Document 4
… the entire nation was stunned by the japanese attack on pearl harbor, but it seemed much
closer to home on the west coast than elsewhere on the mainland. in february 1942, oil
installations in the vicinity of santa barbara were shelled by a japanese submarine. the military
established a western defense command, which consisted of the coastal portions of california,
oregon, and washington.
residents became fearful of ethnic japanese among them. japanese immigrants had begun
to settle on the west coast shortly before the turn of the century but had not been assimilated
into the rest of the population. those who had emigrated from japan were not allowed to
become citizens; they were prohibited by law from owning land and were socially segregated in
many ways. the first generation of japanese immigrants—the issei—therefore remained aliens.
but their children—the nisei—being born in the united states, were citizens from birth. public
officials, particularly in california—governor culbert olson, attorney general earl warren,
and los angeles mayor fletcher bowron—began to call for “relocation” of persons of japanese
ancestry in the interior of the country. there were more than one hundred thousand of these on
the west coast if one counted both the issei and the nisei.…
source: william h. rehnquist, all the laws but one: civil liberties in wartime, vintage books, 1998
according to william h. rehnquist, what is one reason public officials in california called for the relocation
of japanese americans?