The Alien Enemies Act of 1798 was intended to prevent foreign espionage and sabotage during wartime. It allows the president to detain or deport natives and citizens of an enemy nation. The act has been invoked three times: during the War of 1812, World War I, and World War II.
After the attack on Pearl Harbor in 1941, the United States moved onto a war footing with remarkable speed. Americans rushed to join the military, and manufacturing plants quickly shifted from producing cars and appliances to building tanks and airplanes. On this date in 1942, President Franklin D. Roosevelt invoked the Alien Enemies Act. While the internment of Japanese Americans is best known, individuals of German and Italian heritage were also detained.
Located outside Bismarck, the Fort Lincoln internment camp held a total of 3,850 internees of German and Japanese descent. Japanese internees were sent there from the West Coast. While many young men of Japanese descent served honorably in the U.S. military, others renounced their citizenship in protest of the imprisonment of people solely because of their ancestry. They were assumed to be sympathetic to Japan and were considered dangerous, leading to their confinement in internment camps.
Fort Lincoln offered better conditions than many other camps. Buildings were divided into dormitory-style rooms furnished with steel cots. German and Japanese prisoners were housed in separate compounds, and there were two kitchens: one serving food for the Germans, the other preparing meals suitable for Japanese dietary preferences.
Even so, improved conditions provided little comfort to those confined there. One former internee described what prisoners called “fence sickness,” a term used to explain the emotional toll of confinement. Dr. Edie Friedman said, “After you’ve been behind barbed wire for a long time, even if you know you’ve done nothing wrong, you begin to feel like a criminal.” This was especially distressing for American citizens who felt a deep loyalty to the United States.
Today, the site of the former internment camp is home to United Tribes Technical College. In 2003, the college hosted an exhibit about the internment camp organized by the North Dakota Museum of Art. In 2025, the college unveiled the Snow Country Prison Memorial to remember those who were taken from their homes and held behind barbed wire.
Dakota Datebook written by Dr. Carole Butcher
Sources:
- Brennan Center for Justice. “The Alien Enemies Act, Explained.” https://www.brennancenter.org/our-work/research-reports/alien-enemies-act-explainedAccessed 12/21/2025.
- Martha Nakagawa. “Snow County Prison Exhibit Brings Internees Back to Prison Camp.” https://foitimes.com/internment/Snow%20Prison.htmAccessed 12/21/2025.
- Densho Encyclopedia. “Fort Lincoln (Bismarck) Detention Center. https://encyclopedia.densho.org/Fort_Lincoln_(Bismarck)_(detention_facility)/Accessed 12/21/2025.
