executive order 9066 essay

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The Legacy of Order 9066 and Japanese American Internment

On Feb. 19, 1942, Pres. Franklin D. Roosevelt signed Executive Order 9066 , granting Secretary of War Henry Lewis Stimson and his commanders the power “to prescribe military areas in such places and of such extent as he or the appropriate Military Commander may determine, from which any or all persons may be excluded.” While the order named no specific group or location, nearly all Japanese American citizens on the West Coast were soon forced to uproot themselves and their families for relocation to internment camps. For three years, Japanese Americans were forced to live in sparse conditions, surrounded by barbed wire under a continuous cloud of suspicion and threat. Seventy-five years later, the forced internment of Japanese Americans during World War II has widely been denounced as racist and xenophobic and a period of national shame.

The order was issued two months after the Japanese military attack on Pearl Harbor , but its targeting of Japanese Americans and the resulting incarceration also had roots in a long history of racist and anti-Asian immigrant federal policies that stretched back to restrictive immigration policies of the late 1800s . Despite lack of any evidence supporting suspicions that Japanese Americans posed a significant threat as saboteurs and concerns about the infringement of civil liberties , political weight was thrown behind the idea of rounding up Japanese Americans on the West Coast and moving them to detention centers in the interior of the country in the name of national security ( John J. McCloy , assistant secretary of war, famously said that if the choice was between national security and civil liberties enshrined in the U.S. Constitution , the Constitution “was just a scrap of paper”).

After a brief period of being subjected to nighttime curfews, on March 31, 1942, Japanese Americans who lived on the West Coast were ordered to register themselves and their family members and were forced to leave whatever they couldn’t carry behind; many had no choice but to sell their property and businesses for a fraction of their worth, often to their own neighbors and former friends. From 1942 to 1945, roughly 120,000 U.S. citizens of Japanese heritage were incarcerated at 1 of 10 camps located in California, Arizona, Wyoming, Colorado, Utah, and Arkansas. Living conditions were bare bones, with uninsulated barracks heated by coal-burning stoves, common latrines, little hot running water, and food being rationed. Although Japanese Americans attempted to create a semblance of community by setting up schools, sports, and other activities, they did so under the constant watch of armed guards with orders to shoot anyone who tried to leave.

The incarceration sparked various protests and legal fights, notably Korematsu v. United States , which ruled 6–3 to uphold the conviction of Fred Korematsu for refusing to submit to the order. However, in 2011, the U.S. solicitor general confirmed that the predecessor who had argued for the government in this case had lied to the court by withholding a U.S. Naval Intelligence report concluding that Japanese Americans didn’t pose a threat to the U.S. at the time. While the last camp was finally closed in 1946, it wasn’t until 1976 that Pres. Gerald Ford officially rescinded Executive Order 9066, stating: “We now know what we should have known then—not only was that evacuation wrong, but Japanese Americans were and are loyal Americans….I call upon the American people to affirm with me this American Promise—that we have learned from the tragedy of that long-ago experience forever to treasure liberty and justice for each individual American, and resolve that this kind of action shall never again be repeated.”

In 1988, Congress formally apologized to Japanese Americans, and the Civil Liberties Act awarded $20,000 each to some 80,000 surviving internees and their families. While presidential commissions have attributed the order to racial prejudice , war hysteria, and a failure of political leadership, even 75 years later the legacy of Executive Order 9066 still reverberates as some scholars and politicians continue to attempt justifying the incarceration of Japanese American citizens, using this shameful period of American history as a blueprint for further xenophobic policies targeting other immigrants and American citizens.

Learn More About This Topic

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This Day In History : February 19

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FDR orders Japanese Americans into internment camps

On February 19, 1942, President Franklin D. Roosevelt signs Executive Order 9066, initiating a controversial World War II policy with lasting consequences for Japanese Americans. The document ordered the forced removal of resident "enemy aliens" from parts of the West vaguely identified as military areas.

After the bombing of Pearl Harbor by the Japanese in 1941, Roosevelt came under increasing pressure by military and political advisors to address the nation’s fears of further Japanese attack or sabotage, particularly on the West Coast, where naval ports, commercial shipping and agriculture were most vulnerable. Included in the off-limits military areas referred to in the order were ill-defined areas around West Coast cities, ports and industrial and agricultural regions. While 9066 also affected Italian and German Americans, the largest numbers of detainees were by far Japanese Americans.

On the West Coast, long-standing racism against Japanese Americans, motivated in part by jealousy over their commercial success, erupted after Pearl Harbor into furious demands to remove them en masse to Relocation Centers for the duration of the war. 

Japanese immigrants and their descendants, regardless of American citizenship status or length of residence, were systematically rounded up and placed in prison camps. Evacuees, as they were sometimes called, could take only as many possessions as they could carry and were forcibly placed in crude, cramped quarters. In the western states, camps on remote and barren sites such as Manzanar and Tule Lake housed thousands of families whose lives were interrupted and in some cases destroyed by Executive Order 9066. Many lost businesses, farms and loved ones as a result.

