During World War II, after the attack on Pearl Harbor in 1941, Japanese Americans were suspected of potentially being spies or saboteurs for Japan. As a result, the American government forcibly relocated and interned approximately 120,000 Japanese Americans and people of Japanese descent. They were sent to internment camps located in various remote areas across the United States. These camps were also known as "relocation centers" or "War Relocation Authority camps." The policy for this action was set forth by President Franklin D. Roosevelt through Executive Order 9066, signed on February 19, 1942. It affected those living on the Pacific coast, particularly in California, and the western parts of Washington and Oregon, as well as southern Arizona.
