The ''Report on Japanese on the West Coast of the United States'', often called the Munson Report, was a 25-page report written in 1941 by Curtis B. Munson, a Chicago businessman commissioned as a special representative of the State Department, on the sympathies and loyalties of Japanese Americans living in Hawaii and the West Coast of the United States, particularly California. Munson's report was submitted to the White House on November 7, 1941, exactly one month before the

Japanese Japanese may refer to: * Something from or related to Japan, an island country in East Asia * Japanese language, spoken mainly in Japan * Japanese people, the ethnic group that identifies with Japan through ancestry or culture ** Japanese diaspor ...

attack on Pearl Harbor The attack on Pearl HarborAlso known as the Battle of Pearl Harbor was a surprise military strike by the Imperial Japanese Navy Air Service upon the United States against the naval base at Pearl Harbor in Honolulu, Territory of Hawaii, ju ...

. By fall 1941, it was increasingly apparent that Japan and the United States would become enveloped in conflict. World War II had broken out with the

Japanese invasion of China The Second Sino-Japanese War (1937–1945) or War of Resistance (Chinese term) was a military conflict that was primarily waged between the Republic of China and the Empire of Japan. The war made up the Chinese theater of the wider Pacific The ...

in 1937 and the German invasion of Poland in 1939. In July 1941, the United States, along with

Britain Britain most often refers to: * The United Kingdom, a sovereign state in Europe comprising the island of Great Britain, the north-eastern part of the island of Ireland and many smaller islands * Great Britain, the largest island in the United King ...

and the Dutch East Indies, had imposed a total embargo on exports to Japan, including critical

oil An oil is any nonpolar chemical substance that is composed primarily of hydrocarbons and is hydrophobic (does not mix with water) & lipophilic (mixes with other oils). Oils are usually flammable and surface active. Most oils are unsaturated ...

supplies. American

military intelligence Military intelligence is a military discipline that uses information collection and analysis approaches to provide guidance and direction to assist commanders in their decisions. This aim is achieved by providing an assessment of data from ...

had broken

top secret Classified information is material that a government body deems to be sensitive information that must be protected. Access is restricted by law or regulation to particular groups of people with the necessary security clearance and need to know ...

Japanese military codes, and a September 24, 1941 message indicated that Pearl Harbor was a possible target of a Japanese attack. President

Franklin D. Roosevelt Franklin Delano Roosevelt (; ; January 30, 1882April 12, 1945), often referred to by his initials FDR, was an American politician and attorney who served as the 32nd president of the United States from 1933 until his death in 1945. As th ...

immediately designated Munson as a special representative and gave him the task of gauging the loyalty of Japanese Americans, many of whom lived near military bases and important manufacturing facilities. Munson toured Hawaii and the Pacific Coast and interviewed

Army An army (from Old French ''armee'', itself derived from the Latin verb ''armāre'', meaning "to arm", and related to the Latin noun ''arma'', meaning "arms" or "weapons"), ground force or land force is a fighting force that fights primarily on ...

and Navy

intelligence officer An intelligence officer is a person employed by an organization to collect, compile or analyze information (known as intelligence) which is of use to that organization. The word of ''officer'' is a working title, not a rank, used in the same way a ...

s, military commanders, city officials, and the Federal Bureau of Investigation. Munson found that "There is no Japanese problem on the West Coast," concluding that there was "a remarkable, even extraordinary degree of loyalty among this generally suspect ethnic group." The Munson Report was circulated to several

Cabinet Cabinet or The Cabinet may refer to: Furniture * Cabinetry, a box-shaped piece of furniture with doors and/or drawers * Display cabinet, a piece of furniture with one or more transparent glass sheets or transparent polycarbonate sheets * Filin ...

officials, including Secretary of War

Henry L. Stimson Henry Lewis Stimson (September 21, 1867 – October 20, 1950) was an American statesman, lawyer, and Republican Party politician. Over his long career, he emerged as a leading figure in U.S. foreign policy by serving in both Republican and ...

, Secretary of the Navy

Frank Knox William Franklin Knox (January 1, 1874 – April 28, 1944) was an American politician, newspaper editor and publisher. He was also the Republican vice presidential candidate in 1936, and Secretary of the Navy under Franklin D. Roosevelt during ...

Attorney General In most common law jurisdictions, the attorney general or attorney-general (sometimes abbreviated AG or Atty.-Gen) is the main legal advisor to the government. The plural is attorneys general. In some jurisdictions, attorneys general also have exec ...

Francis Biddle Francis Beverley Biddle (May 9, 1886 – October 4, 1968) was an American lawyer and judge who was the United States Attorney General during World War II. He also served as the primary American judge during the postwar Nuremberg Trials as well ...

, and Secretary of State

Cordell Hull Cordell Hull (October 2, 1871July 23, 1955) was an American politician from Tennessee and the longest-serving U.S. Secretary of State, holding the position for 11 years (1933–1944) in the administration of President Franklin Delano Roosevelt ...

. On February 5, 1942, Stimson sent a copy of the Munson Report to President Roosevelt, along with a memo stating that War Department officials had carefully studied the document. However Executive Order 9066, ordering the internment of Japanese Americans, was signed on February 19. It is possible that Roosevelt only read the memo, and not the report itself.Nancy R. Bartlit and Everett M. Rogers, ''Silent Voices of World War II: When Sons of the Land of Enchantment Met Sons of the Land of the Rising Son'' (2005), p. 143-133.

Notes

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See also