Using a variety of primary sources, students will learn about World War II Japanese internment camps in the United States. Students will work in small groups to evaluate documents representing opposing perspectives and work as a class to understand primary source analysis.

Objectives

Students will:

• Become familiar with World War II Japanese internment camps in the United States
• Analyze primary sources, including determining origin, purpose, and bias in documents in preparation for National History Day projects
• Understand the value of primary sources in historical research.

Resource Materials

• Primary Source: Estelle Ishigo Collection
  Estelle Ishigo was a European American sent to Heart Mountain Relocation Camp due to her husband's Japanese heritage. She depicted her observations and experiences in the relocation camp through watercolor paintings and black and white sketches.
• Primary Source: Excerpts of Letter Written by Lawrence T. Kagawa (PDF, 344 KB)
  Photocopies of declassified documents from the National Archives regarding the World War II POW facilities at Fort MCcoy, Wisconsin obtained by Mueckler in preparation of his thesis. Included are lists of internees of Japanese heritage that are appealing their detainment. Mueckler, Paul. Research materials, 1941-1946, 1996. Wisconsin Historical Society. Call Number: M2000-143.
• Primary Source: Excerpts from Oral Interview with Al Hida
  Interview with Al Hida, a Japanese American sent to an internment camp with his family located outside Sacramento, California. The interview describes Hilda's thoughts and experiences as a seventh grade boy moving to and living in a relocation camp. Al Hida. D.C. Everest Area Schools. World War II: More Stories from Our Veterans (Weston, Wis.: D.C. Everest Area Schools, 2004); 429-433.
• Primary Source: Instructions to All Persons of Japanese Ancestry (PDF, 93 KB)
  Posting that was distributed to individuals of Japanese ancestry living in Los Angeles, California in 1942. The document outlines instructions for evacuation to the Assembly Center where they were then relocated to internment camps.
• Primary Source: The War Relocation Work Corps Pamphlet (PDF, 349 KB)
  Scrapbook compiled by Robert and Toshi Akamatsu, a Japanese American couple who were interned at the relocation camp in Topaz, Utah during World War II. The items in the scrapbook include newspaper clippings depicting camp life, a pamphlet published by the War Relocation Work Corps, and a welcome guide to the Topaz, Utah Relocation Camp. Akamatsu, Robert. Robert and Toshi Akamatsu papers. 1941-2003. Wisconsin Historical Society. Call Number: M84-402, reel 1 AP93-1539.
• Primary Source: Welcome to Topaz "Don'ts" and "Do's Pamphlet" (PDF, 919 KB)
  Scrapbook compiled by Robert and Toshi Akamatsu, a Japanese American couple who were interned at the relocation camp in Topaz, Utah during World War II. The items in the scrapbook include newspaper clippings depicting camp life, a pamphlet published by the War Relocation Work Corps, and a welcome guide to the Topaz, Utah Relocation Camp. Akamatsu, Robert. Robert and Toshi Akamatsu papers. 1941-2003. Wisconsin Historical Society. Call Number: M84-402, reel 1 AP93-1539.
• Primary Source: Photos of Japanese-American Internment
  PIn 1943, Ansel Adams (1902-1984), America's most well-known photographer, documented the Manzanar War Relocation Center in California and the Japanese-Americans interned there during World War II. 
• Primary Source: 'Waiting for the Signal from Home' a Political Cartoon by Dr. Seuss
  The political cartoon "Waiting for the Signal From Home…" is one of many produced by Theodor Seuss Geisel (Dr. Seuss) between the years 1941-1943 as chief editorial cartoonist for the PM Newspaper. The cartoon depicts common propaganda feelings about individuals of Japanese ancestry living in the United States after the bombing of Pearl Harbor in 1941. "Waiting for the Signal From Home…" Dr. Seuss. February 13, 1942. Box 18. Folder 16. PM Newspaper, Newspaper clippings of cartoons, 1942 January-April. Madeville Special Collections Library, University of California San Diego.
• Primary Source: Newspaper Clipping of Camp Life (PDF, 555 KB)
  Scrapbook compiled by Robert and Toshi Akamatsu, a Japanese American couple who were interned at the relocation camp in Topaz, Utah during World War II. The items in the scrapbook include newspaper clippings depicting camp life, a pamphlet published by the War Relocation Work Corps, and a welcome guide to the Topaz, Utah Relocation Camp. Akamatsu, Robert. Robert and Toshi Akamatsu papers. 1941-2003. Wisconsin Historical Society. Call Number: M84-402, reel 1 AP93-1539.
• Student Worksheet: Japanese Internment Background Sheet (PDF, 134 KB)
• Student Worksheet: Document Evaluation Sheet (PDF, 10 KB)
• Student Worksheet: Points of View Chart (PDF, 9 KB)
• Student Worksheet: Japanese Internment Assessment (PDF, 124 KB)

