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The Japanese bombed Pearl Harbor destroying numerous ships and planes and killing 2,300 Americans.
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Loyalty Questionnaires were first distributed to all those over the age of 17 to draft men for the war.
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President Franklin D. Roosevelt signed Executive Order 9066 giving the war department the authority to force Japanese Americans from their West Coast homes and into relocation camps for the duration of the war.
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Established Military areas nos. 1 and 2 that Japanese Americans may be excluded from.
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Executive Order 9102 established the War Relocation Authority (WRA) in charge of the relocation of Japanese Americans along the West Coast.
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The first civilian exclusion order was issued by the army for Bainbridge Island area near Seattle giving 45 families 1 week to evacuate.
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Minoru Yasui was the first to challenge the constitutionality of Executive Order 9066. He purposely violate curfew to get arrested. However on November19, 1942 the convivtion was sustained. It was ruled a "military necessity" and he was sentenced to one year in prison.
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Gordon Hirabayashi purposly violated curfew refused to report for relocation challenging the constitutionality of these orders. His case was taken to the Supreme Court and argued on May 10, 11, 1943. On June 21 1943 it was ruled that these orders were constitutional.
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The Federal Government rescinded mass evacuation order.
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Fred Korematsu violated Civilian Evacuation Order NO. 34 by refusing to evacuate. He took his case to the Supreme Court where it was argued on October 11, 12, 1944. On December 18, 1944 the court decided that the need to protect the nation outweighed individual rights
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Last Japanese Americans left the internment camps.
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44,000 Japanese Americans remained in the internment camps when the war ended.
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The last Japanese Americans left the internment camps with the closing of Lake Tule which was the most high security camp for those that were considered greater threats.
