Record Detail

People of Sacramento Archive

Caption: Anti-Japanese voices united after bombing of Pearl Harbor.

Date: 1942

Historical Context: Anti-Japanese voices began to unite after the bombing of Pearl Harbor. Journalists, politicians, the American Legion, the Farm Bureau, and the Native Sons and Daughters of the Golden West were bitterly vocal about their anti-Japanese feelings. But after the attack on Pearl Harbor, even the pro-civil rights groups fell silent. A poll taken by the Northern California Civil Liberties Union in January 1942 showed a majority in favor of the forced evacuation of all Japanese into internment camps. Public opinion evolved into war hysteria. All Japanese people, regardless of age, were suspected of supporting Japan and were considered a threat to U.S. security.

Ethnic Group: Japanese

Place: 5th & N Streets, Sacramento

Events: Relocation During World War II

Names/Biographical Data: Unidentified.

Key Words: pressure, discrimination

Image Number: To see a larger version of this picture, see image number 2690 and select the full-size image.

Objects/Items of Note: Girl standing in front of her home on 5th Street near N Street, Sacramento. The photograph was taken one day before the evacuation to the Walerga Assembly Center on May 10, 1942.

Image Credit: SMHD, Eugene Hepting Collection.