Baseball Saved Us Book Backdrop DBQ

Baseball Saved Us Book Back Drop
DBQ: Japanese Internment Camps-

discrimination or protection for
Americans?

11
th
Grade U.S. History

Topic: Ken Mochizukis book, Baseball Saved Us, is a narrative that depicts the
experience of a young boys living in a Japanese internment camps between
1942 and 1946. Through reading this short narrative students will gain initial
insight into the daily life at an interment camp. Baseball Saved Us Book Back
Drop DBQ uses primary sources to help students assess the impacts of
Japanese internment on America. Students will read background information and
analyze primary sources to evaluate whether Japanese internment camps
discriminated against or protected Americans.

Baseball Saved Us Book Back Drop DBQ: Japanese
Internment Camps-discrimination or protection for
Americans?
2

Rationale: Through analysis of Baseball Saved Us Book Backdrop DBQ
students will learn about the largest forced migration in American history,
Japanese internment during World War II. It forced more than 100,000 people of
Japanese descent to move from their homes into the relocation centers.
1

Throughout the latter half of the 20
th
century, it was debated whether internment
was due to discrimination of Japanese immigrants or for the protection of
American citizens, including those of Japanese ancestry. Through this DBQ,
students will build their historical knowledge not only of internment camps, but
also of the importance of evaluating multiple perspectives and the historical
context of primary and secondary sources.

Directions:
1. Students will read Baseball Saved Us to gain context and one perspective
of life in a Japanese Interment Camp.
2. Students will then read the content summary of the Book Back Drop DBQ
to obtain background information on events in America during the 19
th
and
20
th
century that impacted the experiences and lives of people of
Japanese descent.
3. Then students will use guiding questions and document analysis tools to
analyze primary sources as they assess whether Japanese internment
camps discriminated against or protected Americans.
4. Students will then write a well-crafted essay that uses textual evidence to
support their argument to the prompt: Did Japanese internment camps
discriminate against or protect Americans?

Standards Addressed:
SS.912.A.6.4 Examine efforts to expand or contract rights for various
populations during World War II.
SS.912.A.6.5 Explain the impact of World War II on domestic government
policy.
LAFS.1112.RH.2.6 Evaluate authors differing points of view on the same
historical event or issue by assessing the authors claims, reasoning, and
evidence.
LAFS.1112.RH.3.9 Integrate information from diverse sources, both
primary and secondary, into a coherent understanding of an idea or event,
noting discrepancies among sources.
LAFS.910.RI.1.1 Cite strong and thorough textual evidence to support
analysis of what the text says explicitly as well as inferences drawn from
the text.

1
Paul Tayloi anu Boiothea Lange, '0ui Stakes in the }apanese Exouus,' Suivey
uiaphic, Septembei 1942, pp. S7S ueneial Collections, Libiaiy of Congiess (14u)
http:www.loc.govexhibitswcfimageswcf14ua.jpg
Americans?
S
LAFS.910.W.1.1 Write arguments to support claims in an analysis of
substantive topics or texts, using valid reasoning and relevant and
sufficient evidence.

Content Summary

Directions: Read the Baseball Saved Us to preview information and understand
one point of view of the life in Japanese internment camps. Then read the
Content Summary to gain a historical background of Japanese internment. While
reading the Content Summary make sure to use close reading strategies by
marking the text (examples may included, but are not limited to, ? for questions,
! for interesting, or * for re-read).

Anti-Asian Sentiment in the United States
Throughout the late 19
th
and 20
th
centuries, the United States witnessed a large
influx of Japanese immigrates seeking better opportunities. The majority of
Japanese immigrants settled in the western United States only a few decades
after Chinese immigrants. This further caused strong anti-Asian attitudes over
providing cheap labor that threatened peoples livelihood. As the Japanese-
American population boomed, political organizations and white supremacist
groups in the region began to lobby for limited Japanese immigration. Legislation
was passed that limited the amount of land Japanese Americans could own and
even limited the opportunity for people born in Japan to become naturalized U.S.
citizens. Similar to the American South, the western states also created
segregated schools for Asian children.

