What are Primary Sources?
Primary sources - "provide first-hand testimony or direct evidence concerning a topic under investigation. They are created by witnesses or recorders who experienced the events or conditions being documented. Often these sources are created at the time when the events or conditions are occuring, but primary sources can also include autobiographies, memoirs, and oral histories recorded later. Primary sources are characterized by their content, regardless of whether they are available in original format, in microfilm/microfiche, in digital format, or in published format."
- A definition from Yale University Libraries
Selected Primary Sources on Japanese Internment
- USC Digital Library - Japanese American Relocation Digital Archive, 1941-1946This collection of photographs from the Hearst Collection of the Los Angeles Examiner in the USC Regional History Collection, documents the incarceration of Japanese Americans in California during World War II.
- Japanese American resettlement through the lens : Hikaru Carl Iwasaki and the WRA's Photographic Section, 1943-1945With substantive focus on resettlement--and in particular Iwasaki's photos of Japanese Americans following their release from WRA camps from 1943 to 1945--Hirabayashi explores the WRA's use of photography in its mission not only to encourage "loyal" Japanese Americans to return to society at large as quickly as possible but also to convince Euro-Americans this was safe and advantageous.
- Curtis B. Munson ReportMunson's report on the Pearl Harbor attack investigates the loyalty of Japanese Americans. His report concluded that Japanese Americans are loyal and would pose little threat.
- Executive Order 9066"Issued by President Franklin Roosevelt on February 19, 1942, this order authorized the evacuation of all persons deemed a threat to national security from the West Coast to relocation centers further inland."
- "To All Persons of Japanese Ancestry"Instructions outlining Civilian Exclusion Order No. 34. Mandatory evauation of Japanese Americans living in Alameda county California.
- Hirabayashi v. United StatesFull-text of case from LexisNexis. To learn more about this case see essay in Great American Course Cases.
- Korematsu v. United StatesFull-text of case from LexisNexis. To learn more about this case see essay in Great American Course Cases.
- Proclamation 4417February 19, 1976. President Gerald Ford rescinding Executive Order 9066.
- Civil Liberties Act of 1988Federal Law granted reparations to Japanese-Americans who had been interned by the United States government during World War II.
- Civil Liberties Act Amendments of 1992Amends the Civil Liberties Act of 1988 to increase the authorization of appropriations to the Civil Liberties Public Education Fund. Includes non-Japanese spouses and parents of an individual of Japanese ancestry in the definition of the term "of Japanese ancestry" for purposes of redress eligibility.
- George Bush's Statement on Signing the Civil Liberties Act Amendments of 1992This legislation fulfills the commitment that this country made in 1988 to individuals of Japanese ancestry who were interned or relocated during World War II, and to their families.
Articles from the Time Period
- New York Times Historical Archive (up to three years before the current date)The Times has covered important national events as the country's "newspaper of record" since 1851.
Sample Search: Japanese and ("war relocation centers" or WRA) - Times Digital ArchiveThe Times of London, 1785-2009
- Ethnic NewsWatch (1959 to the present)Newspaper, magazine and journal articles from ethnic, minority, and native presses. You can select "Asian/Pacific Islander" from the "Ethnic Group" drop-down menu to narrow your search.
- Selected Articles from the San Francisco News - 1942From the Virtual Museum of the City of San Francisco.
Government Documents
- Nexis UniSearch to find "Federal & State Cases" in full-text.
- Congressional PublicationsProvides access to information about the work of the U.S. Congress. Includes hearing transcripts, committee reports, bills, committee prints, the Congressional Record, the Federal Register, the Code of Federal Regulations, and public laws. Can also be used to search for presidential papers.
Tip: Try a Basic search using the search terms Japanese and (relocation or evacuation)
Oral Histories, Videos & Images
- A More Perfect Union: Japanese Americans & The US ConstitutionOnline exhibit created by the Smithsonian allows visitors to experience Japanese American internment through interactive galleries, music, text and first person accounts.
- Ansel Adam's Photographs of Japanese American InternmentFrom the Library of Congress. In 1943 Adams doucmented the Manzanar War Relocation Center in California.
- Densho Digital Archive: The Japanese American Legacy ProjectThe Densho Digital Archive holds nearly 400 visual histories (800 hours of recorded video interviews) and over 10,000 historic photos, documents, and newspapers. Register for a free account to search the archive (takes 1-2 business days), or view selected videos, images and more in their online Learning Center.
- Japanese American National Museum: Collections OnlineBrowse or search several documents and photographs from the museum's permanent collection. Collections include visual and written diaries as well as photographs documenting time spent in internment.
- Japanese Relocation and Internment During World War IIA collection of primary source documents available from the United States National Archives. Also a listing of related websites.
- JARDA: Japanese American Relocation Digital ArchivesPersonal and official documents, transcribed oral histories, and works of art bring viewers inside the Japanese-American internment experience during World War II. Part of University of California's Calisphere.
- The Family Album ProjectShow pictures from the daily lives of the internees, in both the Canadian and American camps. This exhibition was curated by Professor Masumi Hayashi and exhibited at the Cleveland State University Art Gallery in Cleveland, Ohio, in March/April 1996.