Process Paper
When I was looking for a topic for National History Day, I asked my teacher for a list of ideas. On that list was the topic of Japanese Americans who had been denied their Constitutional rights and imprisoned during World War II. The topic interested me because I wanted to do something related to World War II era. I learned that the Japanese American Internment camps had happened during that time period.
To research my topic, I started with the Internet. I found a number of websites that told about the Japanese Americans who had been imprisoned. To find people who had been in the camps, I looked for websites that talked about people who had given recent speeches about it. I was able to write to about ten people who had been in the camps and four wrote back to me. I found many primary sources such as photographs, documents, and videos from that time. I found secondary materials from my school library and the National Park Service.
To put my project together, I organized my web page around the theme words, home page, background, and conclusion. I wrote down the text I wanted to include. Next, I found a number of pictures or photographs to add to my web page. I also added videos to my website. I included a page of quotes from the letters that I had received. I was able to locate videos of two of the people who wrote to me and I included that.
My project goes with the theme of "Rights and Responsibilities" in several ways. The Japanese Americans who were interned were never given the right to a trial before being imprisoned. This right was guaranteed by the Constitution. President Franklin Roosevelt felt it was his responsibility as president during war time to prevent any possibility of espionage or sabotage. As a result of that responsibility and long held prejudices, thousands were denied their basic rights. This denial of rights in time of war is still the law of the land. It is still possible that people might be sent to prison because of their race not because of anything they had done.
To research my topic, I started with the Internet. I found a number of websites that told about the Japanese Americans who had been imprisoned. To find people who had been in the camps, I looked for websites that talked about people who had given recent speeches about it. I was able to write to about ten people who had been in the camps and four wrote back to me. I found many primary sources such as photographs, documents, and videos from that time. I found secondary materials from my school library and the National Park Service.
To put my project together, I organized my web page around the theme words, home page, background, and conclusion. I wrote down the text I wanted to include. Next, I found a number of pictures or photographs to add to my web page. I also added videos to my website. I included a page of quotes from the letters that I had received. I was able to locate videos of two of the people who wrote to me and I included that.
My project goes with the theme of "Rights and Responsibilities" in several ways. The Japanese Americans who were interned were never given the right to a trial before being imprisoned. This right was guaranteed by the Constitution. President Franklin Roosevelt felt it was his responsibility as president during war time to prevent any possibility of espionage or sabotage. As a result of that responsibility and long held prejudices, thousands were denied their basic rights. This denial of rights in time of war is still the law of the land. It is still possible that people might be sent to prison because of their race not because of anything they had done.
Bibliography
Primary Adams, Ansel. "Photographs of Japanese-Internment at Manzanar," American Memory Library of Congress. 1943. Online at: http://www.loc.gov/pictures/collection/manz/. Accessed 24 January 2014. I used his photographs on my website. "Chinese American Cartoon," Library of Congress. Online: http://loc.gov. Accessed 24 January 2014. I used a cartoon that showed a man beating up someone from Japan or China. I put it on my background webpage to show the discrimination that Japanese faced in the United States. "Clear Them Out," Delta Democrat Times. (Greenville, Mississippi) 20 February 1942. p. 2. I used this article to show why some people wanted the Japanese Americans to be sent to the camps. It explained the fear people had of the Japanese Americans. Executive Order 9066, February 19, 1942; General Records of the Unites States Government; Record Group 11; National Archives. This was the order that President Franklin Roosevelt gave that forced Japanese Americans on the west coast to go into prison camps. I used a copy of the document on my website. Ishino, Florence and Margaret. "Letter to Miss Breed," Smithsonian Institute. 1942. Online: http://www.smithsonianeducation.org/educators/lesson_plans/japanese_internment/. Accessed: 23 October 2013. This letter told about life in the camp. Miss Breed was a librarian who sent books to children who were in the camp. They wrote back to her and shared what their life was like. This helped me understand what it was like to be a young person in the camps. Iwata, Jack. "Photographs of Manzanar and Tule Lake Concentration Camps between 1942 and 1945." ca. 1942-1942. Japanese American National Museum. Online: http://www.janm.org/collections/jack-iwata-collection. Accessed 24 January 2014. I used many of his photographs on my website including in a time line. Kanaya,Enoch. Letter to Author Dec. 17, 2013. I got this letter from Mr. Kanaya. I used a quote and a video from him to show a first hand account of what happened to people when they were in camp. Lippmann, Walter. "The Fifth Column," Moneseen Daily Independent," (Monessen, Pennsylvania) 13 February 1942 p. 4. I used this column on the webpage to show the different point of view some people had about the actions Japanese Americans might do to help Japan. I learned that the "Fifth Column" meant someone who was a citizen who would help the enemy. Matsuzaki, Roy. Letter To Author. 