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War Relocation Authority

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The War Relocation Authority ( WRA ) was a United States government agency established to handle the internment of Japanese Americans during World War II . It also operated the Fort Ontario Emergency Refugee Shelter in Oswego, New York , which was the only refugee camp set up in the United States for refugees from Europe. The agency was created by Executive Order 9102 on March 18, 1942, by President Franklin D. Roosevelt , and was terminated June 26, 1946, by order of President Harry S. Truman .

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157-798: After the December 1941 attack on Pearl Harbor , President Franklin D. Roosevelt issued Executive Order 9066 , authorizing military commanders to create zones from which certain persons could be excluded if they posed a threat to national security. Many people of Japanese ancestry were also suspected of espionage after the Pearl Harbor attack. Military Areas 1 and 2 were created soon after, encompassing all of California and parts of Washington , Oregon , and Arizona , and subsequent civilian exclusion orders informed Japanese Americans residing in these zones they would be scheduled for "evacuation." The executive order also applied to Alaska as well, bringing

314-413: A Type A midget submarine for transport to the waters off Oahu. The five I-boats left Kure Naval District on November 25, 1941. On December 6, they came to within 10 nmi (19 km; 12 mi) of the mouth of Pearl Harbor and launched their midget subs at about 01:00 local time on December 7. At 03:42 Hawaiian time, the minesweeper Condor spotted a midget submarine periscope southwest of

471-594: A Japanese task force (the Striking Force ) of six aircraft carriers – Akagi , Kaga , Sōryū , Hiryū , Shōkaku , and Zuikaku  – departed Hittokapu Bay on Etorofu (now Iterup) Island in the Kuril Islands , en route to a position northwest of Hawaii, intending to launch its 408 aircraft to attack Pearl Harbor: 360 for the two attack waves and 48 on defensive combat air patrol (CAP), including nine fighters from

628-618: A consequence, Japan needed access to strategically important resources (e.g. iron, oil) that could not be extracted at sufficient levels in the home islands. Although Japan had begun to take a hostile stance against the United States after the rejection of the Racial Equality Proposal , the relationship between the two countries was cordial enough that they remained trading partners. Tensions did not seriously grow until Japan's invasion of Manchuria in 1931 . Over

785-1011: A conviction that carries an appropriate potential sentence when a serious crime has been committed. Our role as the primary prosecutor of serious crimes makes our responsibility to citizens in Indian Country unique and mandatory. Accordingly, public safety in tribal communities is a top priority for the Department of Justice. Emphasis was placed on improving prosecution of crimes involving domestic violence and sexual assault. Passed in 1953, Public Law 280 (PL 280) gave jurisdiction over criminal offenses involving Indians in Indian Country to certain States and allowed other States to assume jurisdiction. Subsequent legislation allowed States to retrocede jurisdiction, which has occurred in some areas. Some PL 280 reservations have experienced jurisdictional confusion, tribal discontent, and litigation, compounded by

942-414: A country that had imprisoned them, and believed the question of allegiance was an implicit accusation that they had been disloyal to the United States. Although most answered in the affirmative to both, 15 percent of the total inmate population refused to fill out the questionnaire or answered "no" to one or both questions. Under pressure from War Department officials, Myer reluctantly converted Tule Lake into

1099-509: A crowd of 5,000 to 10,000 and ended with several inmates being badly beaten. The entire camp was placed under martial law on November 14, 1943. Military control lasted for two months, and during this time 200 to 350 men were imprisoned in an overcrowded stockade (held under charges such as "general troublemaker" and "too well educated for his own good"), while the general population was subject to curfews, unannounced searches, and restrictions on work and recreational activities. Angry young men joined

1256-709: A forced mass migration that came to be known as the Trail of Tears . Some of the lands these tribes were given to inhabit following the removals eventually became Indian reservations. In 1851, the United States Congress passed the Indian Appropriations Act which authorized the creation of Indian reservations in Indian Territory (which became Oklahoma). Relations between white settlers and Natives had grown increasingly worse as

1413-502: A form of self-governance , with elected inmate leaders working under administration supervisors to help run the camps. This allowed inmates to keep busy and have some say in their day-to-day life; however, it also served the WRA mission of "Americanizing" the inmates so that they could be assimilated into white communities after the war. The "enemy alien" Issei were excluded from running for office, and inmates and community analysts argued that

1570-544: A maximum security segregation center for the "no-nos" who flunked the loyalty test, in July 1943. Approximately 12,000 were transferred to Tule Lake, but of the previous residents cleared as loyal, only 6,500 accepted the WRA offer to move to another camp. The resulting overpopulation (almost 19,000 in a camp designed for 15,000 by the end of 1944) fueled existing resentment and morale problems. Conditions worsened after another labor strike and an anti-WRA demonstration that attracted

1727-411: A newly assigned officer at the thinly manned Intercept Center, presumed it was the scheduled arrival of six B-17 bombers from California. The Japanese planes were approaching from a direction very close (only a few degrees difference) to the bombers, and while the operators had never seen a formation as large on radar, they neglected to tell Tyler of its size. Tyler, for security reasons, could not tell

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1884-478: A peace compromise. Striking the Pacific Fleet at anchor in Pearl Harbor had two distinct disadvantages: the targeted ships would be in very shallow water, so it would be relatively easy to salvage and possibly repair them, and most of the crews would survive the attack since many would be on shore leave or would be rescued from the harbor. A further important disadvantage was the absence of all three of

2041-536: A radio message from a midget submarine at 00:41 on December 8 claiming to have damaged one or more large warships inside Pearl Harbor. In 1992, 2000, and 2001 Hawaii Undersea Research Laboratory 's submersibles found the wreck of the fifth midget submarine lying in three parts outside Pearl Harbor. The wreck was in the debris field where much surplus American equipment had been dumped after the war, including vehicles and landing craft. Both of its torpedoes were missing. This correlates with reports of two torpedoes fired at

2198-511: A security threat. Resentment over poor working conditions and low wages, inadequate housing, and rumors of guards stealing food from inmates exacerbated tensions and created pro- and anti-administration factions. Labor strikes occurred at Poston, Tule Lake and Jerome, and in two violent incidents at Poston and Manzanar in November and December 1942, individuals suspected of colluding with the WRA were beaten by other inmates. External opposition to

2355-420: A vigorous debate inside the government over how, and indeed whether, to notify Washington of Japan's intention to break off negotiations and start a war, including a December 7 entry in the war diary saying, "[O]ur deceptive diplomacy is steadily proceeding toward success." Of this, Iguchi said, "The diary shows that the army and navy did not want to give any proper declaration of war, or indeed prior notice even of

2512-620: Is a conflict between the Menomee Nation and the State of Wisconsin and "the 1831 Menomee Treaty … ran the boundary between the lands of the Oneida, known in the Treaty as the "New York Indians". This Treaty from 1831 is the cause of conflicts and is disputed because the land was good hunting grounds. The Trade and Intercourse Act of 1834 says "In the 1834 Indian Trade and Intercourse Act,

2669-665: Is a gas station and general store at Fort Hall Indian Reservation, Idaho , and a museum at Foxwoods, on the Mashantucket Pequot Indian Reservation in Connecticut ). Tribal citizens may utilize several resources held in tribal tenures such as grazing range and some cultivable lands. They may also construct homes on tribally held lands. As such, members are tenants-in-common , which may be likened to communal tenure. Even if some of this pattern emanates from pre-reservation tribal customs, generally

2826-702: Is signed by Isaac Shelby and Jackson. It discusses several regulations regarding the Native Americans and the approval of Indigenous segregation and the reservation system. President Martin Van Buren negotiated a treaty with the Saginaw Chippewas in 1837 to build a lighthouse. The President of the United States of America was directly involved in the creation of new treaties regarding Indian Reservations before 1850. Van Buren stated that indigenous reservations are "all their reserves of land in

