Executive Order 9066 led to internment of Japanese Americans primarily on which coast?

• A. West Coast
• B. East Coast
• C. Midwest
• D. Gulf Coast

Answer: (A)

The main idea here is understanding why internment happened where it did after Pearl Harbor. Executive Order 9066 gave the military power to remove people of Japanese ancestry from designated areas, and the western United States had the largest Japanese American population living in coastal communities that were seen as most vulnerable to attack or sabotage. Because of that proximity to potential threats and the ability to quickly set up camps inland, the internment policy targeted the West Coast, with many camps located across the interior of that region. The East Coast, Midwest, and Gulf Coast had far smaller Japanese American populations and were not subjected to such widespread relocation. So, internment occurred primarily on the West Coast.