Background
In 1931, The Empire of Japan attacked and took over Manchuria, a resources-rich Chinese region. Japan took over Manchuria because it wanted to take control of the natural resources found there especially oil (Inada 11). The U.S refused to recognize Japan’s jurisdiction over Manchuria arguing that the control was established through force. The U.S had close trade relations with China, and it wanted to protect its interests in the country. Japan attacked China severally so as to weaken it from claiming back Manchuria. In 1937, the U.S started considering how it could stop Japan’s quest to expand its empire. The same year, Japan attacked USS Panay, which was stationed at Nanjing’s coast. The country apologized immediately after the attack and paid the U.S $2 million in damages.
The U.S continued to support China to withstand Japan’s incursion. In 1940, Japan entered into an agreement with Germany and Italy. The three formed what was termed as the Axis powers. A year later, the U.S stopped its relations with Japan. It declared an embargo that cut its oil and iron supplies to Japan. Japan looked elsewhere for help and relations between the two countries deteriorated. Towards the end of 1941, Japanese marine vessels were noted near Pearl Harbor, Hawaii. U.S forces were located at the harbor. Japan launched surprise attacks on the harbor on December 7, 1941. Multiple casualties resulted from the raid, and there were considerable damages to ships and planes. Americans suffered more casualties and deaths than the Japanese. On December 8, 1941, the U.S declared war on Japan.
The internment of Japanese-Americans
After the U.S had declared war on Japan, suspicion arose regarding the possibility of Americans of Japanese ancestry having aided the Pearl Harbor attack and even sabotaging U.S’ war efforts that ensued. President Franklin Roosevelt directed the Attorney General to crack down on suspects. Consequently, Japanese banks, businesses and language schools were closed down. Japanese residing in the country then were denied the right to using shortwave radios, cameras, and guns (Inada 21). Many were also laid off from their places of work. On February 19, 1942, the President signed Executive Order No. 9066. The decree gave the Secretary of War and the country’s military the authority to designate certain locations as military areas. They were also mandated to determine which individuals could be evacuated from or detained in these sites.
Shortly after, Japanese Americans were ordered to report to designated assembly centers. Due to the short notice that some received they could only carry what they could. Soon, ten internment camps were put in different places in the country. These were Heart Mountain in Wyoming, Tule Lake and Manzanar in California, Topaz in Utah, Rowher and Jerome in Arkansas, Minidoka in Idaho, Poston and Gila River in Arizona and Amache in Colorado. Around 110,000 Japanese Americans were rounded up into these camps (Inada 57). The camps were stationed at arid areas and were in deplorable situations. They were congested, and guards watched the camps and ensured no unauthorized entry or exit. In the midst of all the problems they experienced in these camps, the internees adapted hence the current photograph.
HT. MT. Baseball
Above is a photograph of internee baseball players at the Heart Mountain internment camp. The players are in two rows. They are dressed in different baseball jerseys, and they have baseball bats. The above photograph narrates the most important element of the internment of Japanese Americans namely sports. Internees had to look for ways of getting their minds off their present situation. They organized themselves into many baseball teams and played against each other internally and externally. External games were played between teams from different camps. Some camps did not allow their teams to play with teams from other camps. All the same, fellow internees cheered the games, and this helped elevate morale in the camps.
Both males and females participated in these games. Playing baseball served another purpose to the Japanese Americans. All of them saw the internment as an unfair infringement upon their freedom and dignity (Heinrichs 56). Their resentment towards this treatment was compounded by the fact that many had not committed the alleged espionage against the U.S. In fact, their relocation and detention in these camps did not follow the due process. As such, they played baseball in defiance. Many felt that wearing baseball uniforms was like wearing the American flag. Baseball was an iconic American sport and by engaging in it, the internees were asserting their love for the country. They expressed their love for the country because many did not have any other home except the U.S since some had been born and brought up here and those who were immigrants had cut off ties with their homeland. Japanese American might have engaged in baseball to express their resilience. Some former internees feel that life in the camps would have been unbearable without baseball. In conclusion, HT. MT. Baseball is a photograph reminding everyone not just about the suffering of the Japanese Americans during their internment, but how they lived through the period.
Works Cited
Heinrichs, Ann. The Japanese American Internment: Innocence, Guilt, and Wartime Justice. New York: Marshall Cavendish Benchmark, 2011. Print.
Inada, Lawson F. Only What We Could Carry: The Japanese American Internment Experience. Berkeley, CA: Heyday Books, 2000. Print.