2983-437: Is sometimes described as a declaration of war. While it was viewed by a number of senior American government and military officials as a very strong indicator negotiations were likely to be terminated and that war might break out at any moment, it neither declared war nor severed diplomatic relations. A declaration of war was printed on the front page of Japan's newspapers in the evening edition of December 8 (late December 7 in

3140-483: The 1940 British air attack on the Italian fleet at Taranto intensively. Over the next several months, pilots were trained, equipment was adapted, and intelligence was collected. Despite these preparations, Emperor Hirohito did not approve the attack plan until November 5, after the third of four Imperial Conferences called to consider the matter. At first, he hesitated to engage in war but eventually authorized

3297-510: The Army-run camps that housed dissidents and other "troublemakers", it was estimated that it cost 38.19 cents per day ($ 7.00 in present-day terms) to feed each person. The WRA spent slightly more, capping per-person costs to 50 cents a day ($ 9.00 in present-day terms) (again, to counteract rumors of "coddling" the inmates), but most people were able to supplement their diets with food grown in camp. The WRA allowed Japanese Americans to establish

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3454-524: The Dawes Act facilitated sales to non–Native Americans, resulting in some reservations becoming severely fragmented, with pieces of tribal and privately held land being treated as separate enclaves. This intersection of private and public real estate creates significant administrative, political, and legal difficulties. The total area of all reservations is 56,200,000 acres (22,700,000 ha; 87,800 sq mi; 227,000 km ), approximately 2.3% of

3611-591: The European colonization of the Americas , Europeans often removed Indigenous peoples from their homelands. The means varied, including treaties made under considerable duress, forceful ejection, violence, and in a few cases voluntary moves based on mutual agreement. The removal caused many problems such as tribes losing the means of livelihood by being restricted to a defined area, poor quality of land for agriculture, and hostility between tribes. The first reservation

3768-608: The Hawaii Operation and Operation AI , and as Operation Z during its planning. The Empire of Japan 's attack on Pearl Harbor was preceded by months of negotiations between the United States and Japan over the future of the Pacific . Japanese demands included that the United States end its sanctions against Japan , cease aiding China in the Second Sino-Japanese War , and allow Japan to access

3925-742: The Hoshi-dan and its auxiliary, the Hokoku-dan , a militaristic nationalist group aimed at preparing its members for a new life in Japan. This pro-Japan faction ran military drills, demonstrated against the WRA, and made threats against inmates seen as administration sympathizers. When the Renunciation Act was passed in July 1944, 5,589 (over 97 percent of them Tule Lake inmates) expressed their resentment by giving up their U.S. citizenship and applying for "repatriation" to Japan. The West Coast

4082-601: The Kido Butai ), with the attack on Kaneohe. A total of 353 Japanese planes reached Oahu in two waves. Slow, vulnerable torpedo bombers led the first wave, exploiting the first moments of surprise to attack the most important ships present (the battleships), while dive bombers attacked American air bases across Oahu, starting with Hickam Field , the largest, and Wheeler Field , the main United States Army Air Forces fighter base. The 171 planes in

4239-570: The Mississippi River and occupying lands that were first reserved by treaty ( Indian Land Grants ) from the public domain. Because recognized Native American nations possess tribal sovereignty , albeit of a limited degree, laws within tribal lands may vary from those of the surrounding and adjacent states. For example, these laws can permit casinos on reservations located within states which do not allow gambling, thus attracting tourism. The tribal council generally has jurisdiction over

4396-642: The Nanking Massacre swung Western public opinion sharply against Japan. The United States unsuccessfully proposed a joint action with the United Kingdom to blockade Japan. In 1938, following an appeal by President Roosevelt, American companies stopped providing Japan with implements of war. In 1940, Japan invaded French Indochina , attempting to stymie the flow of supplies reaching China. The United States halted shipments of airplanes, parts, machine tools , and aviation gasoline to Japan, which

4553-535: The Oneida People in 1838. This treaty allows the indigenous peoples five years on a specific reserve "the west shores of Saganaw bay". The creation of reservations for indigenous people of America could be as little as a five-year approval before 1850. Article two of the treaty claims "the reserves on the river Angrais and at Rifle river, of which said Indians are to have the usufruct and occupancy for five years." Indigenous people had restraints pushed on them by

4710-641: The Philippines , taking both actions in the hope of discouraging Japanese aggression in the Far East. Because the Japanese high command was mistakenly certain any attack on the United Kingdom's Southeast Asian colonies , including Singapore, would bring the United States into the war, a devastating preventive strike appeared to be the only way to prevent American naval interference. An invasion of

4867-413: The Philippines , which they felt were close to or within their sphere of influence . At the same time, Japanese strategic thinkers believed that Japan needed economic self-sufficiency in order to wage modern war. The experiences of World War I had taught the Japanese that modern wars would be protracted, require total mobilization and create vulnerabilities for trade embargoes and encirclement. As

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5024-569: The Tripartite Pact with Japan, Germany and Italy each declared war on the United States, which responded with a declaration of war against Germany and Italy . While there were historical precedents for the unannounced military action by Japan, the lack of any formal warning, as required by the Hague Convention of 1907 , and the perception that the attack had been unprovoked, led then- President Franklin D. Roosevelt , in

5181-713: The Umatilla Indian Reservation , after the individual parcels were granted out of reservation land, the reservation area was reduced by giving the "excess land" to white settlers. The individual allotment policy continued until 1934 when it was terminated by the Indian Reorganization Act . The Indian Reorganization Act of 1934, also known as the Howard-Wheeler Act , was sometimes called the Indian New Deal and

5338-717: The United Kingdom , the Netherlands , and the United States. Over the course of seven hours, Japan conducted coordinated attacks on the U.S.-held Philippines , Guam , and Wake Island ; and on the British Empire in Malaya , Singapore , and Hong Kong . The attack on Pearl Harbor started at 7:48   a.m. Hawaiian time (6:18   p.m. GMT). The base was attacked by 353 Imperial Japanese aircraft (including fighters , level and dive bombers , and torpedo bombers ) in two waves, launched from six aircraft carriers . Of

5495-560: The United States Asiatic Fleet , was given orders to that effect. The United States finally ceased oil exports to Japan in July 1941, following the seizure of French Indochina after the Fall of France , in part because of new American restrictions on domestic oil consumption. Because of this decision, Japan proceeded with plans to take the oil-rich Dutch East Indies . On August 17, Roosevelt warned Japan that America

5652-476: The United States Congress and administered by the United States Bureau of Indian Affairs , and not to the U.S. state government in which it is located. Some of the country's 574 federally recognized tribes govern more than one of the 326 Indian reservations in the United States , while some share reservations, and others have no reservation at all. Historical piecemeal land allocations under

5809-493: The United States Department of Defense ), to solve the land problem with 38 treaties with American Indian tribes. Indian Treaties, and Laws and Regulations Relating to Indian Affairs (1825) was a document signed by President Andrew Jackson in which he states that "we have placed the land reserves in a better state for the benefit of society" with approval of Indigenous reservations before 1850. The letter

5966-443: The light cruiser St. Louis at 10:04 at the entrance of Pearl Harbor, and a possible torpedo fired at destroyer Helm at 08:21. There is dispute over this official chain of events though. The "torpedo" that St. Louis saw was also reportedly a porpoising minesweeping float being towed by the destroyer Boggs . Some historians and naval architects theorise that a photo taken by a Japanese naval aviator of Battleship Row during

