The Japanese-American Journey

Families were separated, they had to abandon their friends, jobs, neighbor's, pet, possessions and their home. A common stereotype was that Japanese Americans were un-American (Renteln). In propaganda Japanese Americans were portrayed as dangerous people and the enemy. Even after the war, coming back home everyone tended to look and treat them differently. Specifically, in the camps they lost part of their identity due to the strict rules about no Japanese books and not speaking in Japanese this made them lose part of their culture. While the Japanese Americans were living in the internment camps, they lost their core identity, therefore it led to mental issues because they weren’t able to be themselves.

What I think about the United States gathering up Japanese Americans was a good thing because it was the safety of American citizens. They had to think fast since it was out-of-nowhere when the attack on Pearl Harbor happened to everyone. The United States didn’t know what to do with the Japanese Americans that was living in America, so they had to put them in internment camps for their and our safety. During the war, the US gathered the Japanese Americans to assure them, we would keep them safe; they were questioned as to whom they felt the greatest loyalty which either was the United States or Japan. The conditions in the camps weren't pleasant the men and women were separated, living inside of barracks, meals were served in rations and mess

Finally, there was much arguing about the immigrants that were allowed in, and the types of immigrants that were allowed in. This controversy laid within the foreign policies of America and its surrounding nations. In a highly xenophobic society, Americans were extremely racist, especially against the Japanese. For the longest time, Japanese were not allowed in the work force of America, let alone America. The new laws that were created did

Many Japanese Americans were actively being sent to the internment camps against their will by the government. This forced exile likely instilled feelings of fear, confusion and betrayal amongst the Japanese-American people.

The reasons for immigration to the "land of opportunity" called America in the early years of this country are explicit. America was seen as a place where an individual could start over with an equal chance of success or failure, provided jobs requiring arduous labor and it did not matter what country that person came from. However, this was not the same for many of the Japanese immigrants. One of the many challenges that Japanese

Apart from racial prejudice, discriminatory measures were adopted by the Government to curb their economic advancement. Japanese immigrants were denied American citizenship. They could only purchase inferior land in the names of their citizen offspring. With their superior agricultural skill they turned such land into fertile agricultural fields and controlled almost fifty percent of California’s commercial truck crops. Economic prosperity was a major irritant among the organized interest groups that carried on anti-Japanese campaigns influenced the government to adopt anti Japanese measures. Policy of deliberate exclusion was also evident in Munson Report that confirmed unquestioned Japanese loyalty to the American nation but were not made public intentionally to perpetuate anti-Japanese sentiments.

The Japanese and Americans have a rocky history because of the harm they have both caused each other. With the Japanese bombing Pearl Harbor and Americans bombing Hiroshima and Nagasaki, tensions have ran high between the two. Even Japanese Americans were feared after Pearl Harbor and Americans acted in a panicked manner. The fear of Japanese Americans at the spark of WWII caused American citizens to take extreme measures. Incarceration camps were set in place to contain Japanese Americans and take them out of their homes. These camps were mean to keep an eye on them and protect America from potential Japanese spies. The camps were necessary for the protection and security of the American people because America was not sure what was going on.

The Issei (first generation immigrants) crossed the Pacific Ocean to come to America because there was a high demand for immigrants’ cheap labor. The Japanese left everything familiar to them. They established their own communities of Japanese culture. The Japanese were discriminated and faced with racial injustice. The Pearl Harbor attack was a spark for more people to hate Japanese living in the United States. Then the Executive order signed by Roosevelt forced hundreds of Japanese Americans to leave their homes and go to interment camps because people feared they were spies for Japan. Most young men wanted to prove their loyalty to America and restore family honor so they joined the war.

One third of them were born in Japan, and in some states they could not own land, become citizens, or vote. In the beginning of 1942, President Roosevelt was pressured to remove people of Japanese decent from the West Coast by farmers that were seeking to eliminate the

World War II was a very influential time for the minorities in America. Army soldiers, industrial workers, rangers, paratroopers, marines, sailors, nurses, pilots, and civilians contributed to the war effort made up not only by white men but included women, Asian-Americans, Hispanics, Native-Americans, and African-Americans. This not only disproved that minorities were inferior; it had a huge impact on racial segregation and stereotypes. World War II was not only waged in the Pacific and European territories, it was also being tackled by the home front where war industry and industrial labor was needed to supply our armed forces. In a time when women were still not equal to men and definitely not accepted into the Army, women could perform delicate jobs and fill in for other industrial jobs while the men were off in other countries.

In the history of Japanese migration to the US, there are two distinct stages. The first was the migration to the US allied Kingdom of Hawaii. There the Japanese faced discriminations similar to what was experienced by the Freemen of the South. The second stage of the Japanese migration was into Mainland USA, the Japanese experienced many of the same oppressions other non-white European groups, however, Japanese managed to overcome them and rapidly gain more rights than their counterparts. However, their success contributed to their internment during WWII. During the journey, leading up to the Japanese American social status experienced today, they endured discrimination based on their race, ethnicity, and gender. Some were specifically targeting

California During the late 1800’s to mid-1900’s was extremely unwelcoming to many of the immigrants including: Japanese, Chinese, Latinos and many other immigrant groups. Early Japanese immigration started around the 1880’s with the Chinese immigrants working in the railroad construction and as contract laborers in the fields. Throughout history many immigrants that migrated to the United States have been the feared by many native born citizens as being a threat to the American Culture and many available jobs. Even though the Japanese contributed greatly to California’s agricultural bloom and where a model to citizens, they were still treated as second citizens by the native citizens for this country and had been excluded from many opportunities being offered to United States citizens; the treatment was inhumane, working enslaved many hours and not being able to grow in business or increase the possibility of obtaining money Many Japanese had the intention of returning back to Japan before the Gentleman Agreement was signed in 1907. The agreement between the governments of Japan and the United States was that the U.S would lower their restrictions on Japanese staying in California and offer some protections granted to American citizens, while the Japanese agreed to limit the numbers of unskilled Japanese workers immigrating to the United States.

During War World 2, many Americans suspected that the remaining Japanese-Americans were loyal to their hereditary land and would create disorder and anarchy here in the the United States. There was a paranoia about the large Japanese presence in the United States. CONGRESS OR SOMETHING MADE AN ORDER. The United States began an order which included all people of Japanese ancestry so the government had separated them from their families and friends, and had made them live in the camps. . Japanese-Americans were subjected to racial discrimination, sent to concentration camps because of security risks,

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.

Pocky, Anime, manga, kanji. Have you heard of any of these? If not… where have you been? All around us teenagers, children, and even adults are being drawn into Japanese culture through TV, books, and even food. Japanese comics, called manga, take up more and more space on American bookshelves, and they've infused new life into the publishing industry. Japanese animation, anime, is on more and more movies and TV screens and influencing popular toys and games.