Executive Order 9066
On December 7
th
, 1941, the Japanese military launched two attacks on the Pearl
Harbor. The air raids on Pearl Harbor further generated tension towards
Japanese Americans. Government officials and newspapers accused Japanese
Americans of supporting the Japanese government, which led to people of
Japanese descent being fired from their government jobs, and their technology
confiscated. Up and down the west coast Japanese Americans were viewed with
distrust almost over night and many experienced public abuse and attacks. By
February 1942, President Franklin D. Roosevelt authorized the evacuation and
relocation of people of Japanese heritage by signing Executive Order 9066.
Approximately 120,000 Japanese Americans were relocated to internment
centers in the interior of the United States until the camps were closed in 1945
nearly two-thirds were American citizens.

Relocation
Over the next year and a half, Japanese Americans were forced to move into ten
relocation centers. In some cases, families were split apart and sent to different
camps. Overcrowding, lack of privacy, and prison-like camps were issues noted
by evacuees. Despite relocation, more than 30,000 Japanese Americans
remained dedicated to the United States and enlisted in the US military in
January 1943. The 442
nd
Regiment, an all-Japanese American unit, became the
most decorated for its size and length of service in US history.

Americans?
4
Task and Question: Use the guiding questions and document analysis tools to
analyze the primary sources to answer: Did Japanese internment camps
discriminate against or protect Americans?

Document A
Executive Order 9066

What are the central ideas of Executive Order 9066?

Based off background information, what is the relationship between this order
and internment camps?
Americans?
S

Document B
Foreword of Born Free and Equal

What does the foreword note about the role of immigrants in the United States?

What inferences can be made based off the definition "Americanism"?

How does this quotation relate to the goal of the book?

9/23/2014 LOC Photo Display
http://lcweb2.loc.gov/cgi-bin/displayPhoto.pl?path=/service/gdc/scd0001/2002/20020123001bf&topImages=0008r.jpg&topLinks=0008v.jpg,0008u.tif,0008a.tif,0008. 1/2
Americans?
6

Document C
U.S. Supreme Court Hirabayashi v. United States, 320 U.S. 81 (1943)
Who did the court rule in favor?

What is the relationship between this Supreme Court decision and Executive
Order 9066?

Syllabus
1. Where a defendant is convicted on two counts of an indictment and the sentences are
ordered to run concurrently, it is unnecessary on review to consider the validity of the sentence
on both of the counts if the sentence on one of them is sustainable. P.320 U. S. 85.
2. Pursuant to Executive Order No. 9066, promulgated by the President on February 19, 1942,
while the United States was at war with Japan, the military commander of the Western Defense
Command promulgated an order requiring, inter alia, that all persons of Japanese ancestry
within a designated military area "be within their place of residence between the hours of 8 p. m.
and 6 a. m." Appellant, a United States citizen of Japanese ancestry, was convicted in the
federal District Court for violation of this curfew order.
Held:
(1) By the Act of March 21, 1942, Congress ratified and confirmed Executive Order No. 9066,
and thereby authorized and implemented such curfew orders as the military commander should
promulgate pursuant to that Executive Order. P. 320 U. S. 91.
(2) It was within the constitutional authority of Congress and the Executive, acting together, to
prescribe this curfew order as an emergency war measure. P. 320 U. S. 92.
In the light of all the facts and circumstances, there was substantial basis for the conclusion, in
which Congress and the military commander united, that the curfew as applied was a protective
measure necessary to meet the threat of sabotage and espionage which would substantially
affect the war effort and which might reasonably be expected to aid a threatened enemy
invasion. P. 320 U. S. 95.
(3) The curfew order did not unconstitutionally discriminate against citizens of Japanese
ancestry. P. 320 U. S. 101.