6123-518: The message —  1:00   p.m. on a Sunday, which was 7:30   a.m. in Hawaii ;—  and attempted to alert Pearl Harbor. But due to communication problems the warning was not delivered before the attack. The first attack wave of 183 airplanes, led by Commander Mitsuo Fuchida , was launched north of Oahu. Six airplanes failed to launch due to technical difficulties. The first wave included three groups of airplanes: As

6280-654: The "Plan for the Future Management of Indian Affairs". Although never adopted formally, the plan established the British government's expectation that land would only be bought by colonial governments, not individuals, and that land would only be purchased at public meetings. Additionally, this plan dictated that the Indians would be properly consulted when ascertaining and defining the boundaries of colonial settlement. The private contracts that once characterized

6437-538: The (relatively few) reports produced by the CAS did not contradict the WRA's official stance that Japanese Americans remained, for the most part, happy behind the barbed wire. Morris Opler did, however, provide a prominent exception, writing two legal briefs challenging the exclusion for the Supreme Court cases of Gordon Hirabayashi and Fred Korematsu . Concerned that Japanese Americans would become more dependent on

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6594-539: The 1940 Vinson-Walsh Act erased any chance of victory. Third, to deliver a blow to America's ability to mobilize its forces in the Pacific, battleships were chosen as the main targets, since they were the prestige ships of navies at the time. Finally, it was hoped that the attack would undermine American morale to such an extent that the American government would drop its demands contrary to Japanese interests and seek

6751-514: The 28 questions were hastily, and poorly, revised for their new purpose of assessing inmate loyalty. The form was largely devoted to determining whether the respondent was a "real" American — baseball or judo , Boy Scouts or Japanese school — but most of the ire was directed at two questions that asked inmates to volunteer for combat duty and forswear their allegiance to the Emperor of Japan. Many were offended at being asked to risk their lives for

6908-589: The American-held Philippines , Guam , and Wake Island and on the British Empire in Malaya , Singapore , and Hong Kong . From the Japanese point of view, it was seen as a preemptive strike "before the oil gauge ran empty." Preliminary planning for an attack on Pearl Harbor to protect the move into the "Southern Resource Area", the Japanese term for the Dutch East Indies and Southeast Asia generally, began early in 1941 under

7065-507: The Americans killed or wounded during the attack were legally non-combatants, given that there was no state of war when the attack occurred. Of the American fatalities, nearly half were due to the explosion of Arizona 's forward magazine after she was hit by a modified 16-inch (410 mm) shell. Author Craig Nelson wrote that the vast majority of the U.S. sailors killed at Pearl Harbor were junior enlisted personnel. "The officers of

7222-669: The Americans, and were not necessary. Fleet composition and preparedness information in Pearl Harbor were already known from the reports of the Japanese spy Takeo Yoshikawa . A report of the absence of the American fleet at Lahaina anchorage off Maui was received from the Tone ' s floatplane and the fleet submarine I-72 . Another four scout planes patrolled the area between the Japanese carrier force (the Kidō Butai ) and Niihau , to detect any counterattack. Fleet submarines I-16 , I-18 , I-20 , I-22 , and I-24 each embarked

7379-795: The Army and was on the scene with removal and relocation even before Executive Order 9192. Beginning on March 11, for example, Rex L. Nicholson, the WPA's regional director, managed the first “Reception and Induction” centers. Another WPA veteran, Clayton E. Triggs, was the administrator the Manzanar Relocation Center, a facility which, according to one insider, was “manned just about 100% by the WPA.” Drawing on his background in New Deal road construction, Triggs installed such familiar concentration camp features as guard towers and spotlights. As

7536-718: The Bureau (Office) of Indian Affairs. Under federal law, the government patented reservations to tribes, which became legal entities that at later times have operated in a corporate manner. Tribal tenure identifies jurisdiction over land-use planning and zoning, negotiating (with the close participation of the Bureau of Indian Affairs) leases for timber harvesting and mining. Tribes generally have authority over other forms of economic development such as ranching, agriculture, tourism, and casinos. Tribes hire both members, other Indians and non-Indians in varying capacities; they may run tribal stores, gas stations, and develop museums (e.g., there

7693-765: The Dawes Act. However, the vast fragmentation of reservations occurred from the enactment of this act up to 1934, when the Indian Reorganization Act was passed. However, Congress authorized some allotment programs in the ensuing years, such as on the Palm Springs/Agua Caliente Indian Reservation in California. Allotment set in motion a number of circumstances: The demographic factor, coupled with landownership data, led, for example, to litigation between

7850-684: The Devils Lake Sioux and the State of North Dakota, where non-Indians owned more acreage than tribal members even though more Native Americans resided on the reservation than non-Indians. The court decision turned, in part, on the perception of Indian character , contending that the tribe did not have jurisdiction over the alienated allotments. In a number of instances—e.g., the Yakama Indian Reservation—tribes have identified open and closed areas within reservations. One finds

8007-637: The Europeans encountered the New World, the American colonial government determined a precedent of establishing the land sovereignty of North America through treaties between countries. This precedent was upheld by the United States government. As a result, most Native American land was purchased by the United States government, a portion of which was designated to remain under Native sovereignty. The United States government and Native Peoples do not always agree on how land should be governed, which has resulted in

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8164-587: The Indian Country Law Enforcement Initiative which recognizes problems with law enforcement on Indian reservations and assigns top priority to solving existing problems. The Department of Justice recognizes the unique legal relationship that the United States has with federally recognized tribes. As one aspect of this relationship, in much of Indian Country, the Justice Department alone has the authority to seek

8321-568: The Indian agencies on reservations in order to teach Christianity to the Native American tribes. The Quakers were especially active in this policy on reservations. The policy was controversial from the start. Reservations were generally established by executive order . In many cases, white settlers objected to the size of land parcels, which were subsequently reduced. A report submitted to Congress in 1868 found widespread corruption among

8478-887: The Mexican-American War and protect American immigration traveling to Oregon and California." The Federal Government of America had their own needs and desires for Indigenous Land Reservations. He says, "the reconnaissance of explorers and other American officials understood that Indigenous Country possessed good land, bountiful game, and potential mineral resources." The American Government claimed Indigenous land for their own benefits with these creations of Indigenous Land Reservations . States such as Texas had their own policy when it came to Indian Reservations in America before 1850. Scholarly author George D. Harmon discusses Texas' own reservation system which "Prior to 1845, Texas had inaugurated and pursued her own Indian Policy of

8635-522: The Navy all lived in houses and the junior people were the ones on the boats, so pretty much all of the people who died in the direct line of the attack were very junior people", Nelson said. "So everyone is about 17 or 18 whose story is told there." Among the notable civilian casualties were nine Honolulu Fire Department firefighters who responded to Hickam Field during the bombing in Honolulu, becoming

8792-556: The Pacific Fleet from interfering with the Japanese conquest of the Dutch East Indies and Malaya and enabling Japan to conquer Southeast Asia without interference. The leaders of the Imperial Japanese Navy (IJN) ascribed to Alfred Thayer Mahan 's " decisive battle " doctrine, especially that of destroying the maximum number of battleships. Second, it was hoped to buy time for Japan to consolidate its position and increase its naval strength before shipbuilding authorized by

8949-459: The Pacific Fleet's aircraft carriers ( Enterprise , Lexington , and Saratoga ). Despite these concerns, Yamamoto decided to press ahead. Japanese confidence in their ability to win a short war meant that other targets in the harbor, especially the navy yard, oil tank farms and submarine base, were left unscathed, since by their thinking the war would be over before the influence of these facilities would be felt. On November 26, 1941,

