World War I Enemy Alien Records
With the declaration of war on April 6, 1917, President Woodrow Wilson called on residents in the United States, citizen and immigrant alike, to loyally uphold all laws and to support all measures adopted in order to protect the nation and secure peace. For individuals termed 鈥渁lien enemies鈥� 鈥� all natives, citizens, denizens, or subjects of Germany and its allies (including American-born women who married German men) 鈥� showing loyalty required a number of additional parameters and processes.
Wilson鈥檚 declaration of war included twelve regulations that restricted the conduct of alien enemies in the United States. Broadly, the regulations barred owning firearms, established a permitting process to reside/work in areas deemed as restricted zones or to depart the United States, and laid out policies regarding threats and attacks against the United States, along with condemning all aid to the enemy.
Significantly, Regulation 12 stated that 鈥渁n alien enemy whom there may be reasonable cause to believe to be aiding or about to aid the enemy . . . or violates any regulation promulgated by the President . . . will be subject to summary arrest . . . and to confinement in such penitentiary, prison, jail, or military camp.鈥� The War Department established war prison barracks at Fort Oglethorpe, GA; Fort McPherson, GA; and Fort Douglas, UT.
Records related to World War I enemy alien control programs were created by several different Federal agencies, including:
Records Related to Internments
Records Related to Registrations, Permits, and Enforcement
Growing concern over potential espionage by German aliens living in the United States prompted an expansion of requirements in November 1917 to include eight additional regulations. Among these, Regulation 19 instituted a requirement for enemy alien registration. Registration involved completing a four-page form that required the registrant to provide family information, details of immigration, a physical description, a photograph, and fingerprints.
More than 480,000 German enemy aliens were registered, 200,000 permits were issued, and 6,300 enemy aliens were arrested under Presidential Arrest Warrants. There are no surviving master lists of registrations, permits, or arrests.
Very few records of the enemy alien registration and permitting processes exist today. The records that do survive are incomplete. The series identified below are the only known registration records currently maintained by the 威尼斯人娱乐场. Researchers should be aware that enemy alien registration records have been identified at a variety of locations outside the 威尼斯人娱乐场, including state archives, historical societies, and county libraries. To date, the only states with known surviving enemy alien registration records are: Arizona, Arkansas, California, Idaho, Indiana, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Minnesota (state registration), New Mexico, New York, North Carolina, North Dakota, Oregon, Texas, and Wisconsin.