Roosevelt delegated enforcement of 9066 to the War Department, telling Secretary of War Henry Stimson to be as reasonable as possible in executing the order. Attorney General Francis Biddle recalled Roosevelt’s grim determination to do whatever he thought was necessary to win the war. Biddle observed that Roosevelt was not much concerned with the gravity or implications of issuing an order that essentially contradicted the Bill of Rights . 

In her memoirs, Eleanor Roosevelt recalled being completely floored by her husband’s action. A fierce proponent of civil rights, Eleanor hoped to change Roosevelt’s mind, but when she brought the subject up with him, he interrupted her and told her never to mention it again.

During the war, the U.S. Supreme Court heard two cases challenging the constitutionality of Executive Order 9066, upholding it both times. Finally, on February 19, 1976, decades after the war, Gerald Ford signed an order prohibiting the executive branch from re-instituting the notorious and tragic World War II order. In 1988, President Ronald Reagan issued a public apology on behalf of the government and authorized reparations for former Japanese American internees or their descendants.

Japanese Internment Camps

Executive Order 9066 On February 19, 1942, shortly after the bombing of Pearl Harbor by Japanese forces, President Roosevelt signed Executive Order 9066 with the stated intention of preventing espionage on American shores. Military zones were created in California, Washington and Oregon—states with a large population of Japanese Americans. Then Roosevelt’s executive order forcibly removed […]

U.S. Propaganda Film Shows ‘Normal’ Life in WWII Japanese Internment Camps

The U.S. government, for its part, tried to assure the rest of the country that its policy was justified, and that those Japanese Americans forced to live in the prison camps were happy.

Eleanor Roosevelt’s Work to Oppose Japanese Internment 

The first lady did what she could to support Japanese Americans during WWII—without appearing to defy FDR's Executive Order 9066.

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75 Years Later: The Impact of Executive Order 9066

Five USC Gould students reflect upon the time their families spent interned in camps during WWII

On Feb. 19, 1942 President Franklin Delano Roosevelt signed “Executive Order 9066,” which paved the way for the forced removal and incarceration of 120,000 Japanese-Americans from the West Coast during World War II. 

Families were forced to leave their homes and businesses and move inland to camps, sometimes thousands of miles from home. Many families were not allowed to return to their homes for years. The same Order led to one of the most infamous cases in the history of the United States Supreme Court, Korematsu v. United States , 323 U.S. 214 (1944).

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Executive Order 9066

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A modern alternative to SparkNotes and CliffsNotes, SuperSummary offers high-quality Study Guides with detailed chapter summaries and analysis of major themes, characters, and more.

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Summary and Study Guide

Summary: “order 9066”.

Executive Order 9066 was a piece of legislation issued by US President Franklin D. Roosevelt during World War II on February 19, 1942. The order granted the secretary of war and his commanders the power to declare particular sections of the country as military areas and to force the removal of people deemed to be “enemy aliens” from such areas. The document had particularly serious consequences for Japanese Americans, about 122,000 of whom were forcibly removed from their homes on the West Coast of the US and evacuated to internment camps for the remainder of the war. German and Italian Americans were similarly impacted, though to a much lesser degree.

Order 9066 is highly controversial as an instance in which the US government targeted ethnic or racial groups and denied them their civil liberties in the interest of national security. President Roosevelt issued the order in the wake of pressure from lobbyists on the West Coast of the US and in the face of objections of some members of Congress. Although several Japanese Americans challenged the order in court cases—including Korematsu v. United States —the Supreme Court upheld its legality; in Ex parte Mitsuye Endo , however, the Court placed limitations on the military’s ability to detain citizens for extended periods and paved the way for the dissolution of the internment camps.

Starting with that court decision, and even more so in the years and decades after the war, the tide turned against Order 9066, and Japanese Americans sought and received reparations for the government’s actions. In June 1946, President Harry Truman ordered the liquidation of the War Relocation Authority and allowed the internees to return home (“ Japanese-American Internment .” Harry S. Truman Library Museum ). Thirty years later, in 1976, President Gerald Ford formally prohibited the government from ever reinstituting Order 9066, and in 1988 President Ronald Reagan issued an apology and partial monetary restitution to the former internees and their heirs.

Content Warning : Some of the source material referred to in this guide uses outdated, offensive terms for Japanese people, which is replicated in this guide only in direct quotes of the source material.

President Franklin D. Roosevelt situates Executive Order 9066 in continuity with a line of legislation dealing with national defense and protecting the US from espionage and sabotage going back to the end of World War I.

Invoking his authority as president of the United States and commander in chief of the Army and Navy, Roosevelt authorizes the secretary of war and the commanders of the military under him to designate as “military areas” such places as they determine and to exclude “any or all persons” from said areas. At the same time, Roosevelt authorizes the secretary of war to provide transportation, food, shelter, and other necessary accommodations to persons so excluded. The designation of military areas shall supersede previous legislation on “prohibited and restricted areas” made in the immediate aftermath of the attack on Pearl Harbor, as well as the present authority of the attorney general.