9106-580: The Pearl Harbor entrance buoy and alerted the destroyer Ward . The midget may have entered Pearl Harbor. However, Ward sank another midget submarine at 06:37 in the first American shots in the Pacific Theater. A midget submarine on the north side of Ford Island missed the seaplane tender Curtiss with her first torpedo and missed the attacking destroyer Monaghan with her other one before being sunk by Monaghan at 08:43. A third midget submarine, Ha-19 , grounded twice, once outside

9263-589: The Pearl Harbor strike despite dissent from certain advisors. Final authorization was not given by the emperor until December 1, after a majority of Japanese leaders advised him the Hull note would "destroy the fruits of the China incident, endanger Manchukuo and undermine Japanese control of Korea". Before the attack, he became more involved in military matters, even joining the Conference of Military Councillors, which

9420-460: The Philippines was also considered necessary by Japanese war planners. The American War Plan Orange had envisioned defending the Philippines with an elite force of 40,000 men; this option was never implemented due to opposition from Douglas MacArthur , who felt he would need a force ten times that size. By 1941, American planners expected to have to abandon the Philippines at the outbreak of war. Late that year, Admiral Thomas C. Hart , commander of

9577-568: The U.S." Texas was one of the States before 1850 that chose to create their own reservation system as seen in Harmon's article, "The United States Indian Policy in Texas, 1845–1860." The State of "Texas had given only a few hundred acres of land in 1840, for the purpose of colonization". However, "In March 1847, … [a] special agent [was sent] to Texas to manage the Indian affairs in the State until Congress should take some definite and final action." The United States of America allowed its states to make up their own treaties such as this one in Texas for

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9734-509: The United States defined the boundaries of Indian County." Also, "For Unrau, Indigenous Country is less on Indigenous homeland and more a place where the U.S. removed Indians from east of the Mississippi River and applied unique laws." The United States of America applied laws on Indigenous Reservations depending on where they were located like the Mississippi River . This act came too, because "the federal government began to compress Indigenous lands because it needed to send troops to Texas during

9891-418: The United States of America, resulting in the forceful removal of Indigenous peoples into specific land Reservations. Scholarly author James Oberly discusses "The Treaty of 1831 between the Menominee Nation and the United States" in his article, "Decision on Duck Creek: Two Green Bay Reservations and Their Boundaries, 1816–1996", showing yet another treaty regarding Indigenous Reservations before 1850. There

10048-488: The United States), but not delivered to the American government until the day after the attack. For decades, conventional wisdom held that Japan attacked without first formally breaking diplomatic relations only because of accidents and bumbling that delayed the delivery of a document hinting at war to Washington. In 1999, however, Takeo Iguchi, a professor of law and international relations at International Christian University in Tokyo, discovered documents that pointed to

10205-427: The United States, United Kingdom, and Netherlands supplied one million U.S. gallons (3.8 million liters) of aviation fuel, lifted their sanctions against Japan, and ceased aid to China. The American counter-proposal of November 26 (November 27 in Japan), the Hull note , required Japan to completely evacuate China without conditions and conclude non-aggression pacts with Pacific powers. On November 26 in Japan,

10362-453: The United States, designated parcels which the nations, as sovereigns, " reserved " to themselves, and those parcels came to be called "reservations". The term remained in use after the federal government began to forcibly relocate nations to parcels of land to which they often had no historical or cultural connection. Compared to other population centers in the U.S., reservations are disproportionately located on or near toxic sites hazardous to

10519-404: The United States, just before 8:00   a.m. (local time) on Sunday, December 7, 1941. At the time, the United States was a neutral country in World War II . The attack on Hawaii and other U.S. territories led the United States to formally enter World War II on the side of the Allies the day following the attack, on December 8, 1941. The Japanese military leadership referred to the attack as

10676-508: The United States. By 1877, President Rutherford B. Hayes began phasing out the policy, and by 1882 all religious organizations had relinquished their authority to the federal Indian agency. In 1887, Congress undertook a significant change in reservation policy by the passage of the Dawes Act , or General Allotment (Severalty) Act. The act ended the general policy of granting land parcels to tribes as-a-whole by granting small parcels of land to individual tribe members. In some cases, for example,

10833-429: The WPA wound down in late 1942 and early 1943, many of its employees moved over seamlessly to the WRA. Milton S. Eisenhower was the WRA's original director. Eisenhower was a proponent of Roosevelt's New Deal and disapproved of the idea of mass internment. Early on he had tried, unsuccessfully, to limit the internment to adult men, allowing women and children to remain free, and he pushed to keep WRA policy in line with

10990-411: The WRA came to a head following these events, in two congressional investigations by the House Un-American Activities Committee and another led by Senator Albert Chandler . The leave clearance registration process, dubbed the " loyalty questionnaire " by inmates, was another significant source of discontent among incarcerated Japanese Americans. Originally drafted as a War Department recruiting tool,

11147-423: The WRA he raised wages for interned Japanese Americans, worked with the Japanese American Citizens League to establish an internee advisory council, initiated a student leave program for college-age Nisei , and petitioned Congress to create programs for postwar rehabilitation. He also pushed Roosevelt to make a public statement in support of loyal Nisei and attempted to enlist the Federal Reserve Bank to protect

11304-781: The WRA pulled the strings on important issues, leaving only the most basic and inconsequential decisions to Nisei leaders. In February 1943, the WRA established the Community Analysis Section (under the umbrella of the Community Management Division) in order to collect information on the lives of incarcerated Japanese Americans in all ten camps. Employing over twenty cultural anthropologists and social scientists—including John Embree , Marvin and Morris Opler , Margaret Lantis , Edward Spicer , and Weston La Barre —the CAS produced reports on education, community-building and assimilation efforts in

11461-718: The West Coast. Tule Lake closed on March 20, 1946, and Executive Order 9742, signed by President Harry S. Truman on June 26, 1946, officially terminated the WRA's mission. Attack on Pearl Harbor Japanese victory 1941 1942 Second Sino-Japanese War The attack on Pearl Harbor was a surprise military strike by the Imperial Japanese Navy Air Service on the American naval base at Pearl Harbor in Honolulu , Hawaii,

11618-514: The aircraft carriers and return to combat. Fighters were to assume CAP duties where needed, especially over American airfields. Before the attack commenced, the Imperial Japanese Navy launched reconnaissance floatplanes from heavy cruisers Chikuma and Tone , to scout Oahu and Lahaina Roads, Maui, respectively, with orders to report on American fleet composition and location. Reconnaissance aircraft flights risked alerting

11775-407: The attack on Pearl Harbor that was declassified in the 1990s and publicized in the 2000s to the public, shows the fifth midget submarine firing a torpedo at West Virginia and another at Oklahoma . These torpedoes were twice the size of the aerial torpedoes so it was possible that both torpedoes heavily contributed to the sinkings of both ships and especially helped to capsize Oklahoma as Oklahoma

11932-410: The attack. Ammunition lockers were locked, aircraft parked wingtip to wingtip in the open to prevent sabotage, guns unmanned (none of the Navy's 5"/38s , only a quarter of its machine guns, and only four of 31 Army batteries got in action). Despite this low alert status , many American military personnel responded effectively during the attack. Ensign Joseph Taussig Jr. , aboard Nevada , commanded

12089-682: The auspices of Admiral Isoroku Yamamoto , then commanding Japan's Combined Fleet . He won assent to formal planning and training for an attack from the Imperial Japanese Navy General Staff only after much contention with Naval Headquarters, including a threat to resign his command. Full-scale planning was underway by early spring 1941, primarily by Rear Admiral Ryūnosuke Kusaka , with assistance from Commander Minoru Genda and Yamamoto's Deputy Chief of Staff, Captain Kameto Kuroshima. The planners studied

