Timeline

1. December 7, 1941

   Japan attacks Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, leading the U.S. to enter World War II.

2. February 19, 1942

   President Franklin D. Roosevelts signs Executive Order 9066, providing for the exclusion of any person from any area at the discretion of the military.

3. March 2, 1942

   General John L. DeWitt, head of the Western Defense Command, divides parts of the West Coast into Military Area 1 and Military Area 2, from which people of Japanese ancestry would be excluded.

4. March 18, 1942

   The War Relocation Authority is established to oversee the relocation of Japanese-Americans and relocation centers.

5. March 24, 1942

   The first Civilian Exclusion Order is issued by the Army, giving families one week to prepare for removal from their homes.

6. April 11, 1942

   Manzanar Free Press begins publication at the Manzanar Relocation Center in California.

7. June 2, 1942

   All Japanese in Military Area 1 in California, Oregon, Washington and Arizona have been removed into Army custody.

8. December 17, 1944

   Relocation orders are revoked and exclusion is lifted, effective January 2, 1945.

9. December 1945

   All camps besides Tule Lake are closed.

10. March 1946

    The camp at Tule Lake closes.

11. August 10, 1988

    The Civil Liberties Act of 1988 is passed by Congress and signed by President Ronald Reagan. The Act apologizes for internment and provides for reparations to survivors.