‘WE MUST! WE WILL! WE CAN!’: American identity in the newspapers of Japanese American incarceration camps, 1942-1945

Abstract

This article explores the treatment of Japanese Americans on the West Coast during the Second World War and investigates definitions of Americanness, with a focus on the newspapers of civilian incarceration camps. The incarceration challenges stereotypical legacies of the Second World War as the ‘good war’ and exemplifies the paradoxical nature of American identity. However, vehement support in the newspapers for ‘American’ values and the war effort contradicts the evident unconstitutionality of the incarceration. Emphasis is also placed on the representation of women in the newspapers, to provide new perspectives regarding the legacies of the Second World War.