The Importance Of Japanese Migration To Canada

The Gentlemen’s Agreement of 1907 is a deal conducted between President Theodore Roosevelt and Japan in an attempt to soothe rising tensions, through the limit of immigration by both countries, and the United States additionally repealing the allowance of segregated school for Asian children.

The Japanese living in Canada during World War II (WWII) faced one of the harshest and inhumane living conditions in Canadian history. One unidentified woman remembers, “it was terrible, unbelievable. They kept us in the stalls where they put the cattle and horses.” Before WWII, the Japanese were targeted for their culture. An example is the Anti-Asiatic League that was created to limit the number of Japanese men that could immigrate to Canada. Canadians did not want the potential competitors in farming and fishing. 22,000 Japanese Canadians were interned during WWII, even though 14,000 had been Canadian born citizens. This was because the Japanese had bombed Canada’s ally, the United States. With this in mind, the Canadians viewed the

When w.w.1 and w.w.2 first broke out the position and national interest of Canada it was the protection of freedom and democracy against German tyranny fascism. For Canada`s role is that it was support and supply, but evolved into a fighting force to be reckoned with. The overall major support as almost 10 % of Canada`s population went to fight in these wars and a large work force was employed to manufacture all manner of supplies to support the war effort. In the end of the wars Canada`s military took on a role as peacekeepers. In the treaty of Versailles Canada did participate, but was barley recognized for what it had done to be respected more in that they did all the dirty work and they did not. The treaties and organizations of post-w.w.2

The Japanese Americans sustained many injustices during the pre-World War Two era, including exclusion from traditional establishments and occupations. It was noted, “the [economic] argument and the discriminatory measures are plain contradictions” (Goto 105-106). Although the stated goal of Californians was to have a unified population, their actions belied their true motives. The colossal nature of the assimilatory feats performed by Japanese dictated that “even Californian agitators themselves, in their moments of private reflection, admit the wonderful power of adaptability of Japanese,” but, “in public they do everything to prevent the process of assimilation from running its natural course” (Goto 106). Often, the bigoted owners of white establishments barred people of Japanese

Thesis: Even though the Japanese Americans were able to adapt to their new environment, the

America was close to losing Japan’s friendship when many people in California started a campaign to stop Japanese immigration into the U.S. There were leagues formed to specifically exclude Japanese and Koreans from entering the nation. What these people wanted was for Asians to be prohibited from coming to America. These “exclusion leagues” believed that Asians “threatened American culture and unfairly competed for jobs that rightfully belonged to native-born white workers” (Keene, 585). California spoke out about protecting their nation from the “yellow peril” and they lumped all Asians together (Keene, 585). This was something that greatly angered Japan. Japan viewed Asian peoples as not being as good as themselves and was insulted to be grouped with them. In order to remain in good relations with Japan, President Roosevelt created the Gentlemen’s Agreement, which saved Japan from being lumped together with China. The social elements during this time showed just how racially motivated America could be. It also showed that some Americans did not care about their relations with other countries, as long as they had their jobs “that rightfully belonged to them” from being born in America (Keene, 585) This self-entitlement that America had would end up causing many more problems down the line. Also, the Gentlemen’s Agreement had many loopholes in it that Japan took advantage of,

The Japanese immigrants worked on mainly the Northeast coast, slowly moving across the states, and diligently saved money to send back home to families. The sugar beet industry took off in the 1920’s, due to new irrigation advancements, the Japanese immigrants took their labor in the farming market as hope for establishing their own farmsteads and independence (Mercier). Of course, as many minorities unfortunately realized, this was extremely limited by racial tension and discrimination from local landowners and state government. The limitations were so potent, Japanese immigrants could only rent or lease land for their own crops, and the tension between the countries—American and Japan—led to a so-called “Gentleman’s Agreement” between the countries. After 1908, immigration from Japan was extremely limited but American government stated that wives and bridges of the male immigrants were granted access to the states

They settled in the states of the Pacific Northwest, including Washington, Oregon, and California. While these regions were the hearths of their immigration, the primary pull factor was the increasing demand for railroad construction labor, which took them farther inland for several years. The restriction of Chinese immigration volumes spurred this higher demand for labor as the “Great Northern, Northern Pacific, Oregon Short Line and other railroads” were being constructed, and Japanese immigrants had been an untapped market leading up to this point (Mercier, 1). By the early 1900s, Japanese immigrants made up about “40 percent of Oregon’s total railroad labor force” (Mercier, 1). This immediately established a subordination of Japanese people in relation to other Americans (primarily white Europeans). From their point of view, the Japanese were brought here for cheap manual labor, and after the railroads were completed, the settling of Japanese within communities along the Western seaboard were not appreciated by the people who preceded them. This was only the beginning of the racial discrimination Japanese Americans endured (and continue to endure). Further analyzing the struggle between the Japanese and other racial groups leading up to World War 2 allows us to understand a major factor of why the implementation of internment camps would eventually become a reality in

All across the West, relocation notices were posted on April 30, 1942. All people of Japanese ancestry – including those with only 1/16th Japanese blood – were given one week to settle their affairs. Farmers desperately looked to neighbors to help take care of their crops, but like many Japanese-American business owners, they faced financial ruin. Families lost everything, forced to sell off homes, shops, furnishings, even the clothes they couldn’t carry with them, to buyers happy to snap them up for next to

