User:Papilio Charontis/Internment of Japanese Americans
As the Internment of Japanese Americans wiki page is already at B class status, I won't be intending to make too many giant changes to the entire article, but will rather focus on the farming aspects in the camps. Specific additions, such as what I already added into the WRA Relocation Centers subsection about Tule Lake, will be my main bread-and-butter.
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Article Draft[edit]
Lead[edit]
Japanese Internment Camps in the United States were not the same as the extermination camps simultaneously seen in Europe during the mid 40's, but rather, the internment camps were America's answer to the security breach that had been suffered due to the attack on Pearl Harbor in 1941. The internment camps were utilized primarily as containment centers, but each one of them had a farm within it, and many Japanese-Americans worked in those fields, in forced collaboration with the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA)[1]. It is said that many camps were placed in specific spots in order to maximize their agricultural potential, a direct benefit that would be producing at the offset of the Second World War[1].
Article body[edit]
These are the sections I added to. I bolded the part I specifically contributed to, down below.
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WRA Relocation Centers[edit]
| Name | State | Opened | Max. Pop'n |
|---|---|---|---|
| Manzanar | California | March 1942 | 10,046 |
| Tule Lake | California | May 1942 | 18,789 |
| Poston | Arizona | May 1942 | 17,814 |
| Gila River | Arizona | July 1942 | 13,348 |
| Granada | Colorado | August 1942 | 7,318 |
| Heart Mountain | Wyoming | August 1942 | 10,767 |
| Minidoka | Idaho | August 1942 | 9,397 |
| Topaz | Utah | September 1942 | 8,130 |
| Rohwer | Arkansas | September 1942 | 8,475 |
| Jerome | Arkansas | October 1942 | 8,497 |
The War Relocation Authority (WRA) was the U.S. civilian agency responsible for the relocation and detention. The WRA was created by President Roosevelt on March 18, 1942, with Executive Order 9102 and it officially ceased to exist on June 30, 1946. Milton S. Eisenhower, then an official of the Department of Agriculture, was chosen to head the WRA. In the 1943 US Government film Japanese Relocation he said, "This picture tells how the mass migration was accomplished. Neither the Army, not the War Relocation Authority relish the idea of taking men, women and children from their homes, their shops and their farms. So, the military and civilian agencies alike, determined to do the job as a democracy should—with real consideration for the people involved." Dillon S. Myer replaced Eisenhower three months later on June 17, 1942. Myer served as Director of the WRA until the centers were closed. Within nine months, the WRA had opened ten facilities in seven states, and transferred over 100,000 people from the WCCA facilities.
The WRA camp at Tule Lake was integral to food production in its own camp, as well as other camps. Almost 30 crops were harvested at this site by farmworkers. Despite this, Tule Lake's camp was eventually used as a detention center for people believed to pose a security risk. Tule Lake also served as a "segregation center" for individuals and families who were deemed "disloyal", and for those who were to be deported to Japan.
Conditions in the camps (following the intro, medical care, education, and sports)[edit]
Tule Lake Agricultural Program[edit]
The Tule Lake agricultural program was constructed with the purpose of growing crops in order to feed both internees in their camp and in the other camps. It is said that any extras would be sold on the open market. The agricultural program was a way for internees to be employed while at the center, as well as a way for some to learn farming skills. A 4-H program was established to pave a way for children to help the agricultural process at the center. From 1942 through 1945, Tule Lake produced 29 different crops, including Japanese vegetables like daikon, gobo, and nappa.[2]
References[edit]
- Morehouse, Lisa. "Farming Behind Barbed Wire: Japanese-Americans Remember WWII Incarceration." NPR. 2017.https://www.npr.org/sections/thesalt/2017/02/19/515822019/farming-behind-barbed-wire-japanese-americans-remember-wwii-incarceration
- ^ a b Morehouse, Lisa (2017-02-19). "Farming Behind Barbed Wire: Japanese-Americans Remember WWII Incarceration". NPR. Retrieved 2021-09-30.
- ^ Lillquist, Karl. "Imprisoned in the Desert: The Geography of World War II-Era, Japanese American Relocation Centers in the Western United States" (PDF).
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2. Lillquist, Karl. "Imprisoned in the Desert: The Geography of World War II-Era, Japanese American Relocation Centers in the Western United States" (PDF). Central Washington University. 2007. https://www.cwu.edu/geography/sites/cts.cwu.edu.geography/files/chapter6tulelake.pdf Central Washington University. Retrieved 2021-11-24.
Instructor feedback[edit]
Needs more content! Please work with the sources I suggested to flesh out your contributions. I suggest adding a "Food production" or "Diet and food production" section as a sub-section under "Conditions in Camps." Saguaro23 (talk) 19:56, 21 October 2021 (UTC)