ericans who resided in Hawaii were not treated as poorly as those on the mainland. About a third of the Hawaiian population was of Japanese descent when Pearl Harbor was attacked, yet only one percent of Hawaiian Japanese-Americans were detained (Sandler 271) Perhaps this was a coincidence, but there is clearly reason to believe that internment was not militarily motivated. Instead, evidence supports the notion that discrimination in the western United States was a major reason for Japanese internment. It seems odd that Japanese-Americans along the East Coast and Hawaii were not targeted; this further suggests that the racist ideology of the Western sector of the United States led to the development of internment camps.
             In Executive Order No. 9066, the United States' government argued that internment camps were necessary for military purposes: "war requires every possible protection against espionage and against sabotage to national-defense material, national-defense premises, and national-defense utilities" (The Executive Order). A direct quotation from the bill helps us understand Roosevelt's perspective: I hereby authorize and direct the Secretary of War, and the Military Commanders whom he may from time to time designate, whenever he or any designated Commander deems such actions necessary or desirable, to prescribe military areas in such places and of such extent as he or the appropriate Military Commander may determine, from which any or all persons may be excluded, and with such respect to which, the right of any person to enter, remain in, or leave shall be subject to whatever restrictions the Secretary of War or the appropriate Military Commander may impose in his discretion (The Executive Order). The wording of this order gave military officials the power to detain any Japanese-American at their discretion. Racial preferences, biases, and discrimination easily became enough justification fo
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