12246-464: The basis for hotel and conference facilities, to draw visitors and revenue to reservations. Successful gaming operations on some reservations have greatly increased the economic wealth of some tribes, enabling their investment to improve infrastructure, education, and health for their people. Serious crime on Indian reservations has historically been required (by the 1885 Major Crimes Act , 18 U.S.C. §§1153, 3242, and court decisions) to be investigated by

12403-481: The camps, taking data from observations of and interviews with camp residents. While some community analysts viewed the Japanese American inmates merely as research subjects, others opposed the incarceration and some of the WRA's policies in their reports, although very few made these criticisms public. Restricted by federal censors and WRA lawyers from publishing their full research from the camps, most of

12560-701: The commanding officer of one of the submarines, was captured. Japan declared war on the United States and the British Empire later that day (December 8 in Tokyo ), but the declarations were not delivered until the following day. The British government declared war on Japan immediately after learning that their territory had also been attacked, while the following day (December 8), the United States Congress declared war on Japan . On December 11, though they had no formal obligation to do so under

12717-579: The day before the note's delivery, the Japanese task force left port for Pearl Harbor . The Japanese intended the attack as a preventive action to keep the United States Pacific Fleet from interfering with their planned military actions in Southeast Asia against overseas territories of the United Kingdom , the Netherlands , and the United States. Over the course of seven hours, there were coordinated Japanese attacks on

12874-660: The deadliest event ever recorded in Hawaii. It was also the deadliest foreign attack against the United States in its history until the September 11 attacks of 2001. Important base installations, such as the power station, dry dock , shipyard , maintenance, and fuel and torpedo storage facilities, as well as the submarine piers and headquarters building (also home of the intelligence section ) were not attacked. Japanese losses were light: 29 aircraft and five midget submarines were lost, and 129 servicemen killed. Kazuo Sakamaki ,

13031-422: The decision and fought to remain in the United States, with the help of civil rights attorney Wayne M. Collins . The camp remained open until the 4,262 petitions were resolved.) Despite wide-scale protests from inmates who had nothing to return to and felt unprepared to relocate yet again, the WRA began to eliminate all but the most basic services until those remaining were forcibly removed from camp and sent back to

13188-451: The eight United States Navy battleships present, all were damaged and four were sunk. All but USS  Arizona were later raised, and six were returned to service and went on to fight in the war. The Japanese also sank or damaged three cruisers , three destroyers , an anti-aircraft training ship, and one minelayer . More than 180 US aircraft were destroyed. A total of 2,393 Americans were killed and 1,178 others were wounded, making it

13345-510: The entire United States West Coast as off-limits to Japanese nationals and Americans of Japanese descent. On March 18, 1942, the WRA was formed via Executive Order 9102 . It was in many ways a direct successor to the Works Projects Administration (WPA) and the efforts of both overlapped and intermingled for quite some time. From March until November, the WPA spent more on internment than any other agency including

13502-543: The federal Native American agencies and generally poor conditions among the relocated tribes. Many tribes ignored the relocation orders at first and were forced onto their limited land parcels. Enforcement of the policy required the United States Army to restrict the movements of various tribes. The pursuit of tribes in order to force them back onto reservations led to a number of wars with Native Americans which included some massacres. The most well-known conflict

13659-756: The federal government, usually the Federal Bureau of Investigation , and prosecuted by United States Attorneys of the United States federal judicial district in which the reservation lies. Tribal courts were limited to sentences of one year or less, until on July 29, 2010, the Tribal Law and Order Act was enacted which in some measure reforms the system permitting tribal courts to impose sentences of up to three years provided proceedings are recorded and additional rights are extended to defendants. The Justice Department on January 11, 2010, initiated

13816-592: The first target; instead, they expected the Philippines to be attacked first. This presumption was due to the threat that the air bases throughout the country and the naval base at Manila posed to sea lanes, as well as to the shipment of supplies to Japan from territory to the south. They also incorrectly believed that Japan was not capable of mounting more than one major naval operation at a time. The Japanese attack had several major aims. First, it intended to destroy important American fleet units, thereby preventing

13973-449: The first wave approached Oahu, it was detected by United States Army SCR-270 radar positioned at Opana Point near the island's northern tip. This post had been in training mode for months, but was not yet operational. The operators, Privates George Elliot Jr. and Joseph Lockard , reported a target to Private Joseph P. McDonald , a private stationed at Fort Shafter 's Intercept Center near Pearl Harbor. Lieutenant Kermit A. Tyler ,

14130-476: The first wave. The first wave was to be the primary attack, while the second wave was to attack carriers as its first objective and cruisers as its second, with battleships as the third target. The first wave carried most of the weapons designed to attack capital ships, mainly specially adapted Type 91 aerial torpedoes which were designed with an anti-roll mechanism and a rudder extension that let them operate in shallow water. The aircrews were ordered to select

14287-962: The five-year allowance. Scholarly author Buck Woodard used executive papers from Governor William H. Cabell in his article, "Indian Land sales and allotment in Antebellum Virginia" to discuss Indigenous reservations in America before 1705, specifically in Virginia. He claims "the colonial government again recognized the Nottoway's land rights by treaty in 1713, at the conclusion of the Tuscaro War ." The indigenous peoples of America had land treaty agreements as early as 1713. The American Indigenous Reservation system started with "the Royal Proclamation of 1763 , where Great Britain set aside an enormous resource for Indians in

14444-880: The focus of their lives. However, the pay rate was deliberately set far lower than what inmates would have received outside camp, an administrative response to widespread rumors that Japanese Americans were receiving special treatment while the larger public suffered from wartime shortages. Non-skilled labor earned $ 14/month while doctors and dentists made a paltry $ 19/month. Many found consolation in religion, and both Christian and Buddhist services were held regularly. Others concentrated on hobbies or sought self-improvement by taking adult classes, ranging from Americanization and American history and government to vocational courses in secretarial skills and bookkeeping, and cultural courses in such things as ikebana , Japanese flower arrangement. The young people spent much of their time in recreational pursuits: news of sports, theatrics, and dances fills

14601-411: The forms of government found outside the reservation. With the establishment of reservations, tribal territories diminished to a fraction of their original areas; customary Native American practices of land tenure were sustained only for a time, and not in every instance. Instead, the federal government established regulations that subordinated tribes to the authority, first, of the military, and then of

14758-425: The general public to restrict who could exit the camps, led to a revision of the application process in 1943. Initially, applicants were required to find an outside sponsor, provide proof of employment or school enrollment, and pass an FBI background check. In the new system, inmates had only complete a registration form and pass a streamlined FBI check. (The "loyalty questionnaire," as the form came to be known after it

14915-578: The government the longer they remained in camp, Director Dillon Myer led the WRA in efforts to push inmates to leave camp and reintegrate into outside communities. Even before the establishment of the "relocation centers," agricultural laborers had been issued temporary work furloughs by the WCCA, and the National Japanese American Student Relocation Council had been placing Nisei in outside colleges since

15072-403: The ground up, and wartime shortages of labor and lumber combined with the vast scope of each construction project (several of the WRA camps were among the largest "cities" in the states that housed them) meant that many sites were unfinished when transfers began to arrive from the assembly centers. At Manzanar, for example, internees were recruited to help complete construction. Life in a WRA camp

15229-486: The ground. Almost none were actually ready to take off to defend the base. Eight Army Air Forces pilots managed to get airborne during the attack, and six were credited with downing at least one Japanese aircraft during the attack: 1st Lieutenant Lewis M. Sanders and 2nd Lieutenants Philip M. Rasmussen , Kenneth M. Taylor , George S. Welch , Harry W. Brown , and Gordon H. Sterling Jr. Of 33 Consolidated PBY Catalinas in Hawaii, 30 were destroyed, while three on patrol at