Roosevelt gives the military permission to use federal troops or agencies to enforce the order in individual “military areas.” He also authorizes the agencies of the federal government to assist the military in carrying out the order, including by providing medical aid, food, transportation, etc.

Finally, Roosevelt stresses that this order does not modify or limit the powers granted to the FBI, the attorney general, and the Department of Justice by previous legislation on securing national defense and prosecuting sabotage; the exception is when those laws are “superseded” by the designation of military areas under the present order.

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Home — Essay Samples — Government & Politics — Franklin D. Roosevelt — A Research on the Executive Order 9066 by Franklin Delano Roosevelt and the Demonstration of the Abuse of Power by the President

A Research on The Executive Order 9066 by Franklin Delano Roosevelt and The Demonstration of The Abuse of Power by The President

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In-Class Essay: Executive Order 9066

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Japanese-American Incarceration During World War II

In his speech to Congress, President Franklin Delano Roosevelt declared that the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941, was "a date which will live in infamy." The attack launched the United States fully into the two theaters of World War II – Europe and the Pacific. Prior to Pearl Harbor, the United States had been involved in a non-combat role, through the Lend-Lease Program that supplied England, China, Russia, and other anti-fascist countries of Europe with munitions.

The attack on Pearl Harbor also launched a rash of fear about national security, especially on the West Coast. In February 1942, just two months later, President Roosevelt, as commander-in-chief, issued Executive Order 9066 that resulted in the internment of Japanese Americans. The order authorized the Secretary of War and military commanders to evacuate all persons deemed a threat from the West Coast to internment camps, that the government called "relocation centers," further inland.  Read more...

Primary Sources

Links go to DocsTeach , the online tool for teaching with documents from the National Archives.

Meeting Between Lieutenant General John L. DeWitt and Representatives of the Department of Justice and the Army at the Office of Commanding General, Headquarters, Western Defense Command and Fourth Army, in San Francisco, 1/4/1942

Executive Order 9066 Issued by President Franklin D. Roosevelt, 2/19/1942

Posting of Exclusion Order in San Francisco, Directing Removal of Persons of Japanese Ancestry from the First Section in San Francisco to be Affected by the Evacuation, 4/11/1942

Thank You Note at the Iseri Drugstore in "Little Tokyo" in Los Angeles, California, 4/11/1942

Merchandise Sale in San Francisco, California, Where Customers Buy Goods Prior to Evacuation and Internment, 4/4/1942

Children Pledge Allegiance to the Flag in San Francisco, California, at Raphael Weill Public School, 4/20/1942

The Shibuya Family at Their Home in Mountain View, California, Before Being Sent to Heart Mountain Relocation Center in Wyoming Days Later, 4/18/1942

Ranch Superintendent Henry Futamachi (Left) Discusses Agriculture with Ranch Owner John MacKinley Before Evacuation and Internment, 4/10/1942

Dave Tatsuno Reading to His Son and Packing His Possessions Prior to Evacuation and Internment, 4/13/1942

Residents of Japanese Ancestry File Forms in San Francisco, Two Days Before Evacuation and Internment, 4/4/1942

Residents of Japanese Ancestry, With Baggage Stacked, Waiting for a Bus to be Evacuated at the Wartime Civil Control Administration in San Francisco, 4/6/1942

Japanese Family Heads and Persons Living Alone Line up for "Processing" in Response to Civilian Exclusion Order Number 20, 4/25/1942

Baggage Being Sorted and Trucked to Owners in Their Barracks at the Minidoka Internment Camp in Eden, Idaho, 8/17/1942

Registering and Assigning Barracks to the Newly Arrived at Minidoka Internment Camp in Eden, Idaho, 8/17/1942

The Hirano Family Posing with a Photograph of a United States Serviceman at the Colorado River Internment Camp in Poston, Arizona

High School Campus at Heart Mountain Internment Camp in Wyoming — Classes are Held in Tarpaper-covered, Barrack-style Buildings, 6/1943

The Poster Crew at Heart Mountain Internment Camp in Wyoming, Making Fire and Safety Posters, Announcements for Public Gatherings and Dances, and General Instructions, 9/14/1942

Court Session at Heart Mountain Internment Camp in Wyoming, Presiding Over Infractions of Camp Regulations and Civil Court Cases, 6/4/1943

Coal Crew at Heart Mountain Internment Camp in Wyoming, Providing Heat for Residents During Cold Winter Months, 9/15/1942

Final Report: Japanese Evacuation from the West Coast, 1942 – Written by General DeWitt, who Oversaw the Internment of Japanese-Americans, Providing a Favorable Overview of the "Evacuation Program"

This 10-minute film clip called "Japanese-Americans" (1945) comes from Army-Navy Screen Magazine , a biweekly film series for servicemen during World War II. It highlights the 100th Infantry Battalion, composed largely of Japanese-Americans.

