Adria Bukovsky

Mount Markham High School

abukovsky@mmcsd.org

Executive Order 9066:

Was it justified?

WebQuest

INTRODUCTION:

Following the bombing of Pearl Harbor and the US entry into WWII , President Roosevelt authorized the internment of tens of thousands of American citizens of Japanese ancestry and resident aliens from Japan. Roosevelt’s Executive Order 9066, dated February 19,1942, ordered the evacuation of all persons deemed a threat to national security from the West Coast to relocation centers further inland. In the next 6 months, over 100,000 men, women, and children of Japanese ancestry were moved to assembly centers. They were then evacuated to and confined in isolated, fenced, and guarded relocation centers, known as internment camps. This war-time measure uprooted entire communities. The decision was seen by proponents of the order as military necessity while opponents viewed it as racist and unconstitutional. Eventually The Supreme Court would decide in the case of Korematsu versus the United States.

TASK:

1. Utilizing the resources listed, you will research the issuing of executive order 9066 and its aftermath by completing the AHPPA steps.

2. You will take a position on this issue. Write a brief statement paper that highlights your agreement or disagreement with Executive Order 9066 and the decision of the Supreme Court in Korematsu versus the United States. This position will be supported with evidence gained from your primary source research.

PROCESS:

Defining the social problem In this step you are researching and analyzing documents that relate to the issuing of executive order 9066. Once you have analyzed the documents and information that apply to this section, complete the worksheet “Defining the Social Problem” by clicking on it above. Complete the worksheet and print out the completed copy.

2. Gathering the evidence of the problem In this step you are locating evidence that justifies that a problem existed with Japanese Americans and Japanese resident aliens. Once again, click on the gathering evidence link and complete the worksheet. Once the sheet is complete, print it to submit.

Determining the causes of the problem In this step, you will continue to determine the causes of the internment but you need to go further as well. Look at photos and documents that discuss the internment camps and discuss the problems associated with the camps as well as the rationale for placing these people in the camps in the first place.

Evaluating historical policies Lastly, read the decision of the Supreme Court in the case of Korematsu versus the United States. Complete the worksheet, evaluating historical policies by clicking on it above. Fill out and print the worksheet for evaluation.

5. Lastly, in a brief, one page position paper (500-1000 words), discuss whether or not you agree with the executive order 9066 and the Supreme Court’s decision. Your ideas must be supported by information you reviewed through the primary source documents.

RESOURCES

The following resources will be used to answer the questions for each worksheet. Preview the various primary sources. You need to analyze the documents and apply them to the steps listed above. Some sites may be used more than once.

http://www.infoplease.com/spot/internment1.html

http://americanhistory.about.com/cs/worldwarii/a/internment.htm

http://www.asianamericanmedia.org/jainternment/

http://www.history.army.mil/books/70-7_05.htm

http://www.archives.gov/index.html

For the above link, type Japanese internment into the search bar and go to the suggested link that is first listed

http://www.trumanlibrary.org/whistlestop/study_collections/japanese_internment/1941.htm

http://www.sfmuseum.org/hist10/relocbook.html

http://www.sfmuseum.org/war/evactxt.html

http://newton.uor.edu/Departments&Programs/AsianStudiesDept/asianam-intern.html

http://www.densho.org

EVALUATION:

Rubric: Worksheets

5	Ÿ Each worksheet is complete Ÿ Information is accurate and is based on documents Ÿ No spelling, grammatical or punctuation errors exist in work
4	Ÿ Each worksheet is complete Ÿ Most of the information is accurate; minor errors exist in the use of the documents Ÿ Minor spelling, grammatical and punctuation errors exist in work
3	Ÿ Most worksheets are complete or all are done with blanks Ÿ Some inaccuracies exist with the interpretation on the documents Ÿ Major spelling, grammatical or punctuation errors exist in work
2	Ÿ Most worksheets are incomplete Ÿ Many inaccuracies exist with the interpretation of the documents Ÿ Many major spelling, grammatical and punctuation errors exist in work
1	Ÿ All worksheets are incomplete and/or many are not done at all Ÿ Most to all of the documents are incorrectly interpreted Ÿ Spelling, grammar and punctuation are completely incorrect
0	Ÿ NO work is submitted

General Rubric: Response paper

5	Ÿ Superior in content with great use of detail and research (four to five primary resources are referred to in the paper) Ÿ Response is logical and valid based on interpretation of documents Ÿ No spelling, grammatical or punctuation errors exist in work
4	Ÿ Satisfactory in content with great use of detail and research (three documents are referred to in the paper) Ÿ Responses is logical and valid based of interpretation of documents Ÿ Minor spelling, grammatical and punctuation errors exist in work
3	Ÿ Needs work in content in use of detail and research (two documents are referred to in the paper) Ÿ Most of the responses are logical and valid Ÿ Major spelling, grammatical or punctuation errors exist in work
2	Ÿ Unsatisfactory in content with little use of detail and/or research (one document is referred to in the paper) Ÿ Most of the responses are invalid and illogical based one the documents Ÿ Many major spelling, grammatical and punctuation errors exist in work
1	Ÿ Poor in content with no use of detail and/or research (no reference to documents is made in the paper) Ÿ Responses are invalid and illogical Ÿ Spelling, grammar and punctuation are completely incorrect
0	Ÿ Work is unacceptable Ÿ No work submitted

Conclusion:

The goal of this web quest is for students to understand the rationale for the internment of Japanese Americans during World War II and to analyze the decision of the Supreme Court in the case of Korematsu versus the United States.

Standards

Social Studies

§ Standard 1: History of the United States and New York
Students will use a variety of intellectual skills to demonstrate their understanding of major ideas, eras, themes, developments, and turning points in the history of the United States and New York.

§ Standard 2: World History
Students will use a variety of intellectual skills to demonstrate
their understanding of major ideas, eras, themes, developments, and turning points in world history and examine the broad sweep of history from a variety of perspectives.

English Language Arts

§ Standard 1: Language for Information and Understanding

Students will listen, speak, read, and write for information and understanding. As listeners and readers, students will collect data, facts, and ideas; discover relationships, concepts, and generalizations; and use knowledge generated from oral, written, and electronically produced texts. As speakers and writers, they will use oral and written language that follows the accepted conventions of the English language to acquire, interpret, apply, and transmit information.

§ Standard 3: Language for Critical Analysis and Evaluation
Students will listen, speak, read, and write for critical analysis and evaluation. As listeners and readers, students will analyze experiences, ideas, information, and issues presented by others using a variety of established criteria. As speakers and writers, they will use oral and written language that follows the accepted conventions of the English language to present, from a
variety of perspectives, their opinions and judgments on experiences, ideas, information and issues.