The Japanese were a major focus of California politics in
the 50 years BEFORE World War II.
... The Japanese were a small immigrant group, who
lacked political saavy.
.... Racial feelings
of many Californians frequently combined with resentment at the Asian immigrants' willingness to work for low wages
made them an easy target to bully.
...."Public
perceptions and misconceptions about the Japanese in this country were affected
by myths and stereotypes—the fear of "the YELLOW PERIL" and
.... misunderstanding of the cultural patterns of the Japanese in
America. Resentment of effective economic competition also inflamed public
feeling and, combined with differences of language and culture, left the small
minority of Japanese Americans on the West Coast comparatively isolated—a ready
target at a time of fear and anxiety...."(1)
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March 26, 1790 - The U.S. Congress Act of March 26, 1790; "any
alien, being a free white person who shall have resided within the limits and
under the jurisdiction of the U.S. for a term of 2 years, may be
admitted to become a citizen thereof."
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THE CHINESE IMMIGRANT EXPERIENCE
The Chinese began immigrating into the U.S. under adverse conditions in the middle of the 1800's, several decades BEFORE
significant Japanese immigration began. California was at the center of
American discrimination against the Chinese and, later, against the Japanese.
1870 -Approximately 10% of California's population was Chinese; Chinese
immigrants were railroad laborers; nearly 10,000 unemployed Chinese after completion of the transcontinental railroad line. Depressed labor market and
anti-Chinese feelings spread and became vocal. Financial recession was blamed on "cheap Mongolian labor,"
and protests were directed against the Chinese and their employers.
1871- California Republican and Democratic parties had
anti-Chinese themes in their platforms. An
independent California workingmen's
party was organized around the Chinese population and anti-Chinese control.
1873 - "Persons of African Nativity
or Descent" added to the Congress Act of March 26, 1790.
May 6, 1882 - Congress passed the Chinese
Exclusion Act; stopped Chinese immigration for 6 decades.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Immigration and naturalization of the Chinese was not
permitted until 1943, when the U.S. became an ally with China in WW II.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
THE JAPANESE IMMIGRANT EXPERIENCE
1885 - Hawaiian sugarcane plantation
owners recruit Japanese laborers; they begin to arrive
1890-Population: 2,039 Japanese immigrants and native-born
American citizens of Japanese ancestry in the U.S.
1891 - Japanese immigrants arrive to the U.S.
mainland; mostly working as agriculture
laborers
June 27, 1894 - A U.S. district court rule; Japanese immigrants cannot become U.S. citizens;
they are not "a free white
person" (Naturalization Act of 1790 requirement)
1897-1899-The Alaska Gold Rush drained the
Pacific northwest of labor needed to link Seattle and Tacoma with the east by
railroad, so Japanese laborers were needed.
[Similar to other immigrant
groups, the Japanese immigrants settled in their own ethnic neighborhoods,
founded their own school, churches, banks, and cultural organizations. Real
estate property was not sold to the immigrants by the non-Japanese.]
1900-Population: 24,326 Japanese immigrants and native-born
American citizens of Japanese ancestry in the U.S.
May 7, 1900 - First large anti-Japanese protest
in California; organized by several labor groups.
February 23, 1905 - Headlines on front page of San
Francisco Chronicle, "The Japanese Invasion: The Problem of the Hour"
May 14, 1905 - First organized anti-Japanese
movement group, The Asiatic Exclusion League is formed in San Francisco.
October 11, 1906 - The San Francisco Board of
Education passed a segregation resolution; segregated Chinese, Japanese, and
Korean ancestry children
1901-1908-Population (unrestricted
immigration): 127,000 Japanese in the U.S.
1908 - "Gentleman's Agreement"
signed by the U.S. and Japan; stopped migration of Japanese laborers into the
U.S.
1913 - California Alien Land Law passed in
the Assembly; "All aliens
ineligible for citizenship" are forbidden from owning land. (Later 'leasing'
of land was also forbidden; 12 other states adopted similar laws.)
1920 - California Alien Land Law passed; attempt to close
loopholes in the 1913 Alien Land Law.
[The vast majority of the Japanese immigrants were young
adult males from the agricultural class— young men who left the
impoverished country of Japan. They
worked on small, individual plots of land, and they possessed knowledge on
cultivation, soil conditions, use of fertilizers, skill in reclaiming land,
irrigation and drainage. These attributes enabled them to successfully cultivate and develop the wastelands and introduce new crops on the West Coast states. The immigrant Japanese fisherman introduced a radical change in the fishing industry. Their
occupations were manual but their hard work, thrift, respect for
education and social stability were a firm foundation for a better economic
future. (1)]
1922- The U.S. Supreme Court decision in Ozawa v. United States, upheld the U.S.
government’s right to deny U.S. citizenship to Japanese immigrants. The 14th
Amendment to the Constitution assured to everyone born in the U. S. the rights
and privileges of citizenship without regard to the status of one's parents.
1940- Population: 111,000 Japanese Americans in the
U.S. 82,000 are immigrants; 29,000 were born in the U.S (American citizens).
[Japanese
Americans controlled less than 4% of California’s farmland, and produced more
than 10% of the total value of the state’s farm resources.]
Sources:
1. http://www.nps.gov/history/history/online_books/personal_justice_denied/chap1.htm
2.http:/www.densho.org/default.asp?path=/assets/sharedpages/timeline.asp
3.http://www.usnews.com/usnews/documents/docpages/document_page74.htm
4.Daniels,Roger. The Politics of Prejudice: The Anti-Japanese Movement in California and the Struggle for Japanese Exclusion. University of California Press; 1st ed. (March 2, 1999)
5.http://www.nps.gov/history/history/online_books/personal_justice_denied/chap2.htm
6.http://archive.vancouver.wsu.edu/crbeha/ja/ja.htm
7.http://encyclopedia.densho.org/Regan%20v.%20King/
8.http://www.teachamericanhistory.org/File/Homefront_WWII.pdf
9. www.uwec.edu/geography/Ivogeler/CCL.../4-racism-japanese.pdf
