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OF THE UNITED THX
OF
An American Promise
By the President of the United States of America
A Proclamation
In this Bicentennial Year, we are commemorating the anniversary dates of many
of the great events in American history. An honest reckoning, however, must include
a recognition of our national mistakes as well as our national achievements. Learning
from our mistakes is not pleasant, but as a great philosopher once admonished, we
must do so if we want to avoid repeating them.
February 19th is the anniversary of a sad day in American history. It was on that
date in 1942, in the midst of the response to the hostilities that began on December 7,
1941, that Executive Order No. 9066 was issued, subsequently enforced by the
criminal penalties of a statute enacted March 21, 1942, resulting in the uprooting of
loyal Americans. Over one hundred thousand persons of Japanese ancestry were
removed from their homes, detained in special camps, and eventually relocated.
The tremendous effort by the War Relocation Authority and concerned Amer-
icans for the welfare of these Japanese-Americans may add perspective to that story,
but it does not erase the setback to fundamental American principles. Fortunately,
the Japanese-American community in Hawaii was spared the indignities suffered
by those on our mainland.
We now know what we should have known then-not only was that evacuation
wrong, but Japanese-Americans were and are loyal Americans. On the battlefield
and at home, Japanese-Americans-names like Hamada, Mitsumori, Marimoto,
Noguchi, Yamasaki, Kido, Munemori and Miyamura-have been and continue to be
written in our history for the sacrifices and the contributions they have made to the
well-being and security of this, our common Nation.
The Executive order that was issued on February 19, 1942, was for the sole
purpose of prosecuting the war with the Axis Powers, and ceased to be effective with
the end of those hostilities. Because there was no formal statement of its termination,
however, there is concern among many Japanese-Americans that there may yet be
some life in that obsolete document. I think it appropriate, in this our Bicentennial
Year, to remove all doubt on that matter, and to make clear our commitment in the
future.
NOW, THEREFORE, I, GERALD R. FORD, President of the United States
of America, do hereby proclaim that all the authority conferred by Executive Order
No. 9066 terminated upon the issuance of Proclamation No. 2714, which formally
proclaimed the cessation of the hostilities of World War II on December 31, 1946.
I call upon the American people to affirm with me this American Promise-that
we have learned from the tragedy of that long-ago experience forever to treasure
liberty and justice for each individual American, and resolve that this kind of action
shall never again be repeated.
IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand this nineteenth day
of February in the year of our Lord nineteen hundred seventy-six, and of the Inde-
pendence of the United States of America the two hundredth.
Gerall R. Ford
Document source description
This proclamation formally announced the termination Executive Order 9066, the order that had resulted in the relocation and detainment of Japanese Americans in camps during World War II.
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"ocrText": "OF THE UNITED THX\nOF\nAn American Promise\nBy the President of the United States of America\nA Proclamation\nIn this Bicentennial Year, we are commemorating the anniversary dates of many\nof the great events in American history. An honest reckoning, however, must include\na recognition of our national mistakes as well as our national achievements. Learning\nfrom our mistakes is not pleasant, but as a great philosopher once admonished, we\nmust do so if we want to avoid repeating them.\nFebruary 19th is the anniversary of a sad day in American history. It was on that\ndate in 1942, in the midst of the response to the hostilities that began on December 7,\n1941, that Executive Order No. 9066 was issued, subsequently enforced by the\ncriminal penalties of a statute enacted March 21, 1942, resulting in the uprooting of\nloyal Americans. Over one hundred thousand persons of Japanese ancestry were\nremoved from their homes, detained in special camps, and eventually relocated.\nThe tremendous effort by the War Relocation Authority and concerned Amer-\nicans for the welfare of these Japanese-Americans may add perspective to that story,\nbut it does not erase the setback to fundamental American principles. Fortunately,\nthe Japanese-American community in Hawaii was spared the indignities suffered\nby those on our mainland.\nWe now know what we should have known then-not only was that evacuation\nwrong, but Japanese-Americans were and are loyal Americans. On the battlefield\nand at home, Japanese-Americans-names like Hamada, Mitsumori, Marimoto,\nNoguchi, Yamasaki, Kido, Munemori and Miyamura-have been and continue to be\nwritten in our history for the sacrifices and the contributions they have made to the\nwell-being and security of this, our common Nation.\nThe Executive order that was issued on February 19, 1942, was for the sole\npurpose of prosecuting the war with the Axis Powers, and ceased to be effective with\nthe end of those hostilities. Because there was no formal statement of its termination,\nhowever, there is concern among many Japanese-Americans that there may yet be\nsome life in that obsolete document. I think it appropriate, in this our Bicentennial\nYear, to remove all doubt on that matter, and to make clear our commitment in the\nfuture.\nNOW, THEREFORE, I, GERALD R. FORD, President of the United States\nof America, do hereby proclaim that all the authority conferred by Executive Order\nNo. 9066 terminated upon the issuance of Proclamation No. 2714, which formally\nproclaimed the cessation of the hostilities of World War II on December 31, 1946.\nI call upon the American people to affirm with me this American Promise-that\nwe have learned from the tragedy of that long-ago experience forever to treasure\nliberty and justice for each individual American, and resolve that this kind of action\nshall never again be repeated.\nIN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand this nineteenth day\nof February in the year of our Lord nineteen hundred seventy-six, and of the Inde-\npendence of the United States of America the two hundredth.\nGerall R. Ford"
}