Procedures

1. Introduce background material on Japanese internment camps through either the student textbook or by distributing Japanese Internment Background Sheets.
2. Have students review background material and discuss background information as a class. During the discussion, introduce students to the key vocabulary words for the activity.
3. Explain to the students that they are going to look more closely at the event through the eyes of the people involved by examining documents that they created. They will have to use this historical evidence to figure out what really happened in the past.
4. Divide students into groups of 3 to 4. Students will work in these groups to examine one of the following document sets:

Group A. Japanese Americans

1. Estelle Ishigo watercolor painting, "Home."
2. Excerpts of letter written by Lawrence T. Kagawa.
3. Excerpts from oral interview with Al Hida. >

Group B. The United States Government

1. "Instructions to All Persons of Japanese Ancestry."
2. The War Relocation Work Corps pamphlet.
3. Welcome to Topaz "Don'ts" and "Do's pamphlet."

Group C. 3rd Party

1. Photo of Japanese American family in the barracks.
2. "Waiting for the Signal from Home" a political cartoon by Dr. Seuss.
3. Newspaper clipping of camp life.
1. Distribute one set of documents to each group and a Document Evaluation Sheet to each student. Explain to the students that they will be working together to identify the point of view represented in the documents. Students should use the Document Evaluation Sheet to guide each document. Explain that after students have worked in small groups, each group will be responsible for reporting their findings to the class.
2. After students have had sufficient time to work with their documents in small groups, bring the class back together for the large group discussion.
3. Ask each group to discuss their findings with the rest of the class. As they discuss, have students fill out the Points of View chart on an overhead or on the board as they discuss their findings.
4. Once all groups have contributed their ideas, lead the class in a discussion. Conclude by emphasizing the bias in every document and the importance of looking at all points of views on an issue.
5. Pass out Japanese Internment Assessment worksheet and have students work independently to complete it for assessment.

Bibliography/Links

• Life On the Homefront: Oregon Responds to WWII by the Oregon State Archives
• Japanese American Internment by the UCLA Institute on Primary Resources
• A Catalog of Political Cartoons by Dr. Seuss by the University of California - San Diego
• Japanese American Relocation Digital Archive by the Online Archive of California
• Virtual Museum of the City of San Francisco
• Japanese American Exhibit and Access Project by the University of Washington Libraries
• A More Perfect Union: Japanese Americans and the Constitution by the Smithsonian
• Ansel Adam's Photographs of Japanese American Internment at Manzanar by the Library of Congress

Vocabulary

Pearl Harbor

A harbor in Hawaii that was attacked by the Japanese. As a result of the attack, the United States entered World War II.

Axis Powers

The term used to describe Germany, Italy, and Japan during World War II

Executive Order 9066

This order was signed by President Roosevelt allowing for the removal of people of Japanese ancestry from the West Coast.

War Relocation Authority

The organization that was created to assist in the relocation of people of Japanese ancestry.

Nisei

United States citizens with immigrant Japanese Parents

Issei

Japanese immigrants

Internment Camps

The place detaining a specific group or type of people in a specific area usually during times of war.