Americans?
7

Document D
Civilian Exclusion Order #33

Americans?
8

Document E
Los Angeles, California. Japanese-American evacuation from West Coast areas
under U.S. Army war emergency order. Photographers at the train taking
Japanese-Americans to Owens Valley

What do you see in this image?

How are Japanese Americans and Japanese descendants being portrayed in this
image?

What is the medias goal in taking photos of this family?

What is the photographers goal in taking this photo?

How do the goals of the media and the photographer relate?

Americans?
9

Document F
Map 2: War Relocation Centers in the United States.

(National Park Service)

How many internment camps are listed on the map?

What areas of the US are the camps located?

How do these regions relate to other areas used for US relocation programs?

Americans?
1u

Document G
Manzanar street scene, clouds, Manzanar Relocation Center, California

What do you see?

Does the relocation center at Manzanar look temporary or permanent? What
specific details support your idea?

Americans?
11

Document H
Mr. & Mrs. Richard Izuno and children, Manzanar Relocation Center, California

What do you see?

Does the relocation center at Manzanar look temporary or permanent? What
specific details support your idea?

Based off this image and Document E, what message might the photographer be
sending about interment camps like Manzanar?

Americans?
12

Document I
Nyssa, Oregon. FSA (Farm Security Administration) mobile camp.

How does this internment camp compare to Manzanar?

Why would the conditions at one camp vary from the conditions at another?

What does this comparison reflect about the treatment of internees?

Americans?
1S

Document J
Manzanar Relocation Center, Manzanar, California. Sixth grade boys enjoy a
game of softball at recess time.

How does this photograph relate to the book Baseball Saved Us?

What is the photographers message for this photo? How did you know?

Americans?
14

Document K
Sumiko Shigematsu, foreman of power sewing machine girls, Manzanar
Relocation Center, California

What is the photographers goal of this photo?

How does this photograph compare to the book Baseball Saved Us?

Why might this photo and the book have different ideas about work in Manzanar?

Americans?
1S

Document L
Melchiori Letter

Americans?
16

Document M
Japanese enlistment

What do you see?

What is the significance of the sign?

Why might Japanese Americans join the Selective Services?
Americans?
17

Document N
Warren Michio Tsuneishi Honorable Discharge Papers

Americans?
18

Use the information in the document to describe the recipient and their role
during WWII.

What is the goal of this document? What is the reason for the discharge?

Americans?
19
Document O
Civil Liberties Act of 1988

How did the perspective of internment camps change by the US government?

What does the change illustrate about how the US government?

Does this document contain any bias?

CIVIL LIBERTIES ACT OF1988

Enacted by the United States Congress
August 10, 1988

The Congress recognizes that, as described in the Commission on
Wartime Relocation and Internment of Civilians, a grave injustice was
done to both citizens and permanent residents of Japanese ancestry
by the evacuation, relocation, and internment of civilians during World
War II.

As the Commission documents, these actions were carried out
without adequate security reasons and without any acts of espionage
or sabotage documented by the Commission, and were motivated
largely by racial prejudice, wartime hysteria, and a failure of political
leadership.

The excluded individuals of Japanese ancestry suffered enormous
damages, both material and intangible, and there were incalculable
losses in education and job training, all of which resulted in significant
human suffering for which appropriate compensation has not been
made.

For these fundamental violations of the basic civil liberties and
constitutional rights of these individuals of Japanese ancestry, the
Congress apologizes on behalf of the Nation.

Americans?
2u

Document Analysis Tool (Library of Congress):
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Americans?
21

Document Analysis Sheet:

Document Letter,
Title, Year

Does the
document
support
discrimination
or protection
experience?
Evidence and elaboration

Related
documents
A.

B.

C.

D.

E.

F.

G.

H.

Americans?
22
I.

J.

K.

L.

M.

N.

O.

