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Guide to the San José State University Japanese-American Internment Research Collection
MSS-2010-08-23
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Title: San José State University Japanese-American Internment Research Collection
Dates: 1935-2010
Bulk Dates: 1942-2010
Collection number: MSS-2010-08-23
Creator:
San Jose State College
Collection Size:
1 box
(0.5 linear feet)
Repository:
San José State University. Library.
San José, California 95192-0028
Abstract: The San José State University Japanese-American Internment Research Collection, 1935-2010 (bulk 1942-2010), documents the
internment of Americans of Japanese descent from 1942-1945, the presence of Japanese-American students at San Jose State College
in the late 1930s and early 1940s, and the awarding of honorary degrees to some of those students by San José State University
in 2010. The records consist of brochures, correspondence, government reports, magazines, memorabilia, memos, newspaper clippings,
photocopied articles, photos, and spreadsheets. This collection is arranged into three series: Series I. Japanese-American
San Jose State College Students, 1935 - 1994, Series II. Japanese-American Internment, 1942-1996, and Series III. Nisei Diploma
Project at SJSU, 2009-2010.
Physical location: For current information on the location of these materials, please consult the Library's online catalog.
Languages:
Languages represented in the collection:
English,
Japanese
Collection is open for research. Photocopying of original newspapers is prohibited.
San José State University Japanese-American Internment Research Collection, MSS-2010-08-23, San José State University Library
Special Collections & Archives.
Collection processed by Tom Hewitt. Finding aid EAD encoded by Tom Hewitt. Reviewed by Danelle Moon.
Japanese-American Internment History
On February 19, 1942 President Roosevelt signed Executive Order 9066 providing broad powers for the War Department to create
exclusion zones and to initiate an evacuation program for the Western Defense Command (WDC). Under the leadership of General
John Dewitt of the WDC, the Civil Affairs Division (CAD) and the Wartime Civil Control Administration (WCCA) were created
in order to provide for the transition of voluntary evacuees, enemy aliens and United States citizens alike, from exclusion
areas to other parts of the country. The failure of the voluntary evacuation plan led President Roosevelt to issue Executive
Order 9102, which established the civilian run War Relocation Authority (WRA). The WRA was mandated to institute enforced
evacuations. Due to the recalcitrance of states on the interior of the country to accept the Japanese evacuees or to provide
for their safety, the WRA also constructed internment centers in order to house the evacuees. Between 1942-1945 the WRA, the
WCCA, the CAD and the Office of the Commanding General of the Western Defense Command segregated and housed approximately
110,000 Japanese-American men, women and children.
Scope and Content of Collection
The San José State University Japanese-American Internment Research Collection, 1935-2010 (bulk 1942-2010), documents the
internment of Americans of Japanese descent from 1942-1945, the presence of Japanese-American students at San Jose State College
in the late 1930s and early 1940s, and the awarding of honorary degrees to some of those students by San José State University
in 2010. The records consist of brochures, correspondence, government reports, magazines, memorabilia, memos, newspaper clippings,
photocopied articles, photos, and spreadsheets. This collection is arranged into three series: Series I. Japanese-American
San Jose State College Students, 1935 - 1994, Series II. Japanese-American Internment, 1942-1996, and Series III. Nisei Diploma
Project at SJSU, 2009-2010.
This collection is arranged into three series: Series I. Japanese-American San Jose State College Students, 1935 - 1994, n.d.
(1935-1942), Series II. Japanese-American Internment, 1942-1996, n.d (1993-1996), Series III. Nisei Diploma Project at SJSU
(2009-2010).
The following terms have been used to index the description of this collection in
the library's online public access catalog.
San Jose State University -- History.
Education, Higher -- California -- San Jose.
Japanese Americans -- California -- Evacuation and relocation, 1942-1945 -- Periodicals.
Japanese Americans -- California -- Evacuation and relocation, 1942-1945 -- Newspapers.
Japanese Americans -- California -- San Jose -- Biography.
Flaherty Collection: Japanese Internment Records, MSS-2006-02, San José State University Library Special Collections and Archives.
Willard E. Schmidt Papers, MSS-2007-09-01, San José State University Library Special Collections and Archives.