This video clip shows President Ronald Reagan Giving Remarks and Signing the Japanese-American Internment Compensation Bill, 8/10/1988

Teaching Activity

In Japanese American Incarceration During World War II on DocsTeach  students analyze a variety of documents and photographs to learn how the government justified the forced relocation and incarceration of Japanese Americans during World War II, and how civil liberties were denied.

Additional Background Information

Prior to the outbreak of World War II, the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) had identified German, Italian, and Japanese aliens who were suspected of being potential enemy agents; and they were kept under surveillance. Following the attack at Pearl Harbor, government suspicion arose not only around aliens who came from enemy nations, but around all persons of Japanese descent, whether foreign born ( issei ) or American citizens ( nisei ). During congressional committee hearings, representatives of the Department of Justice raised logistical, constitutional, and ethical objections. Regardless, the task was turned over to the U.S. Army as a security matter.

The entire West Coast was deemed a military area and was divided into military zones. Executive Order 9066 authorized military commanders to exclude civilians from military areas. Although the language of the order did not specify any ethnic group, Lieutenant General John L. DeWitt of the Western Defense Command proceeded to announce curfews that included only Japanese Americans. Next, he encouraged voluntary evacuation by Japanese Americans from a limited number of areas; about seven percent of the total Japanese American population in these areas complied.

On March 29, 1942, under the authority of the executive order, DeWitt issued Public Proclamation No. 4, which began the forced evacuation and detention of Japanese-American West Coast residents on a 48-hour notice. Only a few days prior to the proclamation, on March 21, Congress had passed Public Law 503, which made violation of Executive Order 9066 a misdemeanor punishable by up to one year in prison and a $5,000 fine.

Because of the perception of "public danger," all Japanese Americans within varied distances from the Pacific coast were targeted. Unless they were able to dispose of or make arrangements for care of their property within a few days, their homes, farms, businesses, and most of their private belongings were lost forever.

From the end of March to August, approximately 112,000 persons were sent to "assembly centers" – often racetracks or fairgrounds – where they waited and were tagged to indicate the location of a long-term "relocation center" that would be their home for the rest of the war. Nearly 70,000 of the evacuees were American citizens. There were no charges of disloyalty against any of these citizens, nor was there any vehicle by which they could appeal their loss of property and personal liberty.

"Relocation centers" were situated many miles inland, often in remote and desolate locales. Sites included Tule Lake and Manzanar in California; Gila River and Poston in Arizona; Jerome and Rohwer in Arkansas, Minidoka in Idaho; Topaz in Utah; Heart Mountain in Wyoming; and Granada in Colorado. (Incarceration rates were significantly lower in the territory of Hawaii, where Japanese Americans made up over one-third of the population and their labor was needed to sustain the economy. However, martial law had been declared in Hawaii immediately following the Pearl Harbor attack, and the Army issued hundreds of military orders, some applicable only to persons of Japanese ancestry.)

In the "relocation centers" (also called "internment camps"), four or five families, with their sparse collections of clothing and possessions, shared tar-papered army-style barracks. Most lived in these conditions for nearly three years or more until the end of the war. Gradually some insulation was added to the barracks and lightweight partitions were added to make them a little more comfortable and somewhat private. Life took on some familiar routines of socializing and school. However, eating in common facilities, using shared restrooms, and having limited opportunities for work interrupted other social and cultural patterns. Persons who resisted were sent to a special camp at Tule Lake, CA, where dissidents were housed.

In 1943 and 1944, the government assembled a combat unit of Japanese Americans for the European theater. It became the 442d Regimental Combat Team and gained fame as the most highly decorated of World War II. Their military record bespoke their patriotism.

As the war drew to a close, "internment camps" were slowly evacuated. While some persons of Japanese ancestry returned to their hometowns, others sought new surroundings. For example, the Japanese-American community of Tacoma, WA, had been sent to three different centers; only 30 percent returned to Tacoma after the war. Japanese Americans from Fresno had gone to Manzanar; 80 percent returned to their hometown.

The internment of Japanese Americans during World War II sparked constitutional and political debate. During this period, three Japanese-American citizens challenged the constitutionality of the forced relocation and curfew orders through legal actions: Gordon Hirabayashi, Fred Korematsu, and Mitsuye Endo. Hirabayashi and Korematsu received negative judgments; but Mitsuye Endo, after a lengthy battle through lesser courts, was determined to be "loyal" and allowed to leave the Topaz, Utah, facility.

Justice Murphy of the Supreme Court expressed the following opinion in  Ex parte Mitsuye Endo :

I join in the opinion of the Court, but I am of the view that detention in Relocation Centers of persons of Japanese ancestry regardless of loyalty is not only unauthorized by Congress or the Executive but is another example of the unconstitutional resort to racism inherent in the entire evacuation program. As stated more fully in my dissenting opinion in Fred Toyosaburo Korematsu v. United States , 323 U.S. 214 , 65 S.Ct. 193, racial discrimination of this nature bears no reasonable relation to military necessity and is utterly foreign to the ideals and traditions of the American people.

