This topical collection includes objects used by inmates in Japanese American Incarceration camps.  It is one in a series of collections, each containing different types of resources, about the Japanese American Incarceration; see also Japanese American Incarceration: Images of Camp Life, Japanese Incarceration: Publications, Letters, and Other Documents, and Japanese American Incarceration: Articles and Videos about Inmate Experiences.

In February 1942, following the bombing of Pearl Harbor, President Roosevelt signed Executive Order 9066 and authorized the imprisonment of approximately 75,000 Americans of Japanese ancestry and 45,000 Japanese nationals in incarceration camps.  This order was not rescinded until 1945.

Teachers and students may use this collection as a springboard for classroom discussion; for example, what types of objects inmates created during their incarceration and why they created these objects. This collection is not comprehensive but rather provides a launching point for research and study.

This Smithsonian Learning Lab collection received Federal support from the Asian Pacific American Initiatives Pool, administered by the Smithsonian Asian Pacific American Center.

Keywords: internment camp, world war ii, ww2, wwii, gaman

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