The internment of thousands of Japanese Americans during World War II is one of the most shameful episodes in American history. This history and reference guide will help students and other interested readers to understand the history of this action and its reinterpretation in recent years, but it will also help readers to understand the Japanese American wartime experience through the words of those who were interned. Why did the U.S. government take this extraordinary action? How was the evacuation and resettlement handled? How did Japanese Americans feel on being asked to leave their homes and live in what amounted to concentration camps? How did they respond, and did they resist? What developments have taken place in the last twenty years that have reevaluated this wartime action?

A variety of materials is provided to assist readers in understanding the internment experience. Six interpretive essays examine key aspects of the event and provide new interpretations based on the most recent scholarship. Essays include:

A short narrative history of the Japanese in America before World War II
The evacuation
Life within barbed wire-the assembly and relocation centers
The question of loyalty-Japanese Americans in the military and draft resisters
Legal challenges to the evacuation and internment
After the war-resettlement and redress
A chronology of events, 26 biographical profiles of important figures, the text of 10 key primary documents--from Executive Order 9066, which authorized the internment camps, to first-person accounts of the internment experience--a glossary of terms, and an annotative bibliography of recommended print sources and web sites provide ready reference value. Every library should update its resources on World War II with this history and reference guide.

Résumé
An analysis of Japanese American internment during World War II. It seeks to help readers understand the history of this action and its reinterpretation in recent years, and also to understand the Japanese American wartime experience through the words of those who were interned.

Contenu

Preface Abbreviations Chronology of Events Japanese American Internment During World War II The Japanese in America Before World War II Evacuation Life within Barbed Wire The Question of Loyalty: Japanese Americans in the Military and Draft Resisters Legal Challenges to the Evacuation and Internment After the War: Resettlement and Redress Biographies: The Personalities Behind the Japanese American Internment Program Bibliography Index