In 1988, Congress passed, and President Reagan signed, Public Law 100-383 – the Civil Liberties Act of 1988 – that acknowledged the injustice of "internment," apologized for it, and provided a $20,000 cash payment to each person who was incarcerated.

One of the most stunning ironies in this episode of denied civil liberties was articulated by an internee who, when told that Japanese Americans were put in those camps for their own protection, countered "If we were put there for our protection, why were the guns at the guard towers pointed inward, instead of outward?"

A note on terminology: The historical primary source documents included on this page reflect the terminology that the government used at the time, such as alien , evacuation , relocation , relocation centers , internment , and Japanese (as opposed to Japanese American ).

• Rogerian Argument

The Rogerian argument, inspired by the influential psychologist Carl Rogers, aims to find compromise on a controversial issue.

If you are using the Rogerian approach your introduction to the argument should accomplish three objectives:

1. Introduce the author and work Usually, you will introduce the author and work in the first sentence:

Here is an example:

In Dwight Okita’s “In Response to Executive Order 9066,” the narrator addresses an inevitable by-product of war – racism.

The first time you refer to the author, refer to him or her by his or her full name. After that, refer to the author by last name only. Never refer to an author by his or her first name only.

2. Provide the audience a short but concise summary of the work to which you are responding Remember, your audience has already read the work you are responding to. Therefore, you do not need to provide a lengthy summary. Focus on the main points of the work to which you are responding and use direct quotations sparingly. Direct quotations work best when they are powerful and compelling.

3. State the main issue addressed in the work Your thesis, or claim, will come after you summarize the two sides of the issue.

The Introduction

The following is an example of how the introduction of a Rogerian argument can be written. The topic is racial profiling.

In Dwight Okita’s “In Response to Executive Order 9066,” the narrator — a young Japanese-American — writes a letter to the government, who has ordered her family into a relocation camp after Pearl Harbor. In the letter, the narrator details the people in her life, from her father to her best friend at school. Since the narrator is of Japanese descent, her best friend accuses her of “trying to start a war” (18). The narrator is seemingly too naïve to realize the ignorance of this statement, and tells the government that she asked this friend to plant tomato seeds in her honor. Though Okita’s poem deals specifically with World War II, the issue of race relations during wartime is still relevant. Recently, with the outbreaks of terrorism in the United States, Spain, and England, many are calling for racial profiling to stifle terrorism. The issue has sparked debate, with one side calling it racism and the other calling it common sense.

Once you have written your introduction, you must now show the two sides to the debate you are addressing. Though there are always more than two sides to a debate, Rogerian arguments put two in stark opposition to one another. Summarize each side, then provide a middle path. Your summary of the two sides will be your first two body paragraphs. Use quotations from outside sources to effectively illustrate the position of each side.

An outline for a Rogerian argument might look like this:

• Introduction

Since the goal of Rogerian argument is to find a common ground between two opposing positions, you must identify the shared beliefs or assumptions of each side. In the example above, both sides of the racial profiling issue want the U.S. A solid Rogerian argument acknowledges the desires of each side, and tries to accommodate both. Again, using the racial profiling example above, both sides desire a safer society, perhaps a better solution would focus on more objective measures than race; an effective start would be to use more screening technology on public transportation. Once you have a claim that disarms the central dispute, you should support the claim with evidence, and quotations when appropriate.

Quoting Effectively

Remember, you should quote to illustrate a point you are making. You should not, however, quote to simply take up space. Make sure all quotations are compelling and intriguing: Consider the following example. In “The Danger of Political Correctness,” author Richard Stein asserts that, “the desire to not offend has now become more important than protecting national security” (52). This statement sums up the beliefs of those in favor of profiling in public places.

The Conclusion

Your conclusion should:

• Bring the essay back to what is discussed in the introduction
• Tie up loose ends
• End on a thought-provoking note

The following is a sample conclusion:

Though the debate over racial profiling is sure to continue, each side desires to make the United States a safer place. With that goal in mind, our society deserves better security measures than merely searching a person who appears a bit dark. We cannot waste time with such subjective matters, especially when we have technology that could more effectively locate potential terrorists. Sure, installing metal detectors and cameras on public transportation is costly, but feeling safe in public is priceless.

Permission granted from Michael Franco at Writing Essay 4: Rogerian Argument

• Rogerian Argument. Authored by : Robin Parent. Provided by : Utah State University English Department. Project : USU Open CourseWare Initiative. License : CC BY-NC-SA: Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike
• Table of Contents

Instructor Resources (Access Requires Login)

• Overview of Instructor Resources

An Overview of the Writing Process

• Introduction to the Writing Process
• Introduction to Writing
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• What is an Essay?
• Reading to Write
• Defining the Writing Process
• Videos: Prewriting Techniques
• Thesis Statements
• Organizing an Essay
• Creating Paragraphs
• Conclusions
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• Peer Review Checklist
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Using Sources

• Quoting, Paraphrasing, and Avoiding Plagiarism
• Formatting the Works Cited Page (MLA)
• Citing Paraphrases and Summaries (APA)
• APA Citation Style, 6th edition: General Style Guidelines

