Jap hunts: Difference between revisions

Revision as of 20:52, 16 May 2010

Revision as of 20:53, 16 May 2010

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After the [[Pearl Harbor]] attacks, much anti-Japanese paraphernalia and propaganda surfaced in the United States. An example of this was the so-called "'''Jap hunting''' license", a faux-official document, button or medallion that purported to authorize "open season" on "hunting" the Japanese, despite the fact that over a quarter of a million Americans at that time were of Japanese origin. Some reminded holders that there was "no limit" on the number of "[[Jap]]s" they could "hunt or trap". These "licenses" often characterized Japanese people as sub-human. Many of the “Jap Hunting Licenses”, for example, depicted the Japanese in animalistic fashion.<ref>Boggs, Jeremy. Open Season. 06 Mar. 2004. 15 Oct. 2007. <http://clioweb.org/openseason/index.html></ref>

The[[Imperial JapaneseJapan]]'s [[attack on Pearl Harbor]] on December 7, 1941 plunged the United States into war and planted the notion of Japanese treachery in the minds of Americans. The hysteria that enveloped the West Coast during the early months of the war, combined with long standing anti-Asian prejudices, set the stage for what was to come.<ref>A More Perfect Union. 1990-2001. 15 Oct. 2007. <http://americanhistory.si.edu/perfectunion/non-flash/removal_crisis.html></ref>

[[Executive Order 9066]] authorized the military to exclude any person from any area of the country where national security was considered threatened. It gave the military broad authority over the civilian population without the imposition of [[martial law]]. Although the order did not mention any specific group or recommend detention, its language implied that any citizen might be removed. In practice, the order was applied almost exclusively to [[Japanese American]]s and Japanese nationals, with only few Italian and German Americans suffering similar fates. Ultimately, approximately 110,000 [[Japanese people|Japanese nationals]] and Japanese Americans were interned in housing facilities called "[[Japanese American internment|War Relocation Camps]]".<ref>[http://www.nps.gov/manz/ Manzanar National Historic Site (U.S. National Park Service)]</ref><ref name=howmany>Various primary and secondary sources list counts between 110,000 and 120,000 persons.</ref>