17 December 2013. Mr. Matsuzaki answered my questions about what conditions at the camp were like. He told me that it was like living somewhere without a country. I used part of his letter on my website. Museum of Broadcast Communications. Noonbreak: Pearl Harbor From Discovery Education.1978 . http://www.discoveryeducation.com/ (accessed 30 January 2014). This is a video that was made in 1942 by the United States government about why Japanese Americans were sent to prison camps. I think it is primary because it was made at the time of the Relocation Camps and it was not edited. "Photograph of Attack on Pearl Harbor," History. 7 December 1942. Available online at: http://history.com. Accessed 24 January 2014. I used this photograph from Pearl Harbor. I think it is primary because it is a real photograph from the attack and hasn't been changed. "Photograph of Manzanar Camp," Smithsonian Institute. 1943. Online at: http://si.org. Accessed 2 December 2013. I used photographs and captions from this website for my slideshow on my website. "Photographs of Relocation Camps," How Stuff Works. Online at: history.howstuffworks. com. 2013. Accessed: 24 January 2014. I used a photograph from this collection on my webpage. "Round Up Of Enemy Aliens," Abilene Reporter News. (Abilene, Texas) 1 February 1942 p. 42. I used this letter on my webpage to show how fear made people want to 'round up' the Japanese Americans. I put a quote from this on the "Government's Responsibility?" page. Sugimoto, Tak. Letter to Author, Dec. 19, 2013. I had written to Dr. Tak Sugimoto. He wrote back to me and told me about how he felt about having been sent to camp. I used a quote from his letter on my 'impact' page. "U.S. President Ronald Reagan signing the Japanese reparations bill in Washington, DC on August 10, 1988." (Ronald Reagan Library). I used this photograph on my conclusion page. Ronald Reagan signed a bill that gave $20,000 to each Japanese American who had been sent to prison camps. War Relocation Authority Photographs of Japanese-American Evacuation and Resettlement, WRA No. A-36, The Bancroft Library, University of California, Berkeley. I used this photograph of the newspaper headlines on my impact page. Yasutake, Joe. Letter To Author. 6 February 2014. Mr. Yasutake wrote me a long letter and answered my questions. He was imprisoned at Minidoka Camp and Crystal City in Texas. I couldn't believe he was in seven different schools in elementary because of the imprisonment. I used a quote from him on my "Loss of Rights" page. Yoshimura,Kiro. Letter to Author Jan. 11, 2014. I received a letter from Mrs. Yoshimura. She told me about what life was like for her in the camp. I used a quote from her letter on my webpage. Secondary "Executive Order 9066: The President Authorizes Japanese Reloction," History Matters. Online at: http://historymatters.gmu.edu/d/5154. 2013. Accessed 12 December 2013. The article explained why Roosevelt authorized Executive Order 9066. I learned that not only Japanese Americans were sent to prisons but German and Italian Americans were as well. I used this on my webpage. "Japan-American Internment," America In the Second World War. 2013. Online at: http://www.ushistory.org/us/51easp. Accessed 1 October 2013. I read about the number of Japanese Americans who were imprisoned and the relocation camps. It gave me the facts about how many camps there were. "Japanese and Chinese Immigrants Drawing." Smithsonian Institute. Online: http://smithsonian.com. Accessed 21 January 2014. I used a copy of this drawing on my background page to show the immigrants who came from Japan in the mid 1860's. Manzanar Committee. "Reflections: A Three Self-Guided Tour of Manzanar." 1998. I used this book to learn more about one camp, Manzanar. I found out about the court cases and life in the camp. I used this information on my webpage. National Asian American Telecommunicataions Association. Overview, Exploring Japanese American Internment. Online: http://caamedia.org/jainternment/ww2/index.html. Accessed 1 October 2013. I found out that over two thirds of those sent to prison were American citizens. I used this information on my website. On another webpage I learned about the prejudice against Japanese and Chinese. I put that information on the 'background' webpage. National Public Radio. "Map of Ten Camps," Available online at: npr.org. Accessed 2 December 2013. I used a map of the ten camps on my website to show where they were located. Okawa, Gail. Letter to Authors. 24 January 2014. I wrote to Dr. Okawa. He told me about what had happened to his father and family when they were sent to the Japanese Internment Camps. This helped me have a first hand view. OnDeck Home Entertainment. Profiles of Courage, Controversy, and Sacrifice: World War II: Homefront USA From Discovery Education. Full Video. 2003 . http://www.discovery education.com/ (accessed 30 January 2014). I used a clip from this video on my webpage. "Photograph of 442nd Infantry," Japanese American Museum. 2013. Online: http://jamn.org. Accessed 24 January 2014. I used a photograph this on the 'impact' webpage. "Photograph of Franklin D.Roosevelt," History. Online: http://history.com. Accessed 24 January 2014. I used the photograph of President Roosevelt on my webpage about Executive Order #9066. "Photograph of Santa Anita Relocation Camp," Military History. 1942. Online at: http://militaryhistory.com. Accessed 1 October 2013. I used this photograph on my 'camp' webpage to show the temporary centers. The Story of the 442nd Combat Team, Composed of: 442nd Infantry Regiment, 522nd Field Artillery Battalion, 232nd Combat Engineer Company, 1945. I used this chart on my website to show how many men were killed from the two units of Japanese Americans. This was on my impact page. Summer Productions. TLC Elementary School: American Values in Conflict From Discovery Education. 2006. Online at: http://www.discoveryeducation.com/ (accessed 30 January 2014). I used part of this video clip on my home page. Summer Productions. TLC Elementary School: American Values in Conflict From Discovery Education. 2006 . http://www.discoveryeducation.com/ (accessed 1 February 2014). I used part of this video clip on my website. |