All was quiet around the Pacific fleet stationed in Pearl Harbor, until Japanese dive bombers attacked the fleet on December 7, 1941, catching the U.S. Navy off guard. Following this, Germany and Italy declared war on the United States bringing the country fully into World War II. After this the United States claimed that Japanese and Japanese Americans on the Pacific Coast were prepared to aid Japan. Out of fear the United States government issued Executive Order 9066, which stated all people of Japanese ancestry needed to leave the Pacific Coast (Benedict 176). This became known as the Japanese Internment forcing thousands of Japanese-Americans to leave behind everything they knew and give up their livelihoods. Some of these evacuations were voluntary and some were forced, the US government tried to justify their actions but there was an undertone of racism that played a part in carrying out this policy. The Japanese were not the only group that was affected by World War II, the Germans and the Italians were also affected by policies that restricted their rights as citizens.
The United States government tried to justify this relocation of Japanese-Americans by stating that it only affected the individuals that were living along the coast of California. As well as “those who already lived inland was to bar them from going to the quarantined areas on the West Coast” (Benedict 194). The original plan was to assist Japanese-Americans move more inland and away from the coast such as Washington, Oregon and Arizona. According to a government official, proper funds were provided for them and well as safe motels in which they could stay over night in. However, the process of relocation did not go as fast as planned because proper arrangements were not made quick enough. A more organized system was needed in order to speed up the relocation of the Japanese-Americans. The second reason for a new plan stems from the strong objection of western states to accept...