Other editions of book The Japanese American Internment: Civil Liberties Denied

On December 7, 1941, Japanese warplanes bombed the U.S. naval base at Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, bringing the United States into World War II. U.S. leaders feared that Japanese Americans would betray the United States to help Japan. The federal government moved Japanese people from their homes in the United States into special camps called relocation centers. Many internees felt that their fundamental rights as U.S. citizens had been denied. Other Americans agreed, and the government’s actions during wartime are still being debated today.