweep of Japanese Americans arrested under the Alien Enemies Act.

Question 22

what was one of the extreme bills proposed to control Japanese Americans?

Answer 22

1943 bill proposed would have seen those who had been released have to report their location weekly or monthly, just because they were Japanese

Question 23

what kind of images would ansel adams take?

Answer 23

he took images mainly of people within the camps, often close ups of faces

Question 24

what would Ansel Adams images represent?

Answer 24

the close ups of faces demonstrated the prisoners as humans in a place they were dehumanised.
pictures of young people attempted to show how these people are no different from other Americans with futures ahead of them

Question 25

what kind of art did Okubo produce?

Answer 25

she was working on mosaics for the government at the time of internment and recalls the FBI ransacking her home after pearl harbour

Question 26

who was Otoba?

Answer 26

he was an artist who depicted camp life and unlike others he was an ardent supporter of America and the internment policy.

Question 27

what was some of Otoba’s work?

Answer 27

reflection being incarcerated with many of his drawings featuring the barbed fences. one of his works depicted a man shot for getting to close to the fence after chasing a dog.