The lives of Japanese and Japanese-Americans living in Washington in 1941 suddenly became chaotic with the bombing of the American naval base Pearl Harbor in Hawaii by the Empire of Japan. The people directed their fear and indignation at the Japanese, both foreign-born and Japanese citizens of the United States of America. The government and many others believed that the Japanese living on the West Coast posed a security risk to our nation. On December 7, 1941, President Roosevelt issued Public Proclamation No. 2525 which stated that anyone in the United States who is not naturalized may be detained, arrested, detained, or removed as an enemy alien. On the eve of the bombing of Pearl Harbor, the U.S. government in Washington sent FBI agents to begin arresting some of the 9,600 Japanese Americans living in King County. They took into custody both first-generation Japanese known as Issei, and some second-generation Japanese known as Nisei, who for all intents and purposes were citizens of the United States. Many of those arrested as potential saboteurs and spies were teachers, Buddhist priests, community organization leaders, and other officials. Japanese not arrested had their travel restricted, their business licenses revoked, and their financial assets frozen. Executive Order 9066 was signed by President Roosevelt on February 19, 1942 and thus began the removal and incarceration of over 110,000 Japanese-Americans from the West Coast from what the government designated as military areas. It should be noted that more than two-thirds of Japanese-Americans were actual citizens of the United States. On March 30, 1942, two hundred and seventy-four Japanese Americans living on Bainbridge Island, Washington, became the first to end the war in Europe. Minidoka camp closed October 28, 1945, Japanese-Americans in January 1945 were finally allowed to return to the West Coast, although most were encouraged to move to the East Coast or Midwest as prejudice was still high on the coast western. It wasn't until August 10, 1988, that President Ronald Reagan signed the Civil Liberties Act of 1988. It ultimately provided a formal apology and compensation to the surviving Japanese-Americans. The tragic reality is that nearly half of those imprisoned and disenfranchised died before the law was signed. Works Cited Dudley, William. Japanese-American internment camps. San Diego, California: Greenhaven, 2002. “Camp Harmony Exhibition.” University of Washington Libraries. Network. 06 June 2011..