Without trial and without due process, the United States government locked up nearly all of those citizens and longtime residents who were of Japanese descent during World War II. Ten concentration camps were set up across the country to confine over 120,000 inmates. Almost 20,000 of them were shipped to the only two camps in the segregated South—Jerome and Rohwer in Arkansas—locations that put them right in the heart of a much older, long-festering system of racist oppression. The first history of these Arkansas camps, Concentration Camps on the Home Front is an eye-opening account of the inmates’ experiences and a searing examination of American imperialism and racist hysteria. While the basic facts of Japanese-American incarceration are well known, John Howard’s extensive research gives voice to those whose stories have been forgotten or ignored. He highlights the roles of women, first-generation immigrants, and those who forcefully resisted their incarceration by speaking out against dangerous working conditions and white racism. In addition to this overlooked history of dissent, Howard also exposes the government’s aggressive campaign to Americanize the inmates and even convert them to Christianity. After the war ended, this movement culminated in the dispersal of the prisoners across the nation in a calculated effort to break up ethnic enclaves. Howard’s re-creation of life in the camps is powerful, provocative, and disturbing. Concentration Camps on the Home Front rewrites a notorious chapter in American history—a shameful story that nonetheless speaks to the strength of human resilience in the face of even the most grievous injustices. "John Howard's Concentration Camps on the Home Front produces sharp and deep criticism of 'America' itself.... This stylishly written, highly provocative work is a timely publication."-Masumi Izumi, Pacific Historical Review "A book full of surprises; an engagingly written and provocative retelling of Japanese American incarceration during World War II."-Erika Lee, Journal of American Ethnic History "Howard's focus on the South, gender, and sexuality adds complexity to the story of wartime incarceration and incorporates the perspectives of many left at the margins of the internment story.-Michael K. Matsunaga, Journal of World History "Howard raises overarching and far-reaching questions concerning humanitarianism and definitions of what is natural and unnatural, American and un-American."-Dennis M. Ogawa, Journal of American History "This book has major implications for understanding colonial and racial ideologies."-Alice Yang, American Historical Review John Howard is Emeritus Professor of Arts and Humanities, King's College London. He previously was Fulbright Lecturer at Tsuda University and Kyoritsu Women's University in Tokyo. He has received awards and grants from the AHRC, Bergman, Daiwa, Delfina, Rockefeller, and King's College London Students Union. CONCENTRATION CAMPS ON THE HOME FRONT JAPANESE AMERICANS IN THE HOUSE OF JIM CROW By JOHN HOWARD THE UNIVERSITY OF CHICAGO PRESS Copyright © 2008 The University of Chicago All right reserved. ISBN: 978-0-226-35476-7 Contents Introduction............................................................1Unnatural but Not Un-American...........................................4Not American, Not Again.................................................10Human Differences, Human Rights.........................................151 Expansion and Restriction.............................................23Christian Empire........................................................25Self-Sufficiency, Sandalwood, and Sugar.................................31White Citizenship, Racial Hierarchy.....................................362 Subversion............................................................45Perverse Sexuality......................................................48House Un-American Activities............................................53Segregation versus Extermination........................................573 Concentration and Cooperation.........................................65Collective Living.......................................................68Cooperative Enterprises.................................................73Competitive Sports......................................................80Participatory Democracy.................................................874 Camp Life.............................................................95Gendered Spaces.........................................................98Caucasian Environments..................................................107Unusual Places..........................................................1135 Race, War, Dances.....................................................124Complicating the Color Line.............................................126Courting within the Color Lines.........................................134Authorizin