15386-431: The harbor entrance and again on the east side of Oahu, where it was captured on December 8. Ensign Kazuo Sakamaki swam ashore and was captured by Hawaii National Guard Corporal David Akui , becoming the first Japanese prisoner of war . A fourth had been damaged by a depth charge attack and was abandoned by its crew before it could fire its torpedoes. It was found outside the harbor in 1960. Japanese forces received

15543-405: The health of those living or working in close proximity, including nuclear testing grounds and contaminated mines. The majority of American Indians and Alaska Natives live outside the reservations, mainly in the larger western cities such as Phoenix and Los Angeles . In 2012, there were more than 2.5 million Native Americans , with 1 million living on reservations. From the beginning of

15700-421: The highest-value targets (battleships and aircraft carriers ) or, if these were not present, any other high-value ships (cruisers and destroyers). First-wave dive bombers were to attack ground targets. Fighters were ordered to strafe and destroy as many parked aircraft as possible to ensure they did not intercept the bombers, especially in the first wave. When the fighters' fuel got low, they were to refuel aboard

15857-494: The idea before it was fully implemented, five tribes were terminated—the Coushatta , Ute , Paiute , Menominee and Klamath —and 114 groups in California lost their federal recognition as tribes. Many individuals were also relocated to cities, but one-third returned to their tribal reservations in the decades that followed. Federally recognized Native American tribes possess limited tribal sovereignty and are able to exercise

16014-562: The lack of data on crime rates and law enforcement response. As of 2012, a high incidence of rape continued to impact Native American women. A survey of death certificates over a four-year period showed that deaths among Indians due to alcohol are about four times as common as in the general U.S. population and are often due to traffic collisions and liver disease with homicide , suicide , and falls also contributing. Deaths due to alcohol among American Indians are more common in men and among Northern Plains Indians. Alaska Natives showed

16171-470: The latter perceived as an unfriendly act. The United States did not stop oil exports, however, partly because of the prevailing sentiment in Washington that given Japanese dependence on American oil, such an action was likely to be considered an extreme provocation. In mid-1940, President Franklin D. Roosevelt moved the Pacific Fleet from San Diego to Hawaii. He also ordered a military buildup in

16328-710: The least incidence of death. Under federal law, alcohol sales are prohibited on Indian reservations unless the tribal councils allow it. Gang violence has become a major social problem. A December 13, 2009, article in The New York Times about growing gang violence on the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation estimated that there were 39 gangs with 5,000 members on that reservation alone. As opposed to traditional "Most Wanted" lists, Native Americans are often placed on regional Crime Stoppers lists offering rewards for their whereabouts. When

16485-487: The majority of non-Indian landownership and residence in the open areas and, contrariwise, closed areas represent exclusive tribal residence and related conditions. Indian country today consists of tripartite government—i. e., federal, state and/or local, and tribal. Where state and local governments may exert some, but limited, law-and-order authority, tribal sovereignty is diminished. This situation prevails in connection with Indian gaming, because federal legislation makes

16642-413: The meeting Eisenhower wrote to his former boss, Secretary of Agriculture Claude Wickard , and said, "when the war is over and we consider calmly this unprecedented migration of 120,000 people, we as Americans are going to regret the unavoidable injustices that we may have done". Disappointed, Eisenhower was director of the WRA for only ninety days, resigning June 18, 1942. However, during his tenure with

16799-511: The meeting, warning that it was the only way to preserve the conciliatory Konoe government and peace in the Pacific. However, his recommendation was not acted upon. The Konoe government collapsed the following month when the Japanese military rejected a withdrawal of all troops from China. Japan's final proposal, delivered on November 20, offered to withdraw from southern Indochina and to refrain from attacks in Southeast Asia, so long as

16956-399: The message took too long for the Japanese ambassador to deliver it at 1:00   p.m. Washington time, as ordered, and consequently the message was not presented until more than one hour after the attack had begun —   but American code breakers had already deciphered and translated most of the message hours before it was scheduled to be delivered. The final part of the message

17113-474: The next decade, Japan expanded into China , leading to the Second Sino-Japanese War in 1937. Japan spent considerable effort trying to isolate China and endeavored to secure enough independent resources to attain victory on the mainland. The " Southern Operation " was designed to assist these efforts. Starting in December 1937, events such as the Japanese attack on USS Panay , the Allison incident , and

17270-666: The only fire department members on American soil to be attacked by a foreign power in history. Fireman Harry Tuck Lee Pang of Engine   6 was killed near the hangars by machine-gun fire from a Japanese plane. Captains Thomas Macy and John Carreira of Engine   4 and Engine   1, respectively, died while battling flames inside the hangar after a Japanese bomb crashed through the roof. An additional six firefighters were wounded by Japanese shrapnel. The wounded later received Purple Hearts (originally reserved for service members wounded by enemy action while partaking in armed conflicts) for their peacetime actions that day on June 13, 1944;

17427-484: The opening line of his speech to a Joint Session of Congress the following day, to famously label December 7, 1941, " a date which will live in infamy ". War between the Empire of Japan and the United States was seen as a possibility since the 1920s. Japan had been wary of American territorial and military expansion in the Pacific and Asia since the late 1890s, followed by the annexation of islands, such as Hawaii and

17584-484: The operators of the six B-17s that were due (even though it was widely known). As the first wave approached Oahu, they encountered and shot down several American aircraft. At least one of these radioed a somewhat incoherent warning. Other warnings from ships off the harbor entrance were still being processed or awaiting confirmation when the Japanese air assault began at 7:48   a.m. Hawaiian time (3:18   a.m. December 8 Japanese Standard Time , as kept by ships of

17741-566: The original idea of making the camps similar to subsistence homesteads in the rural interior of the country. This, along with proposals for helping Japanese Americans resettle in labor-starved farming communities outside the exclusion zone, was met with opposition from the governors of these interior states, who worried about security issues and claimed it was "politically infeasible," at a meeting in Salt Lake City in April 1942. Shortly before

17898-572: The pages of the camp newspaper. Living space was minimal. Families lived in army-style barracks partitioned into "apartments" with walls that usually did not reach the ceiling. These "apartments" were, at the largest, twenty by twenty-four feet (6.1 by 7.3 m) and were expected to house a family of six. In April 1943, the Topaz camp averaged 114 square feet (10.6 m) (roughly six by nineteen feet [1.8 by 5.8 m]) per person. Each inmate ate at one of several common mess halls, assigned by block. At

18055-495: The peace of the Pacific through cooperation with the American Government has finally been lost. The Japanese Government regrets to have to notify hereby the American Government that in view of the attitude of the American Government it cannot but consider that it is impossible to reach an agreement through further negotiations. United States naval intelligence officers were alarmed by the unusual timing for delivering

18212-520: The propaganda they circulated in camp) steered resettlers toward cities that lacked large Japanese American populations and warned against sticking out by spending too much time among other Nikkei, speaking Japanese or otherwise clinging to cultural ties. By the end of 1944, close to 35,000 had left camp, mostly Nisei. The WRA's "Americanization" efforts were not limited to the Nisei resettlers. Dillon Myer and other high-level officials believed that accepting

18369-535: The property left behind by displaced Japanese Americans, but was unable to overcome opposition to these proposals. Eisenhower was replaced by Dillon S. Myer , who would run the WRA until its dissolution at the end of the war. Japanese Americans had already been removed from their West Coast homes and placed in temporary " assembly centers " (run by a separate military body, the Wartime Civilian Control Administration [WCCA]) over

