Executive Decision: FDR and the Decision to Intern the Japanese, Part One

FDR and the Decision to Intern the Japanese, Part One

Apr 2, 2021

This is the story of one of the gravest injustices in American history, where over 120,000 people of Japanese descent were uprooted from their homes and placed into concentration camps without due process and in violation of their civil rights. Most lost everything; after the Second World World ended, they returned to homes and businesses that had been sold off, and sometimes stolen. The internment was put in motion on February 19, 1942, by Executive Order 9066, issued by President Franklin Delano Roosevelt. How one of the most esteemed presidents, justly lauded for his leadership during the Depression and World War II, came to embrace such a draconian and unjust policy can tell us a lot about the process of decision making--both good and bad.

Archival recordings Part 1

Rae Takegawa, “FBI Raid on Family’s Home” https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QHWAXvNCYCc&list=PL_txUBUpMcH4CS9Ggr6IezvCHoIhYov-f&index=5&t=22s

Rudy Tokiwa, “A visit from the FBI after the bombing of Pearl Harbor”

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UMPWyLBNYew&list=PL_txUBUpMcH4CS9Ggr6IezvCHoIhYov-f&index=6

Classical Chinese song, “The General’s Command” (1903)

https://vimeo.com/100191126

Ray Matsumoto, “Father’s Immigration Story”

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bf7F2z48S5Y&t=151s

Masao Fujiwara, “Ano Onekoete” (1920s)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WOjsmhs7qik

Eiichi Edward Sakauye, “Impact of the Alien Land Laws”

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5yjiEINoz_k&list=PL_txUBUpMcH4DfP8j9V92fFzgnA4gDtc0&index=12