JapaneseAmerican During Wwii Essay Research Paper Japanese

Japanese-American During Wwii Essay, Research Paper

Japanese immigrants and the following generations had to endure

discrimination, racism, and prejudice from white Americans. They

were first viewed as economic competition. The Japanese

Americans were then forced into internment camps simply because

of the whites fear and paranoia.

The Japanese first began to immigrate to the United States

in 1868. At first they came in small numbers. US Census records

show only 55 in 1870 and 2,039 in 1890. After that, they came in

much greater numbers, reaching 24,000 in 1900, 72,000 in 1910,

and 111,000 in 1920.(Parrillo,287) Most settled in the western

states.(Klimova,1)

Many families in Japan followed the practice of

primogeniture, which is when the eldest son inherits the entire

estate. This was a .push. factor. Because of primogeniture,

.second and third sons came to the United States to seek their

fortunes..(Parrillo,287) The promise of economic prosperity and

the hope for a better life for their children were two .pull.

factors. These foreign-born Japanese were known as Issei (first

generation). They filled a variety of unskilled jobs in

railroads, farming, fishing, and domestic services. (Klimova,1)

The Japanese encountered hostility and discrimination from the

start. In California, a conflict with organized labor was due to

their growing numbers in small areas and racial

visibility.(Parrillo,287)

White workers perceived Japanese as economic competition.

Their willingness to work for lower wages and under poor

conditions brought on hostility from union members. The

immigrants became victims of ethnoviolence. In 1890, Japanese

cobblers were attacked by members of the shoe maker.s union, and

Japanese restaurateurs were attacked by members of the union for

cooks and waiters in 1892. It was very difficult to find steady

employment; therefore, most of them entered agricultural work.

They first worked as laborers, accumulated sufficient capitol,

then as tenant farmers or small landholders. Some became

contract gardeners for whites.(Parrillo,287)

The Japanese farmers were very knowledgeable of cultivation,

which made them strong competitors against white farmers. More

discrimination by the dominant group soon followed.

.In 1913, the California legislator passed

the first alien landholding law, prohibiting

any person who was ineligible for citizenship

from owning land in the state, and permitting

such persons to lease land for no more than

three years in succession..(Parrillo,287)

This was ofcourse aimed at keeping the Japanese in the

working class.

Their native born children, the Nisei (second-generation),

were automatically US citizens. Thus, the Issei had land put

under their children.s names directly or by collectively owning

stock in landholding companies. Discrimination against the

Japanese continued after World War I. The California legislature

passed a law in 1920 .prohibiting aliens form being guardians of

a minor.s property or from leasing any land at

all..(Parrillo,288) Yet another attempt by the dominant group to

preserve power.

Japanese American children also suffered racism and

discrimination. In 1905, the San Francisco School Board of

Education passed a policy sending Japanese children to a

segregated Oriental school in Chinatown.(Parrillo,288)

.Superintendent, Aaron Altmann, advised the city.s principals:

.Any child that may apply for enrollment or

at present attends your school who may be

designated under the head of .Mongolian. must

be excluded, and in furtherance of this

please direct them to apply at the Chinese

school for enrollment..(Asia,1)

Japanese immigrants being extremely racially distinct, had

different cultural customs and religious faith, and tended to

chain migrate and stay within their own small communities. This

aroused distrust and the idea that they could not be

assimilated.(Klimova,2) Japan.s victory in the Russo-Japanese

war in 1905 fueled the irrational distrust and prejudice. It led

to the Gentlemen.s Agreement of 1908, secured by President

Roosevelt, which .Japan agreed to restrict, but not eliminate

altogether, the issuance of passports..(Parrillo,288) This

attempt at reducing Japanese immigration had a huge loophole, it

allowed wives to enter. Many Japanese practiced endogamy and

sent for .picture brides.. .Several thousand Japanese entered

the United States every year until World War I, and almost 6,000

a year came after the war..(Parrillo,288)

The anti-Japanese attitudes grew stronger. The Immigration

Law of 1924 stated that all aliens ineligible for citizenship

were refused entry. Thus, .…the Japanese migration to America

[came] to a complet

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