Termination of Executive Order 9066

On February 19, 1942, President Franklin Delano Roosevelt issued Executive Order 9066 which removed, detained, and relocated over 100,000 people of Japanese descent living in the United States, most of whom were American citizens. It was not until over thirty years later when President Ford finally rescinded this Executive Order with a proclamation issued on February 19, 1976.

_{William J. Baroody Files, Box 34.
NAID: 1670001
Courtesy Gerald R. Ford Presidential Library}

Upon signing the proclamation, President Ford remarked:

_{President’s Speeches and Statements: Reading Copies, Box 23, “2/19/76 – Remarks Upon the Signing of the Proclamation Terminating Executive Order 9066 of 2/19/42.”
NAID: 1252700
Courtesy Gerald R. Ford Presidential Library}

Within this proclamation, one reads: “An honest reckoning… must include a recognition of our national mistakes as well as our national achievements. Learning from our mistakes is not pleasant, but as a great philosopher once admonished, we must do so if we want to avoid repeating them.”

As we commemorate Asian American and Pacific Islanders Month, we hope this serves as a reminder of our problematic history, the need to constantly reexamine our past decisions, and the importance of making corrective action.

Authors: Brooke Clement and Dr. Richard Weld