Context
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Following the attack on Pearl Harbor in December 1941, the United States was gripped by a mixture of wartime fear and long-standing racial prejudice. This atmosphere culminated in February 1942, when President Franklin D. Roosevelt signed Executive Order 9066. The order authorized the forced removal of approximately 120,000 people of Japanese ancestry from the West Coast—primarily California, Oregon, and Washington, to other states, including Texas.
Despite the government’s justification of “military necessity,” nearly two-thirds of those incarcerated were Nisei, or American-born citizens, who were uprooted from their lives and moved to remote, desolate camps across the interior West and South.
While most detainees were held in War Relocation Centers, Texas played a distinct role through the Crystal City Internment Camp. Operated by the Department of Justice, Crystal City was specifically designed as a family camp to house Japanese, along with German, and Italian nationals, alongside their families. Though it allowed families to remain together, it was still a high-security facility surrounded by barbed wire and guards. The internees at Crystal City and other sites faced devastating losses, as many were forced to sell their homes, businesses, and personal property for a fraction of their value before being sent away.
The path to reconciliation was long and driven by decades of activism from the Japanese American community. It was not until the late 20th century that the U.S. government officially acknowledged the incarceration as a grave injustice. In 1988, the Civil Liberties Act was signed into law, offering a formal national apology and $20,000 in restitution to each surviving detainee. The act concluded that the government’s actions were motivated by “race prejudice, wartime hysteria, and a failure of political leadership,” seeking to ensure that such a violation of civil rights remains a cautionary lesson in American history.
The Story
By the time this letter was penned, these families had been living in isolated conditions, surrounded by guards and barbed wire, for two years.
The catalyst for this specific letter was the government’s decision in early 1944 to reinstate the military draft for Japanese American men held within the camps.
Initially, after the outbreak of the war, the government had classified these young men as 4-C, a category designated for “enemy aliens,” which effectively barred them from military service. The sudden reversal to draft them created a staggering hypocrisy that the mothers could not ignore.
The U.S. government was demanding that these young men fulfill the ultimate duty of citizenship—fighting and potentially dying for their country—while at the same time denying them and their families the basic rights of that same citizenship.
In their letter, the mothers articulate this “great paradox” with a mixture of profound sadness and respectful protest. They highlight the outrageous expectation and commitment required of their sons, who were being asked to fight for “freedom and equality” abroad while leaving their own parents and siblings behind barbed wire. The mothers also express deep pain over the rhetoric of government officials who publicly questioned their loyalty and fueled anti-Japanese sentiment, despite the fact that not a single act of espionage or sabotage by a Japanese American had been documented.
Ultimately, this letter stands as a powerful testament to moral courage and civic engagement under adverse conditions. Even while stripped of their liberty, these women organized, found their voice, and directly challenged the President of the United States to reconcile the nation’s actions with its founding ideals. It serves as a lasting historical reminder of the heavy price paid by a community caught in the gap between America’s democratic promises and its wartime realities.
Hunt, Idaho
February 29, 1944
President Franklin D. Roosevelt
Executive Mansion
Washington, D. C.
Dear President Roosevelt:
Please allow us to present another earnest petition in regards to the reclassification of American Citizens of Japanese ancestry.
We, the mothers of citizens of Japanese ancestry, longed for America, land of the free and equal, left behind our familiar birthplace, and came a great distance to this country. And in this land of strange languages and customs, struggling against innumerable obstacles, we attempted to gain a secure means of living. In time with the grace of God our children were born in this country, and we brought them up as splendid American citizens, who could be pointed to with pride. They in turn did not disappoint us in our hope and grew up to be American citizens no less loyal than any other American. This, we believe, is demonstrated by the lack of law-breakers among them and the fact that a considerable number of them volunteered for the Armed Forces at the time volunteers was ordered.