Definition Essay

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• Student Sample: Definition Essay

Narrative Essay

• Introduction to Narrative Essay
• Student Sample: Narrative Essay
• "Shooting an Elephant" by George Orwell
• "Sixty-nine Cents" by Gary Shteyngart
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Illustration/Example Essay

• Introduction to Illustration/Example Essay
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• "April & Paris" by David Sedaris
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Compare/Contrast Essay

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Cause-and-Effect Essay

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Argument Essay

• Introduction to Argument Essay
• "The Case Against Torture," by Alisa Soloman
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• Style Exercise: Voice

In Response to Executive Order 9066

By Dwight Okita

‘In Response to Executive Order 9066’ by Dwight Okita presents a letter written by a fourteen-year-old Japanese-American girl during World War II. 

Dwight Okita

Nationality: American

Key Poem Information

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Central Message: The personal toll that societal fear and prejudice can take on individuals.

Themes: Relationships , War

Speaker: A 14 year old Japanese-American girl

Emotions Evoked: Anxiety , Sadness

Poetic Form: Free Verse

Time Period: 20th Century

'In Response to Executive Order 9066' provides a deeply personal insight into the lives affected by the forced internment of Japanese-Americans during World War II.

Poem Analyzed by Emma Baldwin

B.A. English (Minor: Creative Writing), B.F.A. Fine Art, B.A. Art Histories

The title of this poem refers to the executive order that led to the internment of Japanese Americans during the war. ‘In Response to Executive Order 9066’ is a contemporary poem written by Japanese-American poet and novelist Dwight Holden. His work, like this piece, usually focuses on the experiences of Japanese-American immigrants, gay men, and religion. 

Explore In Response to Executive Order 9066

• 1 Summary 
• 2 Structure and Form 
• 3 Literary Devices 
• 4 Detailed Analysis 
• 6 Similar Poetry 

Summary 

‘In Response to Executive Order 9066’ by Dwight Okita describes her ordinary teenage life and emphasizes her American identity. 

When the poem begins, she mentions packing for the relocation. She talks about her friendship with a white girl named Denise. 

The poet conveys the shifting dynamics the two experience when Denise accuses the narrator of “giving secrets away to the Enemy.” The poem illustrates the personal and emotional effects of the internment on Japanese-American citizens.

Structure and Form 

‘In Response to Executive Order 9066’ by Dwight Okita is a four-stanza poem divided into one five-line stanza , one eight-line stanza, one seven-line stanza, and a final five-line stanza, known as a quintain . It is also written in free verse , meaning that it doesn’t adhere to a specific rhyme scheme or meter , and the line lengths vary throughout the poem.

The structure is more akin to a personal letter or monologue, and this informality helps convey the young narrator’s voice .

Literary Devices 

In this poem, the poet makes use of several literary devices. These include: 

• Allusion : A reference to something outside the direct scope of the poem. In this case, the poet alludes to the internment of Japanese Americans during WWII. 
• Symbolism : In addition to the tomato seeds, other elements, such as the galoshes, may be seen as symbols .
• Juxtaposition : This can be seen when the poet places contrasting elements close together. For example, pairing the girl’s bad spelling and messy room with the historical trauma of internment.

Detailed Analysis 

Stanza one .

Dear Sirs: Of course I’ll come. I’ve packed my galoshes and three packets of tomato seeds. Denise calls them love apples. My father says where we’re going they won’t grow.

The first stanza starts in the form of a letter. The speaker uses a formal tone in these lines, referring to the “Sirs” who demand that her family relocate due to order 9066. It establishes the context of a letter and gives an immediate sense of the communication’s impersonal nature.

The poet’s speaker says, “Of course,” she’ll obey the command, suggesting the resignation or acceptance of the forced relocation. It may also signify the innocence of the narrator, who does not fully comprehend the gravity of the situation.

The three packets of tomato seeds introduce a rich symbol . Tomato seeds represent growth, hope, connection to home, and life before the internment. They may also symbolize the girl’s innocence and her attachment to small comforts. 

This makes sense when the speaker’s father notes that the tomato seeds won’t “grow” where they’re going. They’re going somewhere devoid of hope, life, and prosperity. 

Stanza Two 

I am a fourteen-year-old girl with bad spelling (…) O’Connor, Ozawa. I know the back of Denise’s head very well.

In the second stanza of the poem, which is also the longest, the speaker describes herself as a “fourteen-year-old girl” who has bad spelling and a messy room. She’s a normal teenager who is disconnected from stereotypical cultural expectations. This is seen through the fact that she “always felt funny using chopsticks.” 

The introduction of Denise as her best friend, a “white girl,” emphasizes the theme of multiculturalism. Their shared experiences and interest in boys reflect typical teenage friendships, another way that the poet is emphasizing how normal and relatable this girl is. 

The mention of their last names, “O’Connor, Ozawa,” highlights their different ethnic backgrounds but also shows how they were paired together by mere alphabetical ordering. This is a way that the poet emphasizes the arbitrary ways that society groups people. 

