By Order of the President: FDR and the Internment of Japanese Americans

By Order of the President examines President Franklin D. Roosevelt's role in the World War II internment of Japanese Americans. Robinson presents FDR's actions and decisions through deep archival research and historical analysis. The book traces Roosevelt's early political career and his views on race and Asian immigration prior to Pearl Harbor. These pre-war years provide context for understanding FDR's wartime choices regarding Japanese Americans on the West Coast. Robinson reconstructs the sequence of events and policy discussions that led to Executive Order 9066 in February 1942. The narrative follows the implementation of internment policies through government documents, correspondence, and contemporary accounts. This investigation of presidential decision-making raises questions about leadership during crisis, civil rights, and the balance between national security and constitutional freedoms. The work contributes to our understanding of how racial attitudes and wartime fears can shape executive policy.

Readers value the book's detailed research into FDR's personal views and decision-making process regarding Japanese internment. Many note it reveals lesser-known aspects of Roosevelt's racial attitudes and provides context for understanding how internment policies developed. Readers appreciate: - Clear documentation of pre-war discrimination against Japanese Americans - Analysis of specific policy decisions and their implementation - Examination of FDR's personal correspondence and statements Common criticisms: - Writing can be dry and academic - Some sections feel repetitive - Limited coverage of internment camp conditions - Focus remains narrow on FDR rather than broader impacts Ratings: Goodreads: 3.9/5 (89 ratings) Amazon: 4.3/5 (22 ratings) Several academic reviewers note the book fills an important gap in internment scholarship by focusing specifically on Roosevelt's role. Multiple readers mentioned the book helped them understand how wartime fears and existing prejudices influenced policy decisions.

Years of Infamy: The Untold Story of America's Concentration Camps by Michi Weglyn A Japanese American internee documents the government policies, military decisions, and economic factors that led to Japanese American incarceration during World War II.

The Politics of Prejudice: The Anti-Japanese Movement in California by Roger Daniels The book traces the development of anti-Japanese sentiment and discriminatory policies in California from the 1880s through World War II.

Free to Die for Their Country: The Story of the Japanese American Draft Resisters in World War II by Eric L. Muller The account reveals the experiences of Japanese American men who refused military service while their families remained in internment camps.

American Inquisition: The Hunt for Japanese American Disloyalty in World War II by Eric L. Muller The text examines the government's loyalty screening program that determined the fate of Japanese Americans during their wartime incarceration.

Democratizing the Enemy: The Japanese American Internment by Brian Masaru Hayashi The study analyzes the interaction between Japanese American communities and government agencies before and during the internment period.

🔷 Author Greg Robinson discovered that FDR's views on Japanese Americans were influenced by his earlier writings from 1923, where he expressed beliefs about the impossibility of Japanese assimilation into American society. 🔷 The book reveals that FDR made the decision for internment despite multiple intelligence reports indicating that Japanese Americans posed no security threat to the United States. 🔷 Eleanor Roosevelt, who generally opposed the internment policy, remained publicly silent on the issue to maintain loyalty to her husband's administration. 🔷 Before writing this book, Robinson uncovered previously unused documentary sources in the Roosevelt Library at Hyde Park, including private letters and memo exchanges about the internment decision. 🔷 The research shows that FDR's internment order was influenced not just by wartime hysteria, but by decades of anti-Japanese prejudice in American society, particularly on the West Coast where most Japanese Americans lived.