Explore Manzanar National Historic Site: A Deep Dive into History
In 1942, President Franklin D. Roosevelt signed Executive Order 9066, authorizing the Secretary of War to create “Military Areas.” Consequently, anyone perceived to threaten the war effort was removed. Without any due process and given only days to decide on their homes, businesses, and possessions, all individuals of Japanese ancestry residing on the West Coast were forcibly relocated to “internment camps.” Notably, Manzanar in California was one of ten such camps established in the western United States, where over 10,000 Japanese Americans lived until the war’s conclusion in 1945.