Then war broke out, unfortunately, between America and Japan, each time a Nisei draftee or volunteer left for the Army all of his relatives and friends encouraged and spurred him on and sent him off. This fact, we believe, shows the stand of Nisei citizens and their parents toward the war.
However, on the Pacific Coast with the so-called “military necessity” as reason, the foundation of our life, the fruit of several decades of toil and suffering, was completely overturned; and first generation aliens and even Nisei—who are American citizens—were forced to lead a life within barbed-wire fences. This treatment they received was far worse than that accorded to German and Italian enemy aliens.
About the time of evacuation from the coast, their draft classification was changed to 4-C. They were considered enemy aliens. The blow to their spirit, that they suffered at this time, was something that we could hardly bear to witness.
However, to this day, two and a half years since the outbreak of the war, not a single case of sabotage by a Nisei has occurred on the Pacific Coast or even in Hawaii.
But unfortunately the American public does not listen to the truth, and it seems that the discrimination against them is becoming even more intense.
Even today, although they are American citizens, Niseis are not allowed free travel through the Coast. Even Japanese war veterans who risked their lives for the United States and participated in World War I are interned in relocation centers. Since, they have begun to feel deep down inside of them that these restrictions of freedom directed at American citizens of Japanese ancestry could not be understood as merely for the purpose of protection; they should submit to military orders, and endure whatever abuse they are given.
Among them were some who, desiring to improve the present discrimination and condition of citizens of Japanese ancestry requested the modification of the Selective Service regulations, or took it upon themselves to volunteer for the Armed Forces and to attempt to show their real spirits. However, they too received discriminatory treatment even within the military camps; and, contemplating the course to be followed by their juniors, they are in a state of constant anguish.
We understand that the purpose for which the United States is allowing tremendous sacrifices in fighting the war today is to establish “freedom and equality” throughout the world. When they, the Nisei, consider the purpose of this war and then think about the treatment they are receiving at present, they discover the existence of a great paradox. They are dejected, and because of their firm, unshakable faith and spirit, to think of sending them in this condition to the front, we as mothers considering the past and the future, feel an extreme and unbearable anguish.
Our loving and judicious Mrs. Roosevelt:
Please, from the standpoint of love for humanity, understand the feeling of the small number of suffering mothers, and advise us on the course that we should take. In this connection we would like to have you please consider the suspension of the drafting of citizens of Japanese ancestry until they regain the confidence that they can demonstrate their loyalty to the United States from the bottom of their hearts as formerly. And we earnestly petition to be granted gracious words of advice and humbly await a reply from you.
Very respectfully yours,
Mother’s Society
Why Historify?
Names, dates, and events are merely the skeleton of history—essential for structure, but lacking life. As a former teacher, I’ve seen how story transforms cold facts into a shared human experience. We are natural-born storytellers, and it is through the narrative arc of a life that history becomes not just a subject to study, but a moment to inhabit.
After retiring from the classroom, I had the singular privilege of working in the Texas General Land Office Archives, home to millions of original documents, whose stories influenced my approach to learning history. Their voices have echoed across generations of Texans building bridges to the past. Please join me as we move beyond the facts to uncover the richness of history, one story at a time.
Japanese American National Museum, Los Angeles, CA, Letter, Gift of the Miyaoka Family (94.55.5)
Why Historify?
Names, dates, and events are merely the skeleton of history—essential for structure, but lacking life. As a former teacher, I’ve seen how story transforms cold facts into a shared human experience. We are natural-born storytellers, and it is through the narrative arc of a life that history becomes not just a subject to study, but a moment to inhabit.
After retiring from the classroom, I had the singular privilege of working in the Texas General Land Office Archives, home to millions of original documents, whose stories influenced my approach to learning history. Their voices have echoed across generations of Texans building bridges to the past. Please join me as we move beyond the facts to uncover the richness of history, one story at a time.
Japanese American National Museum, Los Angeles, CA, Letter, Gift of the Miyaoka Family (94.55.5)