Question

1. Describe the evacuation order that was given to the citizens and residents of Japanese ancestry living on Bainbridge Island. How much time did the evacuees have to organize their affairs before their departure? What type of arrangements did the evacuees need to make before they departed? What are your opinions of this evacuation?

Answer 1

Those of Japanese heritage living on Bainbridge Island (in Seattle area) were given six days to pack their belongings and prepare to leave.  They would only be able to take with them what they could carry.  They also all had to register with the Justice Department, photos and fingerprints taken.  That part had been ordered already by President Roosevelt in January, 1942.  In February, 1942, FDR signed an executive order that allowed the Secretary of War to designate certain areas as military zones.  FDR's executive order set the stage for the relocation of Japanese-ancestry persons to internment camps.  Altogether about 13,000 persons from the state of Washington were sent to such internment camps.

What do you think of this?  That's up to you to answer!