Answer to Question #202036 in History for Steve

Question

FDR's Order 9066 authorized military authorities to exclude which civilians in Feb. 1942?

Answer 1

President Franklin D. Roosevelt issued executive order 9066 on February 19, 1942, launching a divisive World War II program with long-term ramifications for Japanese Americans. The directive mandated the deportation of resident "enemy immigrants" from sections of the West that were ostensibly designated as military zones. Following the Japanese bombing of Pearl Harbor in 1941, Roosevelt faced mounting pressure from military and political advisors to address the nation's fears of further Japanese attack or sabotage, particularly on the West Coast, where naval ports, commercial shipping, and agriculture were particularly vulnerable. Undefined military areas around West Coast towns, ports, and industrial and agricultural zones were included in the order's off-limits military areas. While Italian and German Americans were also detained under executive order 9066, Japanese Americans made up by far the biggest number of captives.