Executive Order 9066
Before the signing of the Order, which allowed the relocation of “potentially” dangerous Japanese Americans, government officials knew that the beginning was approaching. On February 5, Army Major General Jay Benedict, a general at the time of internment, wrote a letter to Governor Sprague of Ohio asking about housing facilities “‘in case they should be needed for the use of evacuated enemy aliens and their families.’” as he added "’It is probable that domestic Japanese evacuees, including women and children, may be involved at some future time.’”
To the white public’s relief, on February 19, 1942, President Franklin D. Roosevelt signed the Executive Order 9066. The document officially ordered the removal of enemy aliens from the West, including the internment of ⅔ Japanese citizens. Although the words "Japanese” never appeared in the Order, it was only used against Japanese Americans while Italian Americans and German Americans barely suffered any change. The motive behind the mass removal of Japanese ancestry, executed by the Army and the Supreme Court, was that it was a "military necessity” which was later found to be supported without evidence. The order also commanded the War Department and the Justice Department to provide protection and the police (Siasoco and Ross).
Roosevelt ultimately signed the Order due to the military and political advisers’ advice to keep the public's fears at bay of the Japanese further attacking the West Coast, where naval ports, commercial shipping, agriculture, and off-limit military areas were. He did not mind that he contradicted the Bill of Rights.
To the white public’s relief, on February 19, 1942, President Franklin D. Roosevelt signed the Executive Order 9066. The document officially ordered the removal of enemy aliens from the West, including the internment of ⅔ Japanese citizens. Although the words "Japanese” never appeared in the Order, it was only used against Japanese Americans while Italian Americans and German Americans barely suffered any change. The motive behind the mass removal of Japanese ancestry, executed by the Army and the Supreme Court, was that it was a "military necessity” which was later found to be supported without evidence. The order also commanded the War Department and the Justice Department to provide protection and the police (Siasoco and Ross).
Roosevelt ultimately signed the Order due to the military and political advisers’ advice to keep the public's fears at bay of the Japanese further attacking the West Coast, where naval ports, commercial shipping, agriculture, and off-limit military areas were. He did not mind that he contradicted the Bill of Rights.