The Creation of the “Free” Press in Japanese-American Camps: The War Relocation Authority's Planning and Making of the Camp Newspaper Policy

Abstract

This study investigates how the War Relocation Authority (WRA) formulated newspaper publishing policy in Japanese-American camps during World War II. The WRA allowed evacuees to publish their own newspapers “freely” without “censorship” but under the authority's “supervision.” This study uses archival documents of the WRA and other concerned governmental agencies and examines development of the “free under supervision” press policy. The study shows that the federal government used camp newspapers to convince the domestic and international public that “democracy” was fully protected within camps.