Stanza Three 

I tell her she’s going bald. She tells me I copy on tests. (…) mouth shut?”

The speaker reveals in these lines that she thinks of Denise as her best friend. Although they bicker, she cares about her. She teases her friend, telling her that she’s going bald, while Denise accuses her of copying her answers. 

The observation that Denise is sitting on the other side of the room, like lines three and four, signals a change in their relationship. She accuses her once-friend of “trying to start a war” and “giving secrets away to the Enemy,” things that she undoubtedly heard from her parents.  

This is a poignant moment that captures the profound effect that war and propaganda can have on individual relationships.

Stanza Four 

I didn’t know what to say. (…) she’d miss me.

The poem ends on a sad note, one that reemphasizes how naive the speaker is and how difficult this period in history was. The narrator’s response is gentle and thoughtful, serving as a strong contrast to Denise’s cruel words. 

The act of giving Denise a packet of tomato seeds serves as a symbolic gesture. Previously, the seeds represented growth, hope, and connection. Here, they become a token of memory and continuity.

The poem ends with a hopeful statement, suggesting that Denise may eventually recognize her mistake and remember their friendship fondly. The gesture is filled with both sadness and hope. It reflects the complexity of human emotions and relationships during this time.

The purpose of this poem is to humanize a historical event by telling it from the perspective of a young girl. This invites readers to connect emotionally and understand the impact on individual lives.

Executive Order 9066, issued in 1942, authorized the forced relocation and internment of Japanese-Americans during World War II. The poem gives voice to those affected by this historical event.

The characters are a 14-year-old Japanese-American girl who is innocent, thoughtful, and struggling to understand her forced relocation, Denise (the narrator ’s white best friend), and the narrator ’s father, whose voice is one of realism and understanding. 

The main theme is the loss of innocence and the transformation of relationships under societal prejudice and fear. It explores how external forces can invade personal lives, altering perceptions and causing betrayal.

Similar Poetry 

Readers who enjoyed this poem should also consider reading some related pieces. For example: 

• ‘ Immigration ’ by Ali Alizadeh – is a captivating look at the positives, negatives, and the emotional and mental toll that immigration takes. 
• ‘ Immigrant Blues ’  by Li-Young Lee – describes an immigrant’s bewilderment with the idea of internalizing a second language other than their own.
• ‘ Lorikeets ‘ by Peter Skrzynecki – is about the conditions under which the poet and his family were forced to migrate to Australia. 

Poetry + Review Corner

20th century, relationships, world war two (wwii).

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Baldwin, Emma. "In Response to Executive Order 9066 by Dwight Okita". Poem Analysis , https://poemanalysis.com/dwight-okita/in-response-to-executive-order-9066/ . Accessed 17 September 2024.

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Collection Japanese-American Internment Camp Newspapers, 1942 to 1946

December 7, 1941.

Japan attacks Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, leading the U.S. to enter World War II.

February 19, 1942

President Franklin D. Roosevelts signs Executive Order 9066, providing for the exclusion of any person from any area at the discretion of the military.

March 2, 1942

General John L. DeWitt, head of the Western Defense Command, divides parts of the West Coast into Military Area 1 and Military Area 2, from which people of Japanese ancestry would be excluded.

March 18, 1942

The War Relocation Authority is established to oversee the relocation of Japanese-Americans and relocation centers.

March 24, 1942

The first Civilian Exclusion Order is issued by the Army, giving families one week to prepare for removal from their homes.

April 11, 1942

Manzanar Free Press begins publication at the Manzanar Relocation Center in California.

June 2, 1942

All Japanese in Military Area 1 in California, Oregon, Washington and Arizona have been removed into Army custody.

December 17, 1944

Relocation orders are revoked and exclusion is lifted, effective January 2, 1945.

December 1945

All camps besides Tule Lake are closed.

The camp at Tule Lake closes.

August 10, 1988

The Civil Liberties Act of 1988 is passed by Congress and signed by President Ronald Reagan. The Act apologizes for internment and provides for reparations to survivors.

Mericans and Response to Executive Order 9066

Dwight Okita and Sandra Cisneros are two American writers who have addressed the issue of Executive Order 9066 in their work. Dwight Okita’s poem “In the Bag” is a response to the executive order, while Sandra Cisneros’ short story “Eleven” also addresses the topic.

Dwight Okita was born in California to Japanese parents. He was interned with his family at Manzanar during World War II. In “In the Bag,” Okita imagines what it would have been like if his family had been forced to leave their home without being able to take anything with them. The poem reflects on the loss of personal belongings and how they can represent one’s identity.

Sandra Cisneros was born in Chicago to a Mexican father and a Mexican-American mother. She is best known for her novel The House on Mango Street, which tells the story of a young Latina girl growing up in Chicago. In “Eleven,” Cisneros addresses the issue of bullying and how it can make one feel powerless. The protagonist, Rachel, is an eleven-year-old girl who is teased by her classmates about her height. She feels alone and different from everyone else, but she ultimately learns to embrace her unique identity.

