Executive Order 9066

Content Warning: Some of the source material referred to in this guide uses outdated, offensive terms for Japanese people, which is replicated in this guide only in direct quotes of the source material.



“[I]ll-advised, unnecessary and unnecessarily cruel.” (Francis Biddle)

US Attorney General Francis Biddle was one of the voices opposing the Japanese American internment proposal in early meetings, during which he denounced them as both “ill-advised” and “unnecessarily cruel.” Although strongly against internment, Biddle ceased opposition after Roosevelt signed Order 9066. He later regretted this decision, as expressed in his memoirs.

“A Jap’s a Jap. They are a dangerous element, whether loyal or not.” (John DeWitt)

This quote is from DeWitt’s testimony before the House Naval Affairs Subcommittee. DeWitt argued that Japanese Americans had deeper ties to their ancestral homeland than to their adopted country and that, if forced, would side with Japan against the United States—a view shared by a number of other military and government leaders that led Roosevelt to order Japanese American internment.

“[T]he great mass of our people, stemming from these various national ties, must not feel that they have suddenly ceased to be Americans.” (Eleanor Roosevelt)

The First Lady of the United States in her syndicated column, “My Day,” urged Americans at large not to turn against Japanese, German, and Italian Americans—representing the three countries with which the US was at war. The First Lady was a prominent voice speaking out against nativist prejudice during the war. She was, however, torn between this stance and her need to avoid publicly disagreeing with her husband’s policies, including Order 9066.