Title

Telegram, Governor Homer Adkins to Assistant Secretary of War John McCloy

Creator

Files

Date Original

1942 July 08

Description

Homer Adkins, governor of Arkansas, is telling the Assistant Secretary of War John McCloy that allowing Japanese-American students into Arkansas colleges would present major problems. Adkins is worried that if Japanese Americans are allowed into "white" colleges, it could be used as a stepping stone for desegregation efforts in the state.

Biographical/Historical Note

After the bombing of Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941, President Franklin D. Roosevelt signed Executive Order 9022, creating the War Relocation Authority (WRA). The WRA selected ten sites in which to imprison more than 110,000 Japanese Americans, over two-thirds of whom were American citizens. Two of these centers were in the Arkansas Delta, one at Rohwer in Desha County, and the other at Jerome in sections of Chicot and Drew counties. Over 16,000 Japanese-Americans were incarcerated in these two centers between October 1942 and November 1945. John McCloy was hired as a consultant by Henry Stimson, the 54th United States Secretary of War, in 1940. According to Stimson, McCloy, more than anyone else, was the individual responsible for the decision to remove Japanese Americans from their homes and into camps. Homer Adkins was the thirty-second governor of Arkansas from 1941-1945.

Physical Description

Telegram, 8.25" x 6"

Subjects

Adkins, Homer Martin, 1890-1964; Evacuation of civilians; Military assistance; Military camps; Camps; War; Japanese; Japanese Americans--Evacuation and relocation, 1942-1945; World War, 1939-1945--Concentration Camps--United States--Arkansas; Internment camps; Relocation camps; Education; Universities and colleges; Black community; African American

Contributor

Adkins, Homer M.

Geographical Area

Washington, D.C.; Little Rock, Pulaski County (Ark.)

Language

English

Identifier

MS.000404, Box 4, Folder 112, Item 28

Resource Type

Text

Collection

Homer M. Adkins papers, MS.000404

Publisher

Arkansas State Archives

Contributing Entity

Arkansas State Archives

Recommended Citation

Telegram, Governor Homer Adkins to Assistant Secretary of War John McCloy, Homer M. Adkins papers, Arkansas State Archives, Little Rock, Arkansas.

Rights

Use and reproduction of images held by the Arkansas State Archives without prior written permission is prohibited. For information on reproducing images held by the Arkansas State Archives, please call 501-682-6900 or email at state.archives@arkansas.gov.

Disciplines

United States History

Preview

Additional Content

Hazel Retherford papers, MS.000643; Amon Guy Thompson papers, MG04582-MG04586; Austin Smith papers, 1942-1945, MG04350; Beauty Behind Barbed Wire: The Arts of the Japanese in Our War Relocation Camps, MG01299; Community Analysis Reports and Community Analysis Trend Reports of the War Relocation Authority, 1942-1946, MG03846-MG03847; Japanese Camp papers, MG03848-MG03869