In the year 1921, Washington State enacted the Alien Land Act (Capaa). It prevented non- citizens and those ineligible for citizenship from owning land in Washington State. The most important law passed by Congress and the most serious of all involving hundreds of thousands of people was Executive Order 9066. This order was what legalized the internment of 110,000 Japanese Americans who lived on the west coast of the United States. This was an unthinkable tragedy that occurred that was part of the dark times in history. This tragedy was brought about by the Pearl Harbor attacks on American ships and personnel in December of 1941. This fear brought about by the attacks made the majority of American citizens believe that all Japanese settlers on the west coast of the United States of America were somehow involved in these attacks and it was part of a big conspiracy.

There were 12,892 Japanese settlers in Washington State and 7,000 in Seattle. This must have had a big impact on the Japanese population in the International District. That is why are incorporating the important laws passed by the government. We feel that they had a big impact on the settlers and captured the mood and public opinion of the American people and showed what the settlers had to endure.

Sources:

Selected Dates and Events of Asian Pacific American History. CAPAA. 18 Jul. 2005 http://www.capaa.wa.gov/timeline.html

Tamaki, David T. "Japanese Americans in Seattle and King County ." 6 Nov. 1998. 11 Jul 05 http://www.historylink.org/essays/output.cfm?file_id=231