Japanese Internment Camps Research Paper

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On December 7, 1941, the Japanese government launched a surprise attack on the United States’ Pacific Fleet, located at a naval base in Pearl Harbor, Hawaii. Subsequently, after the United States declared war on Japan and fueled by a rise in anti-Japanese sentiment, the United States forced Japanese people into internment camps. The United States pushed the impression that Japanese internment was humane, benefited Japanese internees, and Japanese people enjoyed their time there. The United States government portrayed the internment of Japanese people as humane. In a newspaper article, there was a large photograph of a Japanese child with a large plate of food, the plate described as “a plentiful platter.” The caption also noted that the internees …show more content…
The impression that the United States government demonstrated about the Japanese internment was that the internment benefited the Japanese people. In the Welcome to Topaz Don’ts and Do’s pamphlet, the list included different requirements within the camp that benefited Japanese internees. For example, the pamphlet instructed the internees to “drink a lot of water, especially on summer days,” “observe fire and safety rules,” and “participate in civic events,” all of which increased the internees’ welfare. The pamphlet also mandated rules that protected Japanese internees, such as “Don’t walk around the center without a hat” and “Don’t touch live or dead game animals.” Additionally, an image caption from an article described the benefits that internment granted and claimed “all Japanese internees had plenty of recreation and reading matter.” Thus, the US government portrayed the internment as beneficial to Japanese people. Furthermore, the United States government conveyed that Japanese residents enjoyed the internment