1. Executive Order 9066
On February 19, 1942, President Franklin D. Roosevelt signed Executive Order 9066, granting military commanders the authority to designate military zones. This order paved the way for the mass removal and internment of Japanese Americans from the West Coast. Notably, it did not specifically mention Japanese Americans, but it was primarily used to target them. The order signaled the start of a profound infringement on civil liberties, affecting tens of thousands of families and their livelihoods.