For more than 200 years, people of Japanese Ancestry have made their home in America. They came to this country because of the poor political and economic conditions back home, as well as the possibility of finding employment as sugar planters in America. During the period of 1891 to 1900, approximately 26,000 Japanese immigrated to America (see Appendix I). During the period of 1901 to 1910, approximately 130,000 Japanese immigrated to America (see Appendix I). There was a fivefold increase in the number of Japanese immigrants in ten years. This proliferation of Japanese in America led to the birth of a movement known as the “Anti-Japanese Movement.” This movement was led by anti-Japanese organizations such as the Japanese Exclusion League, the Native Sons and Daughters of the Golden West, and the American Legion, as well as prominent political leaders. Influenced by these organizations, politicians passed a series of legislations limiting the rights of the Japanese and their possibility of immigration. In 1913, politicians passed the California’s Anti-Alien Land Act, which prevented Issei, first-generation Japanese Americans, from owning land. In 1907, the government passed the Gentlemen’s Agreement in which President Theodore Roosevelt severely restricted Japanese immigration to America. Immigration was cut off completely when Congress passed the National Origins Act of 1924, which prevented immigration by aliens who were deemed ineligible for citizenship. One Issei who wanted to become a U.S. citizen was Takao Ozawa. He arrived in the United States as a student in 1894, and attended schools in California, including the University of California, Berkeley. In 1914, he filed an application for U.S citizenship. His application for citizenship was denied because the court declared that Ozawa was “in every way eminently qualified under the

Japanese immigrants and the following generations had to endure discrimination, racism, and prejudice from white Americans. Two months after the Japanese bombing of Pearl Harbor, the President Franklin D. Roosevelt authorized the United States government to forcibly removed thousands of Japanese-American citizens who lived on the West Coast. They would relocate them to concentration camps in remote parts of Arizona, California, Idaho, and other states in the West because of an unfair reason from white Americans due to fear and ignorance. The relocation of Japanese-Americans into internment camps was one of the most flagrant violations of civil liberties in American history. Approximately, 130,000 Japanese immigrants were relocated to these interment camps, lost their businesses, forced to give up their homes and assets in addition to their freedom. Most of the population were long-standing immigrants (Issei) who arrived before 1924 or American-born children of immigrants (Nisei) who were solid members of the community and loyal to their country.

To be a Japanese immigrant in the early 1900s was difficult but after December 7, 1941 things only got worse. On December 7, 1941, the Japanese Imperial Navy attacked the United States naval base in Pearl Harbor, Hawaii. “Although conflict had been underway in both Europe and Asia for years, the United States did not formally enter the hostilities until December 8, when President Franklin Delano Roosevelt famously declared the attack on Pearl Harbor ‘a day which we live in infamy’ and asked Congress for a declaration of war” (Wu and Izumi). After the attack on Pearl Harbor “race became increasingly associated with loyalty in the United States” (Harth 254). “What Japan had done was blamed on Japanese Americans” (Wu 2). On February 19, 1942 President Roosevelt signed Executive Order 9066. Executive Order 9066 granted the secretary of war and his commanders the power “to prescribe military areas in such places and of such extent as he or the appropriate Military Commander may determine, from which any or all persons may be excluded” (Executive Order 9066). “Although the text of Executive Order 9066 did not specifically mention Japanese Americans, it was intended to apply to them exclusively” (G. Robinson and G. Robinson 4).

People have control over what they do in life, but not everyone thinks before they do. Some of the actions that people do commit may result in positive or negative outcomes. In Shakespeare Macbeth, Macbeth the main character suffers many consequences because of the bad decisions that he has made in order to get himself in power and to keep his power from those who may want to take it away from him, this may lead to consequences that the character faces in the future. Macbeth is expected to be a loyal and courageous soldier that the audience may not think to be a murdures, unloyal and disobedient person. Throughout Macbeth, Macbeth is successful of becoming king because of the influence of Lady Macbeth of telling Macbeth to kill him. Although Macbeth does obtain all this power Shakespeare does not allow him to live the good life for long, instead he makes him suffer through the witches that tell him the prophecies about how powerful he will become. That makes him very confident and that is where all his actions are that lead to consequences that he suffers throughout the book. At the end of the play Macbeth is not rewarded for the actions that he has committed to become king but shows how Macbeth’s actions lead to his death at the end.

Migration of Japanese people to America began in mid-1800s as they searched for peace and a mode of payment to improve their family conditions, and escape from unstable home conditions in Japan. Migration resulted in a life of great hard work and severities of hostility in the workplace. In addition, Japanese immigrants had to face multiple legislative attacks from Americans and endure poor working conditions because of their presence in a foreign land.

As our generation ages, our knowledge of the our parents issues during their adolescent years. If you ask many young adults now they will say that our issues are very different and that we have nothing in common because times have changed. There are such things as drugs, parties, sex, dating, parenthood, and privledges that we all have faced through the years and that will not change. Although the circumstances may be different, the problems teenagers face today are not very different from those faced by their parents.