If the United States went to war with Japan, a military study from 1929 concluded, 'all Japanese, alien and Hawaiian-born . . . should be considered as enemy aliens.' Colonel John DeWitt foresaw the need for 'complete military control over the Hawaiian islands, including selective imprisonment of anyone considered threatening.' George S. Patton listed influential community figures in Hawaii as potential 'hostages' in case of war with Japan.
Franklin Roosevelt proposed a secret list of suspected agitators who might be 'the first to be placed in a concentration camp in the event of trouble.' Historian Gary Y. Okihiro highlighted the speculative nature of suspicions towards Japanese communities in Hawaii during that era.
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