18526-625: The purpose of colonization. The passage of the Indian Removal Act of 1830 marked the systematization of a U.S. federal government policy of moving Native populations away from European-populated areas, whether forcibly or voluntarily. One example was the Five Civilized Tribes , who were removed from their historical homelands in the Southeastern United States and moved to Indian Territory , in

18683-601: The reservation (e.g., Enabling Act of 1910 at Section 20 ). As a general practice, such land may sit idle or be used for cattle grazing by tribal ranchers. In 1979, the Seminole tribe in Florida opened a high-stakes bingo operation on its reservation in Florida. The state attempted to close the operation down but was stopped in the courts. In the 1980s, the case of California v. Cabazon Band of Mission Indians established

18840-406: The reservation, not the U.S. state it is located in, but is subject to federal law. Court jurisdiction in Indian country is shared between tribes and the federal government, depending on the tribal affiliation of the parties involved and the specific crime or civil matter. Different reservations have different systems of government, which may or may not replicate the forms of government found outside

18997-567: The reservation. Most Native American reservations were established by the federal government but a small number, mainly in the East, owe their origin to state recognition . The term "reservation" is a legal designation. It comes from the conception of the Native American nations as independent sovereigns at the time the U.S. Constitution was ratified. Thus, early peace treaties (often signed under conditions of duress or fraud), in which Native American nations surrendered large portions of their land to

19154-586: The reservations. Likewise, over two million acres (8,000 km ) of land were returned to various tribes. Within a decade of Collier's retirement the government's position began to swing in the opposite direction. The new Indian Commissioners Myers and Emmons introduced the idea of the "withdrawal program" or " termination ", which sought to end the government's responsibility and involvement with Indians and to force their assimilation. The Indians would lose their lands but were to be compensated, although many were not. Even though discontent and social rejection killed

19311-595: The resources of the Dutch East Indies . Anticipating a negative response, Japan sent out its naval attack groups in November 1941 just prior to receiving the Hull note —which states the United States desire that Japan withdraw from China and French Indochina . Japan intended the attack as a preventive action. Its aim was to prevent the United States Pacific Fleet from interfering with its planned military actions in Southeast Asia against overseas territories of

19468-506: The right of reservations to operate other forms of gambling operations. In 1988, Congress passed the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act , which recognized the right of Native American tribes to establish gambling and gaming facilities on their reservations as long as the states in which they are located have some form of legalized gambling. Today, many Native American casinos are used as tourist attractions, including as

19625-524: The right of self-governance, including but not limited to the ability to pass laws, regulate power and energy, create treaties, and hold tribal court hearings. Laws on tribal lands may vary from those of the surrounding area. The laws passed can, for example, permit legal casinos on reservations. The tribal council, not the local government or the United States federal government , often has jurisdiction over reservations. Different reservations have different systems of government, which may or may not replicate

19782-611: The sale of Indian land to various individuals and groups—from farmers to towns—were replaced by treaties between sovereigns. This protocol was adopted by the United States Government after the American Revolution. On March 11, 1824, U.S. Vice President John C. Calhoun founded the Office of Indian Affairs (now the Bureau of Indian Affairs) as a division of the United States Department of War (now

19939-615: The second wave attacked the Army Air Forces' Bellows Field , near Kaneohe on the windward side of the island, and Ford Island. The only aerial opposition came from a handful of P-36 Hawks , P-40 Warhawks and some SBD Dauntless dive bombers from the carrier Enterprise . In the first-wave attack, about eight of the forty-nine 800‑kg (1760   lb) armor-piercing bombs dropped hit their intended battleship targets. At least two of those bombs broke up on impact, another detonated before penetrating an unarmored deck, and one

20096-599: The settlers encroached on territory and natural resources in the West. In 1868, President Ulysses S. Grant pursued a "Peace Policy" as an attempt to avoid violence. The policy included a reorganization of the Indian Service, with the goal of relocating various tribes from their ancestral homes to parcels of lands established specifically for their inhabitation. The policy called for the replacement of government officials by religious men, nominated by churches, to oversee

20253-591: The ship's antiaircraft guns and was severely wounded but remained at his post. Lieutenant Commander F. J. Thomas commanded Nevada in the captain's absence and got her underway until the ship was grounded at 9:10   a.m. One of the destroyers, Aylwin , got underway with only four officers aboard, all ensigns, none with more than a year's sea duty; she operated at sea for 36 hours before her commanding officer managed to get back aboard. Captain Mervyn Bennion , commanding West Virginia , led his men until he

20410-417: The spring of 1942. The WRA had initiated its own "leave permit" system in July 1942, although few took the trouble to go through the bureaucratic and cumbersome application process until it was streamlined over the following months. (By the end of 1942, only 884 had volunteered for resettlement.) The need for a more easily navigable system, in addition to external pressure from pro-incarceration politicians and

20567-401: The spring of 1942; Myer's primary responsibility upon taking the position was to continue with the planning and construction of the more permanent replacements for the camps run by the WCCA. The WRA considered 300 potential sites before settling on a total of ten camp locations, mostly on tribal lands . Site selection was based upon multiple criteria, including: The camps had to be built from

20724-548: The state a party to any contractual or statutory agreement. Finally, occupancy on reservations can be by virtue of tribal or individual tenure. There are many churches on reservations; most would occupy tribal land by consent of the federal government or the tribe. Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA) agency offices, hospitals, schools, and other facilities usually occupy residual federal parcels within reservations. Many reservations include one or more sections (about 640 acres) of land for schools, but such land typically remains part of

20881-489: The state of Michigan, on the principle of said reserves being sold at the public land offices for their benefit and the actual proceeds being paid to them." The agreement dictated that the indigenous tribe sell their land to build a lighthouse. A treaty signed by John Forsyth, the Secretary of State on behalf of Van Buren, also dictates where indigenous peoples must live in terms of the reservation system in America between

21038-530: The termination of negotiations   ... and they clearly prevailed." In any event, even if the Japanese had decoded and delivered the 14-Part Message before the beginning of the attack, it would not have constituted either a formal break of diplomatic relations or a declaration of war. The final two paragraphs of the message read: Thus the earnest hope of the Japanese Government to adjust Japanese-American relations and to preserve and promote

21195-544: The territory of the present United States." The United States put forward another act when "Congress passed the Indian Removal Act in 1830". A third act pushed through was "the federal government relocated "portions of [the] 'Five Civilized Tribes' from the southeastern states in the Non-Intercourse Act of 1834 ." All three of these laws set into motion the Indigenous Reservation system in

21352-471: The three firefighters killed did not receive theirs until December 7, 1984, on the 43rd anniversary of the attack. This made the nine men the only non-military firefighters to receive such an award in American history. Already damaged by a torpedo and on fire amidships, Nevada attempted to exit the harbor. She was targeted by many Japanese bombers as she got under way and sustained more hits from 250 lb (113 kg) bombs, which started further fires. She

21509-411: The time of the attack returned undamaged. Friendly fire brought down some American planes on top of that, including four from an inbound flight from Enterprise . Indian reservation An American Indian reservation is an area of land held and governed by a U.S. federal government-recognized Native American tribal nation , whose government is autonomous , subject to regulations passed by

21666-509: The total area of the United States and about the size of the state of Idaho . While most reservations are small compared to the average U.S. state, twelve Indian reservations are larger than the state of Rhode Island . The largest reservation, the Navajo Nation Reservation , is similar in size to the state of West Virginia . Reservations are unevenly distributed throughout the country, the majority being situated west of

21823-483: The tribe has the authority to modify tenant-in-common practices. With the General Allotment Act (Dawes) , 1887, the government sought to individualize tribal lands by authorizing allotments held in individual tenure. Generally, the allocation process led to grouping family holdings and, in some cases, this sustained pre-reservation clan or other patterns. There had been a few allotment programs ahead of

