John Tolan

John Harvey Tolan was born on 1877 in St Peter, Minnesota. In 1902, Tolan graduated from the University of Kansas Law School. He was admitted to the bar in that same year and practiced law in Kansas and Montana. In 1914, Tolan moved to Oakland, where he established a law practice. He soon became involved in city politics through his membership with several fraternal organizations, notably the Knights of Columbus.

In 1934, John Tolan successfully ran for Congress on a platform supporting the New Deal. In 1937, Tolan introduced a bill for the establishment of a West Coast branch of the U.S. Naval Academy in the Bay Area. The bill passed.

In 1940, Tolan was appointed as head of the House Select Committee to Investigate Interstate Migration of Destitute Citizens. Created to address the rise of migratory workers throughout the U.S., the committee sought to understand the conditions facing impoverished workers and help cities with navigating the influx of workers. In January 1941, the committee was renamed the House Select Committee on National Defense Migration in light of the rising number of workers moving to cities to find work in the defense industry. The hearings spotlighted the labor demands of the defense industry amidst growing concerns of war. ^[1]

Following the attack on Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941, several West Coast congressional representatives joined their constituents in calling for the expulsion of Japanese Americans from the West Coast. Tolan, concerned by the growing anti-Japanese fervor in California, organized for hearings to be conducted by the Select Committee of National Defense Migration.

The committee held four sets of hearings: San Francisco (February 21, 23, and March 12); Portland (February 26); Seattle (February 28 and March 2); and Los Angeles (March 6–7).

The hearings garnered significant attention from the West Coast press. A consequence of the hearings was that they gave a platform for local West Coast politicians to spread lies about Japanese Americans and vocalize their desire to expel Japanese Americans from their cities. Among the most famous individuals to testify was California Attorney General Earl Warren , who famously declared that Japanese Americans are inherently disloyal:

Congressman, there is no way that we can establish that fact. We believe that when we are dealing with the Caucasian race we have methods that will test the loyalty of them, and we believe that we can, in dealing with the Germans and the Italians, arrive at some fairly sound conclusions because of our knowledge of the way they live in the community and have lived for many years. But when we deal with the Japanese we are in an entirely different field and we cannot form any opinion that we believe to be sound. Their method of living, their language, make for this difficulty. ^[2]

The hearings also gave Japanese American political leaders the opportunity to speak to a national audience. In San Francisco, Nisei journalist James Omura proclaimed at the end of the first day's hearing "Has the Gestapo Come to America?" In Los Angeles, members of the United Citizens Federation— Togo Tanaka and Tokie Nishimura Slocum —along with Mike Masaoka of the Japanese American Citizens League each testified regarding the community's desire to support the war effort. Masaoka argued that while forcibly removing the community would be an injustice, he argued that the community would not resist orders.

The Tolan Committee's final report, released on May 13, 1942, concluded that the federal government needed to organize a forced removal program modeled after New Deal programs. Camps, according to the report, would be modeled after Farm Security Administration camps and be equipped with basic necessities. The report bore the stamp of Tolan's previous investigations into internal migration and the need to provide for the general welfare of the confined. The report also included conclusive reports that no Japanese Americans in Hawai`i participated in sabotage during the attack of Pearl Harbor—a point used by anti-Japanese advocates to justify removing Japanese Americans from the coast.

While the investigations had the negative effect of legitimizing the case for forcibly removing Japanese Americans, the investigations had a calculated effect on the development of the War Relocation Authority , the subsequent design of the camps, and the policy of resettlement.

During his 1942 election campaign, Tolan included his role in the hearings in his campaign flyers, where he proclaimed to have fixed the "Japanese Problem":

When President Roosevelt and Secretary of War Stimson wanted accurate information concerning the Japanese evacuation problem on the Pacific Coast, the Tolan Committee was selected for the job, and its recommendations were followed. ^[3]

Among members of the West Coast congressional delegation, Tolan joined the moderate wing that opposed stringent policies against Japanese Americans. For example, Tolan opposed signing a resolution calling for the mass deportation of Japanese Americans in January 1944.

Tolan handily won the election, and remained in office through the 1946 election. Tolan declared in a 1944 election ad that he "has been accessible to all, regardless of party, creed, or race." In January 1947, Tolan announced his retirement from Congress following the end of his term in 1948.

In late June 1947, John Tolan and his family vacationed at the family cabin in the rural Eastern California town of Westwood. On June 28, Tolan's two-year-old granddaughter, Greta Mary Gale, went missing after wandering in the woods. A search party was organized by the Plumas County Sherriff's office to find Greta. During the search, Tolan's physical health declined dramatically. On the night of June 30, 1947, John Tolan died of a stroke. His granddaughter was reported found unharmed the next morning. ^[4]

Tolan's death was marked by an obituary in the Oakland Tribune . The Tribune eulogized Tolan's service in Congress and contributions to the Bay Area, including his work on the wartime committee investigating the forced removal of Japanese Americans.

Several government officials mourned Tolan's death. Governor Earl Warren told the Oakland Tribune that Tolan was "A grand man; It was too bad John could not have been alive when the girl was found." Warren mentioned that he and Tolan were previously opponents in court when Warren was district attorney of Oakland. ^[5]

Among the members of Congress involved in the shaping the policy of wartime confinement for Japanese Americans, few had as much influence as John Tolan. Tolan's hearings marked a watershed moment in the policymaking process of incarceration.