#28 "Camp Forrest & Japanese Internment Camps"

Media: Episode Recording -- "Camp Forrest & Japanese Internment Camps"; Episode Preview -- "Camp Forrest & Japanese Internment Camps"

Podcast Teaser Trailer: Episode Preview -- "Camp Forrest & Japanese Internment Camps"
Link to Podcast: Episode Recording -- "Camp Forrest & Japanese Internment Camps"
Episode Number: Students Podcasting History Episode #28
Episode Title: #28 "Camp Forrest & Japanese Internment Camps"
Episode Date: April 22, 2025
Key Words: Internment Camp: An internment camp is a facility, often described as a "relocation center" or
"concentration camp," where civilians are detained, especially during wartime or periods of heightened
political tension.
Alien Enemies Act of 1798: authorized the president to deport any non-citizen deemed dangerous to the
peace and safety of the United States.
Pearl Harbor Bombing: the surprise military strike by the Empire of Japan on the United States
Pacific Fleet at its naval base in Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, on December 7, 1941.
Japanese-Americans: Virtually all Japanese Americans were forced to leave their homes and
property and live in camps for most of the war.
Episode Introduction: Hi everybody and welcome to: U.S. history unveiled, where myself, Molly Haskell, will be your podcast host for today. On today’s episode we’ll be exploring a piece of history not too far from Sewanee. In fact, I’ll be talking about Camp Forrest in Tullahoma, which was one of the first internment camps of WW2 in the U.S. Following the bombing of Pearl Harbor, President Franklin Delano Roosevelt revised the Alien Enemies Act of 1798, granting himself the authority to detain or deport individuals from “enemy nations.” These nations included Italy, Japan, and Germany. As a result, many individuals of Italian, Japanese, and German descent were stripped of their identities and forced into internment camps. Originally, Camp Forrest housed approximately 800 “alien civilians,” primarily of Japanese descent. By 1943, its focus shifted to detaining German and Italian POWs. These prisoners often worked on local farms and performed manual labor left behind by Americans who had gone to fight overseas. By 1945, Tullahoma’s population had surged from 4,500 to nearly 75,000, largely due to the influx of POWs. Despite its significance, Camp Forrest has received little attention in historical scholarship. This episode addresses that gap by examining the U.S. home front during World War II—specifically, what was happening on American soil. Drawing on resources from the Sewanee archives, including newspaper articles and secondary sources, this research focuses on one of the earliest internment camps in the country, located not far from where we are today. A key primary source in this project is a 1984 New York Times article that discusses POWs who worked for Abbo Martin, the founder of Abbo’s Alley. By exploring how the camp was operated and how the prisoners were treated, we gain a more nuanced understanding of this chapter in American history—one that is often overlooked but deeply relevant.
Hosted By: Molly Haskell
Host Biography: Molly Haskell, the host of the podcast, and myself speaking now, was born and raised in the northern suburbs of Chicago before moving to Charlotte North Carolina to complete middle through high school. She grew up playing sports, loving the outdoors, and loving her history classes in school. Her love for history was part of her reason for starting this podcast. She also loves teaching people about new things so this was the perfect opportunity for her. Now she is a student at Sewanee: The University of the South where she plays on the Field Hockey team.
The Show: Students Podcasting History is an educational resource developed by students in Dr. Andrew Maginn’s History of the United States II course to highlight crucial movements in American History through podcasting. The students research and interpret primary and secondary sources to discuss pivotal themes, people, and events in the United States' history from 1865 through the present. Through creatively sharing these narratives and learning digital tools, these students hope to make history more accessible and exciting for the general public.
Source: George Brown Tindall and David E. Shi, America : A Narrative History, Ninth edition,
(New York City, New York: W.W. Norton & Company, 2013), 1175.
● Joseph L. Locke and Ben Wright, The American Yawp: A Massively Collaborative Open U.S.
History Textbook, Volume 2: Since 1877, (Stanford, California: Stanford University Press,2023)
https://www.americanyawp.com/
● Furuya,“Suikei” Kumaji An Internment Odyssey, (Honolulu, Hawai'i : Japanese Cultural
Center of Hawai'i), 2017, 93.
● Joseph L. Locke and Ben Wright, The American Yawp: A Massively Collaborative Open U.S.
History Textbook, Volume 2: Since 1877, (Stanford, California: Stanford University Press,2023)
● https://www.americanyawp.com/
● Dr. Andrew Maginn, “World War Two,” History 202A: Week Seven American History II-WWII,
(class lecture, Sewanee: The University of the South, Sewanee, Tennessee, February 26, 2025).
● Joseph L. Locke and Ben Wright, The American Yawp: A Massively Collaborative Open U.S.
History Textbook, Volume 2: Since 1877, (Stanford, California: Stanford University Press,2023)
● https://www.americanyawp.com/
● “Internment Camp Survivor Discusses Reparations.” YouTube. Accessed April 7, 2025.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s5hzxjwhVsQ.
● Franklin Delano Roosevelt, “FDR's Executive Order 9066 (with Audio Description)”, NPS Hyde
Park, April 23, 2025, YouTube video, 0:16-0:43,
,https://youtu.be/Dc8-rg-5ye8?si=7yKysMKiA9TWyIpD&t=16
Contact Information: My email address is:
haskems@sewanee.edu
A link to the homepage of the Students Podcasting History site:
https://www.andrewwyattmaginn.org/Digital_Humanities/s/studentspodcastinghistory/page/home