Americans?
2S
Sources:

Title Page Image: Baseball game, Manzanar Relocation Center, Calif.
http://www.loc.gov/pictures/item/2002695992/

Rational: Paul Taylor and Dorothea Lange, 'Our Stakes in the Japanese
Exodus,' Survey Graphic, September 1942, pp. 373 General Collections, Library
of Congress (140)
http://www.loc.gov/exhibits/wcf/images/wcf140a.jpg

Content Summary: "Suffering Under a Great Injustice": Ansel Adams's
Photographs of Japanese-American Internment at Manzanar
http://www.loc.gov/teachers/classroommaterials/connections/manzanar/history2.
html; World War Two - Japanese Internment Camps in the USA
http://www.historyonthenet.com/ww2/japan_internment_camps.htm; Japanese
Internment Camps of WWII by Luke Michel
http://www.gilderlehrman.org/history-by-era/world-war-ii/resources/japanese-
internment-camps-wwii;

Document A: Executive Order 9066.
http:www.nps.govmanzhistoiycultuieimagesE09u66.jpg

Document B: Adams, Ansell. Born Free and Equal. http://lcweb2.loc.gov/cgi-
bin/ampage?collId=gdc3&fileName=scd0001_20020123001bfpage.db&recNum=
6

Document C: HIRABAYASHI v. UNITED STATES," The Oyez Project at IIT
Chicago-Kent College of Law, accessed September 10,
2014, http://www.oyez.org/cases/1940-1949/1942/1942_870

Document D: Document provided by Dr. Scott Waring. Civilian Exclusion Order
#33.

Document E: Los Angeles, California. Japanese-American evacuation from
West Coast areas under U.S. Army war emergency order. Photographers at the
train taking Japanese-Americans to Owens Valley,
http://loc.gov/pictures/item/fsa1998003559/PP/

Document F: Map 2: War Relocation Centers in the United States
http://www.nps.gov/nr/twhp/wwwlps/lessons/89manzanar/89locate2.htm

Document G: Manzanar street scene, clouds, Manzanar Relocation Center,
California http://www.loc.gov/pictures/collection/manz/item/2002695966/

Document H: Mr. & Mrs. Richard Izuno and children, Manzanar Relocation
Center, California http://www.loc.gov/pictures/collection/manz/item/2002695959/

Americans?
24
Document I: Nyssa, Oregon. FSA (Farm Security Administration) mobile camp.
Ordinarily electricity is not supplied to the tents of migrant families living in the
FSA camps. These Japanese-Americans, who were accustomed to better living
conditions, wanted the electricity and the sugar beet companies and the town of
Nyssa arranged for the wiring. Some of the wiring is the Christmas tree light
wiring from Nyssa. http://loc.gov/pictures/item/fsa2000050214/PP/

Document J: Manzanar Relocation Center, Manzanar, California. Sixth grade
boys enjoy a game of softball at recess time. Note boys in rear who mistrust
control of the "speed ball" pitcher, February 10, 1943. Photo: Department of the
Interior. War Relocation Authority. Source: National Archives.
http://www.trumanlibrary.org/whistlestop/study_collections/japanese_internment/
20-2151a.htm

Document K: Sumiko Shigematsu, foreman of power sewing machine girls,
Manzanar Relocation Center, California
http://www.loc.gov/pictures/collection/manz/item/2002695114/

Document L: Document provided by Dr. Scott Waring. Melchiori Letter

Document M: Japanese enlistment. These Americans of Japanese ancestry are
about to enter their draft board at Waipahu, Territory of Hawaii, to apply for
voluntary induction into the U.S. Army. They intend to fight for Uncle Sam as
member of a combat regiment made up of 1,500 American citizens of Japanese
ancestry. Yoshito Matsusaka (right), thirty-six, is a former lieutenant in the U.S.
Army Reserve http://www.loc.gov/pictures/item/oem2002007566/PP/

Document N: Warren Michio Tsuneishi Honorable Discharge Papers
http://lcweb2.loc.gov/diglib/vhp/story/loc.natlib.afc2001001.02153/pageturner?ID
=pm0005001

Document O: Civil Liberties Act of 1988.
http://www.pbs.org/childofcamp/history/civilact.html

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