Writers such as Dwight Okita and Sandra Cisneros have been influenced by American culture. “Response to Executive Order 9066” by Dwight Okita, and “Mericans” by Sandra Cisnerosa are two examples of writers who have utilized the idea of American identity.

In his poem, Okita explores the notion of American identity by focusing on the connection between two pals from different racial backgrounds. The place you’re from and how you look has nothing to do with what it means to be an American in these poems.

In “Response to Executive Order 9066”, Dwight Okita examines the cost of being Japanese-American during World War II. The speaker in the poem reflects on his experience being sent to an internment camp, and how thisevent changed his view of what it means to be American. In the poem, Okita writes:

“We were American then,/before we were yellow or Jap or nisei./We were young and common and strong,/and swore allegiance to the stars and stripes./We had never seen a man die…”

This excerpt from the poem demonstrates how the speaker’s experience in an internment camp led him to question his American identity. He recalls that before he was interned, he considered himself to be American first and foremost. However, after being treated like a criminal by his own government, he begins to question what it really means to be American.

Sandra Cisneros’ poem “Mericans” also explores the concept of American identity. In the poem, Cisneros writes about a young girl who is struggling to find her place in the world. The girl is of Mexican descent, but she was born in the United States and considers herself to be American.

However, she doesn’t feel like she fits in with either culture. She is not Mexican enough for the Mexicans, and she is not American enough for the Americans. The girl in the poem feels like she is stuck between two cultures and doesn’t quite belong to either one.

Both Dwight Okita and Sandra Cisneros use their poems to explore the concept of American identity. They both demonstrate that where you’re from and how you look doesn’t define what it means to be American. American identity is something that is fluid and ever-changing. It is something that is defined by each individual person.

In response to “Mericans,” Michelle, the daughter, appears to despise her entire family as she names them one by one. For example, she refers to her uncle Uncle Fat-face and aunt Auntie Light-skin as such. In American society, childhood is a carefree time, but this girl appears to be having difficulties with her sense of self because she claims that she is the only daughter who does not want on Sundays.

She is ashamed of her family, and she does not want to be like them. When the family moves to California, she is excited because she thinks she will finally fit in. However, she soon realizes that she is different from everyone else there too. She is not like the other girls at school, and she does not feel like she belongs.

The poem ends with the girl saying that she is “not American”, and this seems to be her final realization that she will never truly feel like she belongs anywhere. She is caught between two cultures, and neither one feels like home.

This poem speaks to the experience of many immigrants who come to the United States. They often find that they are not really accepted as American, and they can never truly feel at home here. This poem also speaks to the issue of assimilation. The girl in the poem is trying to assimilate, but she just doesn’t fit in. She is not like her family, and she is not like the people in her community. This poem highlights the challenges that many immigrants face when they come to the United States.

The horrible grandmother is pushing her to not want to be from her culture as a result of the pressure she puts on her. When the “awful grandma” prays for “Mericans” and represents her dislike of the United States, the author develops the American Identity theme.

The character Dwight Okita also plays a role in the American Identity theme because he is from a different culture, but he eventually assimilates to the “Merican” culture. Sandra Cisneros develops the theme of American Identity by having the daughter want to find her own identity and not the one her grandmother is pushing on her. Dwight Okita also plays a role in developing this theme because he is from a different culture, but he eventually assimilates to the “Merican” culture.

The girl’s name is Leslie and she is a 6th grader. She lives in St. Louis, Missouri with her mother and father, who works long hours. The narrative describes how the protagonist’s life was greatly altered when her family sought refuge from racial prejudice at an internment camp during World War II.

As we continue reading, we see how severely Leslie is impacted as she claims that her closest friend is a white girl named Denise. Her best friend has affected her because of the difference in their family customs. When it came time for the little girl to go to an internment camp, she had a quarrel with Denise and was told to stop talking by Denise.

The little girl then says “I wanted to tell her I was American too, but I didn’t know how” (Okita). The little girl is now forced to confront her identity. She doesn’t want to be different, she just wants to be like everyone else and have the same opportunities.

In the story, the little girl’s father tries to tell her that being different is what makes America great. The father says “That’s what makes this country great. People from all over the world coming together and making something new, something beautiful” (Okita). Even though the little girl’s father tries to make her see the beauty in diversity, she still feels lost and confused.

It isn’t until later on in the story when the little girl reads a poem by Sandra Cisneros that she finally begins to understand. The poem is called ” Mericans” and it is about a Mexican-American girl who is trying to find her place in the world. The little girl realizes that she is just like the girl in the poem, and that it is okay to be different. In fact, it is what makes America great.

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Comparing "Mericans" and "Response to Executive Order 9066"

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Works Cited

• Cisneros, Sandra. "Mericans." Woman Hollering Creek and Other Stories , Random House, 1991.
• Okita, Dwight. "Response to Executive Order 9066." No-No Boy , Mina Harker Publishing, 1976.

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