WESTERN DEFENSE COMMAND AND FOURTH ARMY WARTIME CIVIL CONTROL ADMINISTRATION

Presidio of San Francisco, California

May 3, 1942

INSTRUCTIONS

TO ALL PERSONS OF

ANCESTRY

Living in the Following Area:

Pursuant to the provisions of Civilian Exclusion Order No. 33, this Headquarters, dated May 3, 1942, all persons of Japanese ancestry, both alien and non-alien, will be evacuated from the above area by 12 o'clock noon, P. W. T., Saturday, May 9, 1942.

No Japanese person living in the above area will be permitted to change residence after 12 o'clock noon. P.W.T., Sunday, May 3, 1942, without obtaining special permission from the representative of the Commanding General, Southern California Sector, at the Civil Control Station located at:

Japanese Union Church,

120 North San Pedro Street,

Los Angeles, California.

Such permits will only be granted for the purpose of uniting members of a family, or in cases of grave emergency.

The Civil Control Station is equipped to assist the Japanese population affected by this evacuation in the following ways:

1. Give advice and instructions on the evacuation.

2. Provide services with respect to the management, leasing, sale, storage or other disposition of most kinds of property, such as real estate, business and professional equipment household goods, boats, automobiles and livestock.

3. Provide temporary residence elsewhere for all Japanese in family groups.

4. Transport persons and a limited amount of clothing and equipment to their new residence.

1. A responsible member of each family, preferably the head of the family, or the person in whose name most of the property is held, and each individual living alone, will report to the Civil Control Station to receive further instructions. This must be done between 8:00 A.M. and 5:00 P.M. on Monday, May 4, 1942, or between 8:00 A.M. and 5:00 P.M. on Tuesday, May 5, 1942.

2. Evacuees must carry with them on departure for the Assembly Center, the following property:

(a) Bedding and linens (no mattress) for each member of the family;

(b) Toilet articles for each member of the family;

(c) Extra clothing for each member of the family;

(d) Sufficient knives, forks, spoons, plates, bowls and cups for each member of the family;

(e) Essential personal effects for each member of the family.

All items carried will be securely packaged, tied and plainly marked with the name of the owner and numbered in accordance with instructions obtained at the Civil Control Station. The size and number of packages is limited to that which can be carried by the individual or family group.

3. No pets of any kind will be permitted.

4. No personal items and no household goods will be shipped to the Assembly Center.

5. The United States Government through its agencies will provide for the storage, at the sole risk of the owner, of the more substantial household items, such as iceboxes, washing machines, pianos and other heavy furniture. Cooking utensils and other small items will be accepted for storage if crated, packed and plainly marked with the name and address of the owner. Only one name and address will be used by a given family.

6. Each family, and individual living alone will be furnished transportation to the Assembly Center or will be authorized to travel by private automobile in a supervised group. All instructions pertaining to the movement will be obtained at the Civil Control Station.

J. L. DeWitt

Lieutenant General, U.S. Army

Commanding

SEE CIVILIAN EXCLUSION ORDER NO. 33.

Resolving the problem of Japanese exclusion during World War II

Date: Summer of 1942

Place: United States Congress

Legislative hearings are held by committees of the United States Congress and other legislative bodies to gather information upon which to base recommendations regarding subjects regulated by law or for which laws are being considered. These hearings are a basic function of legislative branches of government. Role playing a legislative hearing provides participants an opportunity to gain an increased understanding of the purposes and procedures of such hearings and the roles and responsibilities of committee members. Participants also gain experience in identifying and clarifying the ideas, interests, and values associated with the subject being discussed by the legislative hearing.

Conduct the legislative hearing using the following procedures:

• The committee chairperson calls the legislative hearing to order, announces the purpose of the hearing, and calls the witnesses to testify.
• Witnesses are called and permitted a set amount of time to present an opening statement, which is followed by questions from members of the committee. The chairperson is the first to question the witness, followed by each of the other members of the committee. A committee member may interrupt to ask a question or make a comment at any time during the proceedings. The following time limits are suggested from two to five minutes for a witness's opening statement and from five to ten minutes for a legislator's questioning.
• After the witnesses have been heard, members of the committee review the testimony, discuss the problem, and make recommendations, or decide what their next step shall be.

Each student who has been assigned the role of a legislator will become completely familiar with the legislator's platform. The legislators will not make a formal statement, but will ask questions of witnesses, make comments, and determine policy based on this platform.

The following legislators will form the committee: (Students should insert their own names)

Legislator 1: Name: ______________________________

Platform: Persons of Japanese descent should be excluded from any area of the Untied States that is in danger of invasion from Japan. There is a legitimate concern that there may be disloyal members of the Japanese American population who will commit acts of espionage and sabotage. There is no time to determine precisely who is loyal and who is not and in extreme situations such as war, extreme measures such as exclusion become necessary.

Legislator 2: Name: ______________________________

Platform: The war power of the United States allows the government to do what it must to wage war successfully. In time of war with Japan, there is a legitimate need to confine Japanese Americans to help achieve an American victory, and such an exercise of the war power does not violate the constitutional rights of Japanese American citizens.

Legislator 3: Name: ______________________________

Platform: Internment centers are akin to military prisons and this policy places American citizens in military prisons based on their Japanese ancestry without evidence of actual disloyalty.

Legislator 4: Name: ______________________________

Platform: The confinement of American citizens of Japanese ancestry deprives them of their constitutional right to live and work where they want and to move about freely. There is no evidence that Americans who are of Japanese descent present an immediate threat to the country. This is an example of racism, pure and simple.

Legislator 5: Name: ______________________________

Platform: Japanese Americans do not pose any more of a threat to a nation at war with Japan, than German Americans or Italian Americans do to a nation also at war with Germany and Italy. The policy of confinement has only been followed with respect to American citizens who happen to be born to Japanese parents. This is nothing more than an unconstitutional policy of discrimination based on race.

Legislator 6: Chairperson, Name: ______________________________

Platform: There is a legitimate need to protect the nation from invasion by Japan and some Japanese may be sympathetic to their native land, possibly leading to espionage and sabotage. However, American citizens of Japanese descent who have never shown disloyalty are just as American as anyone else with the same constitutional rights. The government must be careful not to violate their rights as citizens.