Mayor Fletcher Bowron

57 years old
I studied law and took the California State Bar in 1917 and became a lawyer. I then
enlisted in the army and joined the 14th artillery when the United States became involved in
WWI in 1917. I then returned to civilian life and practiced law in 1922 after marrying Irene
Martin. In 1925 and 1926 I served as the executive secretary to the California Governor Friend
Richardson who later that year appointed me to the California Superior Court. I served as the
superior court judge in Los Angeles until 1938 when I won the recall election for Mayor against
Frank L. Shaw, whose administration was considered openly corrupt. During 1941 I started a
weekly radio talk show to talk to the people of Los Angeles and reassure them that there was no
threat on the Southern California shores after the Pearl Harbor Attack. I at first was defending
people of Japanese ancestry but a change of my mind came as a result of allegations of several
Japanese submarine sightings off the coast, sensationalized newspaper stories, and meetings
with navy and federal officials who had become concerned with the large Japanese-American
population. We were specifically concerned about Terminal Island located on the coast and by
the end February of 1942 all people of Japanese ancestry were given 48 hours to evacuate that
area.
Back in January the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors discharged all
Japanese-Americans county employees and urged the federal government to remove
Japanese-Americans from the coastal areas and then I decided to take similar steps and forced
all Los Angeles City employees of Japanese descent to take a leave of absence. I started a
campaign to encourage the community to inform on each other and emphasize the
consequences for anyone caught committing sabotage. I started having regular meeting with
various representatives from the Department of Justice and the army.
By February I publicly urged the mass removal of Japanese-Americans on my weekly
radio show. I put a team together to study a congressional action I wanted to submit proposing a
constitutional amendment that stipulated that anyone holding Dual citizenship with a country at
war with the US and descended from immigrants not entitled to U.S. citizenship would be
governed by the laws of that foreign country and would not have rights as a U.S. citizen and that
the U.S. government be able to circumvent the Selective Service Act and call these people into
non-combat military service, regardless of physical qualification, age or sex. I feared that with
new internment camps and regulations of citizens having to carry a permit on coastal areas
would give the impression that California was a dangerous place. Even though I strongly and
publicly urged the removal of Japanese-Americans I wrote in my private letters that I opposed it
even if it caused an inconvenience to the larger California population, I still felt for these families
and people.
When I heard the news about the Japanese attacking Pearl Harbor I felt a wave of
emotions. Anger for all the hatred for others around the world at the time. Sadness for the men
and women who were in the heat of it all and lost their precious life that day. Frustration, I didnt
know how to act and who to trust, as mayor I tried to reach out to all in the Los Angeles area but
after this I couldnt bring myself to ignore the possibility of Japanese spies. I couldnt bring
myself to possible endanger all others in that area. I was scared for my country that day and
wanted a way to help bring America to safety again.

I felt for this reason that it was appropriate for the US to join in World War II, even though I had
already lived through one World War this hit home for many Americans. If Japan was willing to
attack a neutral country and kill innocent lives then it was time in the war that we joined the
efforts to restore peace in the world.
When the execution order 9066 was issued I was responsible for urging the issue to
come through as quickly as possible for the safety of all Americans as well as submitting legal
proposals on amendments and campaigns. I believe that the removal of Japanese-Americans
from the west coast was the appropriate action to take at that time. There were many threats not
only about people of Japanese descent being spies and a possible threat to local and national
security, but as well as citizens aggravated, irritated, and acting threatening towards people of
Japanese descent. I believe that Japanese people werent to be trusted and it was the best
precaution the government took to deal with the situation at hand.
Citations
1. Nakagawa,

Martha. "Fletcher Bowron." D

ensho Encyclopedia. 29 Jul 2015, 01:02 PDT.
4 Jan 2017, 20:50 <http://encyclopedia.densho.org/Fletcher%20Bowron/>.