It all began with Pearl Harbor. A few months after the tragic events which took place at Pearl Harbor, President Franklin D. Roosevelt signed Executive order 9066. This acceded the Secretary of War to define the military areas in the western United States, as well as prohibit others that posed as a threat to war efforts.
The American Government forced Japanese Americans to relocate. All people of Japanese ancestry that lived on the west coast of the country were given only forty-eight hours to gather what they really needed and to make any decisions regarding their property.
The FBI had concerns regarding whether or not fishermen were making contact with enemy ships off the coast of the United…show more content… It held more than 10,000 Japanese Americans. The barracks that the people lived in were overcrowded and overall unbearable. The bathrooms had barely any privacy, and the sewage systems easily became backed up or did not work at all.
Manzanar had 504 barracks that made up 36 blocks. Each block consisted of 14 barracks that were divided into 4 rooms and each block had between 200 and 400 people. Rooms were given to a combination of eight people, who were appointed a 20-by-25 room. Every room had an oil stove, a single hanging light bulb, cots, blankets, and mattresses filled with straw.
Internees had to bear the weather too. Manzanar was in the desert, so temperatures in the summer could get as high as 110 degrees fahrenheit and during the winter it was common to get temperatures below freezing.
After year passed, the internees became familiar and more comfortable with the living conditions of Manzanar. They always tried to stay positive by making the best out of a bad situation. They were able to start recreational programs and even churches and…show more content… This brings about tension among families, which in turn, tears them apart. Some people disapprove serving if their family is still behind barbed wire. However, for the internees that responded with a "yes" became eligible for unconfined leave outside of the West Coast military areas. Those that answered "no" would be sent to a segregation center in Tule Lake, California.
Today, parts of the old Manzanar camp still remain. It is known that 146 of the internees died during the three and a half years it was active. Fifteen of those 146 were buried there, but only five graves still remain, as the others were relocated and buried by their families. The Manzanar cemetery still remains today.
When Manzanar was closed by the War Relocation Authority on November 21, 1945 after World War II ended, it was the sixth camp to be closed down. The internees were ordered to leave Manzanar, so they became free to travel on their own. The WRA gave each person $25, one-way train or bus fare, and a meal to those who had less than $600. Even though a lot of the internees left voluntarily, there were still some that could not because they did not have anywhere to go. If they still refused to leave they would be forcibly removed once again, only this time it was from
