In spring of 1942, immediately after the United States entered war with Japan, the
Federal government instructed a policy where hundreds of thousands of people of
Japanese ancestry were evacuated into relocation camps. Many agree that the United
States government was not justified with their treatment towards the Japanese during
World War II. This Japanese-American experience of incarceration is believed to be
unconstitutional, demonstrating racism and causing social and economic hardships for the
evacuees. The location of one of the camps in California, Manzanar, "was representative
of the atmosphere of racial prejudice, mistrust, and fear, that resulted in American
citizens being uprooted from their homes, denied their constitutional rights, and with
neither accusation, indictment, nor conviction, moved to remote relocation camps for
most of the duration of the war" (Daniels et al., 1986, p.148).
As the Japanese people were being removed from the West Coast, it was obvious
that some economic loss would occur. "In a movement of this kind...it was probably
inevitable that some mistakes would be made and that some people would suffer" (qtd. In
Daniels et al., 1986, p.163). After the bombing of Pearl Harbor, the Japanese lost a lot of
money and personal property through forced, panic sales. Failure to protect the property
of aliens by the Department of Justice, during their evacuation, resulted in distress and
The evacuees were required to signed a property form stating that "no liability or
responsibility shall be assumed by the Federal Reserve Bank...for any act or omission in
connection with its [the property's] disposition" (qtd. In Thomas, 1946, p. 15). This
policy encouraged the liquidation of property and led many Japanese merchants and
businessmen to sell their property at ridiculous prices or to place them in storage at thei...