Judgment Without Trial: Japanese American Imprisonment During World War II

7. The Arbitrary Process of Control

7 The Arbitrary Process of Control T he internment of the Issei, some Nisei, and other foreign nationals by the U.S. Department of Justice described in the previous chapters did not physically affect the vast majority of Nikkei in the continental United States.1 Then, early in 1942, the Western Defense Command (wdc), through its Wartime Civil Control Administration (wcca), herded almost all remaining residents of Japanese ancestry in most of the Pacific Coast states into fifteen temporary assembly centers. Later, a civilian agency, the War Relocation Authority (wra), took custody of the inmates and placed them in ten hastily constructed relocation camps for permanent incarceration. Numerous sources are available on the wcca and wra camps themselves. Chapters 7 and 8 therefore focus on the process used to control the inmates and examine particular camps that have been given little attention. To begin with, all inmates were not treated alike. Some were seen as members of socially distinct groups and received disparate treatment. Inmates whom the wra defined as “troublemakers,” “instigators,” “pro-Japan,” and “anti-wra” were treated in one way, while others who were considered “pro-administration” and “pro-American” were treated in yet another way. We will see that rules were created and enforced, often haphazardly, and that supposedly troublesome persons were subject to swift reprisals for their failure to obey camp rules. Punishment included incarceration in special centers created to isolate these inmates from the rest of the prisoner population. The wra and the U.S. Army used fear and terror, and even condoned homicide, in order to control the inmates. In contrast, prisoners of German and Italian descent received markedly different treatment. Using the same executive order that resulted in the mass incarceration of resident Japanese nationals and their citizen children, the War Department created the Individual Exclusion Program, which differed procedurally from policies affecting Issei and Nisei inmates. A schematic outline is provided here to clarify the many components of this imprisonment process. Figure 7.1 displays the actions taken by the wra and the army after the signing of Executive Order (EO) 9066. Through this executive order, all remaining persons of Japanese ancestry on the West Coast were forced into wcca assembly centers and wra relocation camps. From December 1942, the wra reacted to the NO "Yes-Yes" "No-No" YES Yes No Persons of German, Italian, and Japanese Ancestry, Males WCCA Assembly Camps (15) Individual Exclusion Program, U.S. Army Exclude Exclusion Boards EO 9066 WRA Relocation Camps (10) Loyalty Issue WRA "Riot" WRA Moab, Leupp, and Cow Creek Camps Remaining 9 WRA Camps Prison U.S. Army Justice Department Internment Camps WRA Segregation or 9 WRA Camps WRA Segregation Center WRA Institutions Justice and War Department Camps Arrested German, Italian and Japanese Nationals Military Draft Issue Renunciation of Citizenship Individual Leave Clearance End of War Out of Area Applicable to Nisei "Refugees" "Excludees" (See Figure 3.1) fig. 7.1. Persons of German, Italian, and Japanese Ancestry on the Mainland after February 19, 1942 struggles, resistance, and other actions of inmates within its camps by instituting extreme measures to control individuals and their families. The wra created other types of camps, such as isolation centers, to hold those American citizens it designated troublemakers and dissidents. The agency transferred various categories of citizens from the camp at Manzanar, California, to isolation centers. Later, individuals labeled as troublemakers by the directors of other wra camps were also sent to these centers. The isolation camps deserve special attention because they constitute an important part of the wra control process. Concurrently , the wra created another camp at Cow Creek, California, where individuals and families who were viewed as cooperative were placed for short stays. This chapter examines the first half of the imprisonment process depicted in figure 7.1, and the following chapter explores the second half. from voluntary resettlement to mass removal Let us start with the actions taken against the Nikkei immediately after the attack on Pearl Harbor. From December 7, 1941, through early 1942, all Japanese Americans still residing on the Pacific coast after the Issei and some Nisei had been arrested by the Justice and War Departments were involved in numerous and diverse events. From early December, those who were designated as enemy aliens but had not been arrested were encouraged to leave the three West Coast states voluntarily and move inland. From February 1942, anyone...