21980-630: The values and customs of white Americans was the best way for Japanese Americans to succeed both in and out of camp. Administrators sponsored patriotic activities and clubs, organized English classes for the Issei, encouraged young men to volunteer for the U.S. Army, and touted inmate self-government as an example of American democracy. "Good" inmates who toed the WRA line were rewarded, while "troublemakers" who protested their confinement and Issei elders who had been leaders in their prewar communities but found themselves stripped of this sway in camp were treated as

22137-449: Was a dud. Thirteen of the forty torpedoes hit battleships, while four hit other ships. Men aboard the ships awoke to the sounds of alarms, bombs exploding, and gunfire, prompting them to dress as they ran to General Quarters stations. (The famous message, "Air raid Pearl Harbor. This is not drill.", was sent from the headquarters of Patrol Wing Two, the first senior Hawaiian command to respond.) American servicemen were caught unprepared by

22294-596: Was considered unusual for him. Additionally, he actively sought more information about the war plans. According to an aide, he openly displayed happiness upon hearing about the success of the surprise attacks. By late 1941, many observers believed that hostilities between the United States and Japan were imminent. A Gallup poll just before the attack on Pearl Harbor found that 52% of Americans expected war with Japan, 27% did not, and 21% had no opinion. While American Pacific bases and facilities had been placed on alert on many occasions, officials doubted Pearl Harbor would be

22451-407: Was cut down by fragments from a bomb which hit Tennessee , moored alongside. The second planned wave consisted of 171 planes: 54 B5Ns, 81 D3As, and 36 A6Ms, commanded by Lieutenant-Commander Shigekazu Shimazaki . Four planes failed to launch because of technical difficulties. This wave and its targets also comprised three groups of planes: The second wave was divided into three groups. One

22608-428: Was deliberately beached to avoid risking blocking the harbor entrance if she sank there. California was hit by two bombs and two torpedoes. The crew might have kept her afloat, but were ordered to abandon ship just as they were raising power for the pumps. Burning oil from Arizona and West Virginia was drifted down toward her and probably made the situation look worse than it was. The disarmed target ship Utah

22765-602: Was difficult. Those fortunate enough to find a job worked long hours, usually in agricultural jobs. Resistance to camp guards and escape attempts were a low priority for most of the Japanese Americans held in the camps. Residents were more often concerned with the problems of day-to-day life: improving their often shoddily-constructed living quarters, getting an education, and, in some cases, preparing for eventual release. Many of those who were employed, particularly those with responsible or absorbing jobs, made these jobs

22922-470: Was established by Easton Treaty with the colonial governments of New Jersey and Pennsylvania on August 29, 1758. Located in southern New Jersey , it was called Brotherton Indian Reservation and also Edgepillock or Edgepelick . The area was 3,284 acres (13.29 km ). Today it is called Indian Mills in Shamong Township . In 1764 the British government's Board of Trade proposed

23079-413: Was holed by a torpedo. The light cruiser Honolulu was damaged but remained in service. The repair vessel Vestal , moored alongside Arizona , was heavily damaged and beached. The seaplane tender Curtiss was also damaged. The destroyer Shaw was badly damaged when two bombs penetrated her forward magazine. Of the 402 American aircraft in Hawaii, 188 were destroyed and 159 damaged, 155 of them on

23236-453: Was holed twice by torpedoes. West Virginia was hit by seven torpedoes, the seventh tearing away her rudder. Oklahoma was hit by four torpedoes, the last two above her belt armor , which caused her to capsize. Maryland was hit by two of the converted 16" shells, but neither caused serious damage. Although the Japanese concentrated on battleships (the largest vessels present), they did not ignore other targets. The light cruiser Helena

23393-451: Was initiated by John Collier . It laid out new rights for Native Americans, reversed some of the earlier privatization of their common holdings, and encouraged tribal sovereignty and land management by tribes. The act slowed the assignment of tribal lands to individual members and reduced the assignment of "extra" holdings to nonmembers. For the following 20 years, the U.S. government invested in infrastructure, health care, and education on

23550-513: Was made by Japan, but this was not Admiral Yamamoto's intention. He originally stipulated that the attack should not commence until thirty minutes after Japan had informed the United States that peace negotiations were at an end. However, the attack began before the notice could be delivered. Tokyo transmitted the 5000-word notification (commonly called the "14-Part Message") in two blocks to the Japanese Embassy in Washington. Transcribing

23707-666: Was made mandatory for all adults regardless of their eligibility for resettlement, would later spark protests across all ten camps.) At this point, the WRA began to shift its focus from managing the camps to overseeing resettlement. Field offices were established in Chicago, Salt Lake City and other hubs that had attracted Japanese American resettlers. Administrators worked with housing, employment and education sponsors in addition to social service agencies to provide assistance. Following Myer's directive to "assimilate" Japanese Americans into mainstream society, this network of WRA officials (and

23864-797: Was prepared to take opposing steps if "neighboring countries" were attacked. Japan and the United States engaged in negotiations during 1941, attempting to improve relations. In the course of these negotiations, Japan offered to withdraw from most of China and Indochina after making peace with the Nationalist government. It also proposed to adopt an independent interpretation of the Tripartite Pact and to refrain from trade discrimination, provided all other nations reciprocated. Washington rejected these proposals. Japanese Prime Minister Konoe then offered to meet with Roosevelt, but Roosevelt insisted on reaching an agreement before any meeting. The American ambassador to Japan repeatedly urged Roosevelt to accept

24021-488: Was reopened to Japanese Americans on January 2, 1945 (delayed against the wishes of Dillon Myer and others until after the November 1944 election, so as not to impede Roosevelt's reelection campaign). On July 13, 1945, Myer announced that all of the camps were to be closed between October 15 and December 15 of that year, except for Tule Lake, which held "renunciants" slated for deportation to Japan. (The vast majority of those who had renounced their U.S. citizenship later regretted

24178-629: Was tasked to attack Kāneʻohe, the rest Pearl Harbor proper. The separate sections arrived at the attack point almost simultaneously from several directions. Ninety minutes after it began, the attack was over. 2,008 sailors were killed and 710 others wounded; 218 soldiers and airmen (who were part of the Army prior to the independent United States Air Force in 1947) were killed and 364 wounded; 109 Marines were killed and 69 wounded; and 68 civilians were killed and 35 wounded. In total, 2,403 Americans were killed, and 1,178 were wounded. Eighteen ships were sunk or run aground, including five battleships. All of

24335-671: Was the Sioux War on the northern Great Plains , between 1876 and 1881, which included the Battle of Little Bighorn . Other famous wars in this regard included the Nez Perce War and the Modoc War , which marked the last conflict officially declared a war. By the late 1870s, the policy established by President Grant was regarded as a failure, primarily because it had resulted in some of the bloodiest wars between Native Americans and

24492-506: Was the only battleship that day to suffer catastrophic damage to her belt armor at the waterline from a torpedo. Admiral Chester Nimitz, in a report to Congress, confirmed that one midget submarine's torpedo (possibly from the other midget submarine that fired torpedoes but failed to hit a target) which was fired but did not explode was recovered in Pearl Harbor and was much larger than the aerial torpedoes. Others dispute this theory. The attack took place before any formal declaration of war

24649-438: Was torpedoed, and the concussion from the blast capsized the neighboring minelayer Oglala . Two destroyers in dry dock , Cassin and Downes , were destroyed when bombs penetrated their fuel bunkers . The leaking fuel caught fire; flooding the dry dock in an effort to fight fire made the burning oil rise, and both were burned out. Cassin slipped from her keel blocks and rolled against Downes . The light cruiser Raleigh

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