Amache: World War II Debate on Citizenship

National History Day
2022 Guides - Theme: Debate & Diplomacy in History
Japanese family on their way to the Granada Relocation Center, Camp Amache, Prowers County, southeastern Colorado, includes two women in dresses, heels and bonnets. One holds a baby, and a man in a sweater, tie, eye glasses and a hat, holds a suitcase. The man has a tag on his belt and another on the suitcase.

Getting Started

Begin your research by brainstorming keywords - the words and phrases you’ll use to search for books, articles, websites, government documents, and other resources. These may include names of people and places or historical concepts like eras and movements. A librarian can suggest “subject headings” to find the most relevant resources.

Example Keywords & Catalog Subject Headings

Amache (Colo.) -- History -- 20th century
Granada Relocation Center
World War, 1939-1945 -- Concentration camps -- Colorado -- Amache.
Japanese Americans -- Forced removal and internment, 1942-1945
Japanese Americans -- Civil Rights
World War, 1939-1945 -- Japanese Americans -- Personal narratives
Japanese Americans -- Interviews
World War, 1939-1945 -- Evacuation of civilians -- United States

Special Collections and Archives Resources

The Special Collections and Archives at the Central Library focus on Colorado and the West, including the Tenth Mountain Division, Conservation history, and the history of Denver, and feature many primary source materials. 

The Special Collections and Archives at the Blair-Caldwell African American Research Library focus on African American history and culture in Colorado and the West, and also feature many primary source collections.

Items from these two locations do not check out and are available to see during the hours we are open. Our Special Collections staff are available to assist by phone and email and can provide scans of collection items for your project. To determine which of these two locations is best for your project, email history@denverlibrary.org and include "National History Day" in your subject line. You may also call 720-865-1821 (Central) or 720-865-2401 (Blair-Caldwell). 

Bill Hosokawa (1915-2007)
Ralph Carr (1887-1950)

Internet Sources

Before using information you find on the internet for assignments and research, it is important to establish that the information comes from a reliable and appropriate source. The following websites, from government, academic and nonprofit organizations, have been evaluated for authority, accuracy, content and currency.

Executive Order 9066: Resulting in the Relocation of Japanes
Issued by President Franklin Roosevelt on February 19, 1942, this order authorized the evacuation of all persons deemed a threat to national security from the West Coast to relocation centers further inland. In the next 6 months, over 100,000 men, women, and children of Japanese ancestry were moved to assembly centers. They were then evacuated to and confined in isolated, fenced, and guarded relocation centers, known as internment camps.
Japanese American Internment
Library of Congress Student Discovery Set brings together historical artifacts and one-of-a-kind documents from the collections of the Library of Congress. Interactive tools let you zoom in for close examination, draw to highlight interesting details, and make notes about what you discover.
Japanese-American Internment During World War II
National Archives site provides links to primary sources (in addition to Executive Order 9066) and additional background information about Japanese-American interment during World War II.
Confinement and Ethnicity: An Overview of World War II Japanese American Reloca…
Began in 1944 this reports document Japanese American internment during World War II. The main focus is on the War Relocation Authority's relocation centers, but Department of Justice and U.S. Army facilities where Japanese Americans were interned are also considered. The original goal of the study was to support legislation for Manzanar National Historic Site. Reprinted with minor corrections July 2000. Chapter 5 reviews Granada Relocation Center.
Amache.org: Remembering the wrongful imprisonment of Japanese Americans.
Amache is maintained by the Amache Preservation Society (APS). With the help of many other organizations, the APS has begun to renovate Amache, particularly the cemetery, and established an Amache Museum.
University of Denver Amache Research Project
The Department of Anthropology at the University of Denver (DU) is engaged in long-term community based research at Amache, the site of a World War II Japanese American internment camp in Colorado. Work on this project is on-going so please continue to return to this site for updates.
Report to the President: Japanese-American Internment Sites Preservation
Report to the President: Japanese-American Internment Sites Preservation, U. S. Department of the Interior, January 2001. Appendix A includes coverage of Granada (Amache) Relocation Center
Colorado.

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