Conference with General De Witt
1/4/1942
Add to Favorites:
Add all page(s) of this document to activity:
Add only page 1 to activity:
Add only page 2 to activity:
Add only page 3 to activity:
Add only page 4 to activity:
Add only page 5 to activity:
Add only page 6 to activity:
Add only page 7 to activity:
Add only page 8 to activity:
This document is a transcription of a meeting between Lieutenant General John L. DeWitt and representatives of the Department of Justice and the Army who had traveled to San Francisco, California, to meet with him at the Office of Commanding General, Headquarters, Western Defense Command and Fourth Army.
In this conversation, General DeWitt stated his concern with "enemy aliens" on the West Coast, especially in relation to defense installations and factories. The meeting took place one month before President Franklin Delano Roosevelt issued Executive Order 9066 that resulted in the internment of Japanese Americans.
About Japanese-Americans, he said "I have no confidence in their loyalty whatsoever." (He was speaking about both foreign born, called issei, and U.S.-born American citizens, called nisei.) He wanted blanket search and seizure authority "without waiting for normal processes of the law" and "to go in and search the house or residence and premises of every alien beginning with the Japanese right now."
This document was filed as Exhibit L in the case of United States v. Korematsu, which was a criminal action brought against Japanese-American Fred Korematsu for resisting relocation and internment as an enemy alien during World War II. His conviction in 1942 was affirmed by the Supreme Court in 1944. In 1983, Korematsu succeeded in winning a court order which vacated and recognized the injustice of the original conviction, and in the process, the injustice of the World War II Japanese internment program.
In this conversation, General DeWitt stated his concern with "enemy aliens" on the West Coast, especially in relation to defense installations and factories. The meeting took place one month before President Franklin Delano Roosevelt issued Executive Order 9066 that resulted in the internment of Japanese Americans.
About Japanese-Americans, he said "I have no confidence in their loyalty whatsoever." (He was speaking about both foreign born, called issei, and U.S.-born American citizens, called nisei.) He wanted blanket search and seizure authority "without waiting for normal processes of the law" and "to go in and search the house or residence and premises of every alien beginning with the Japanese right now."
This document was filed as Exhibit L in the case of United States v. Korematsu, which was a criminal action brought against Japanese-American Fred Korematsu for resisting relocation and internment as an enemy alien during World War II. His conviction in 1942 was affirmed by the Supreme Court in 1944. In 1983, Korematsu succeeded in winning a court order which vacated and recognized the injustice of the original conviction, and in the process, the injustice of the World War II Japanese internment program.
This primary source comes from the Records of District Courts of the United States.
National Archives Identifier: 296057
Full Citation: Exhibit L: Copy of 'Conference with General De Witt'; 1/4/1942; United States v. Korematsu; Criminal Case Files, ca. 1851 - 1986; Records of District Courts of the United States, Record Group 21; National Archives at San Francisco, San Bruno, CA. [Online Version, https://www.docsteach.org/documents/document/conference-de-witt, March 22, 2025]Activities that use this document
- Japanese American Incarceration During World War II
Created by the National Archives Education Team
Rights: Public Domain, Free of Known Copyright Restrictions. Learn more on our privacy and legal page.
