The Internment of Japanese Americans in United States History by David K. Fremon
Authors: David K. Fremon
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Chapter 2
ALIENS INELIGIBLE FOR CITIZENSHIP
When Commodore Matthew Perry, a United States Navy commander, met with Japan’s emperor, Komei, in 1854, the emperor agreed to end two centuries of isolation and open up trade with the West. Perhaps the four American gunboats with cannon aimed at the royal palace influenced the emperor’s decision.
The new treaty meant little to the average Japanese. For the next thirty years, most of the Japanese visiting the United States were sailors. They stayed in American ports only long enough to unload and load goods.
America already had Asian immigrants at that time. Chinese workers toiled on the construction of the transcontinental railroad. Even while using Chinese workers, white Americans discriminated against them. Racist bullies harassed and even murdered Chinese immigrants.
In 1882, President Chester A. Arthur signed a bill that halted further Chinese immigration. California law forbade the Chinese (as well as African Americans and American Indians) from testifying against whites in court. This, in effect, allowed whites to steal from the Chinese. A “Chinaman’s chance” came to mean no chance at all.
In the 1880s, Japanese workers came to Hawaii to harvest the sugar and pineapple crops. West Coast farms, mines, lumber camps, and railroads also sought Japanese laborers.
Most of the early Japanese immigrants were young men. Like many other immigrants, they planned only to make money and return home, but also like other immigrants, many stayed.
Farmland in the Pacific Coast states of California, Oregon, and Washington was plentiful then. Earlier arrivals claimed the best ground. The Issei took what was left. They worked wonders with this land. Japanese farms yielded crops which were as good as or better than those of white farmers.
The Japanese success startled white settlers. When those workers started owning land and competing with white Americans, many whites started panicking.
Nearly twenty-five thousand Issei and Nisei lived in the United States in 1900, almost all of them on the Pacific Coast. Another hundred thousand would arrive in the next eight years. Westerners noted the increased Japanese numbers. The San Francisco Chronicle decried the “complete orientalization of the Pacific Coast.” 1
In 1905, anti-Japanese campaigns stepped up after Japan triumphed over Russia in the Russo-Japanese War. Membership in an anti-immigrant group, the Native Sons of the Golden West, increased. The young Earl Warren was one of those new members. The Oriental Exclusion League sought removal of all Asian immigrants. When Japanese immigrants opened successful laundry businesses, whites started the Anti Jap Laundry League.
The San Francisco Chronicle led a barrage of racist attacks against the Japanese. Headlines warned of “THE YELLOW PERIL.” 2 Soon, the city followed the newspaper. In 1906, San Francisco removed its Japanese students from white schools and ordered them to attend segregated schools in Chinatown.
The Japanese government protested these measures. President Theodore Roosevelt made a so-called gentleman’s agreement with the Japanese government. It stated that the United States would not pass anti-Japanese laws. Japan, in turn, would stop issuing passports allowing Japanese citizens to enter the United States, except for “former residents, parents, wives, or children of residents.” 3
When the Issei became successful, they sent for their families. If they were single, they started families. Many states outlawed marriages between people of Japanese descent and white Americans, but baishaku-nin (go-betweens) arranged marriages between Japanese-American men in the United States and eligible women still in Japan. Often, the would-be groom knew nothing more about his bride than the picture she sent. These women became known as “picture brides.”
Facing Discrimination
Roosevelt’s promise did not extend beyond his term in office, and it did not include laws
ALIENS INELIGIBLE FOR CITIZENSHIP
When Commodore Matthew Perry, a United States Navy commander, met with Japan’s emperor, Komei, in 1854, the emperor agreed to end two centuries of isolation and open up trade with the West. Perhaps the four American gunboats with cannon aimed at the royal palace influenced the emperor’s decision.
The new treaty meant little to the average Japanese. For the next thirty years, most of the Japanese visiting the United States were sailors. They stayed in American ports only long enough to unload and load goods.
America already had Asian immigrants at that time. Chinese workers toiled on the construction of the transcontinental railroad. Even while using Chinese workers, white Americans discriminated against them. Racist bullies harassed and even murdered Chinese immigrants.
In 1882, President Chester A. Arthur signed a bill that halted further Chinese immigration. California law forbade the Chinese (as well as African Americans and American Indians) from testifying against whites in court. This, in effect, allowed whites to steal from the Chinese. A “Chinaman’s chance” came to mean no chance at all.
In the 1880s, Japanese workers came to Hawaii to harvest the sugar and pineapple crops. West Coast farms, mines, lumber camps, and railroads also sought Japanese laborers.
Most of the early Japanese immigrants were young men. Like many other immigrants, they planned only to make money and return home, but also like other immigrants, many stayed.
Farmland in the Pacific Coast states of California, Oregon, and Washington was plentiful then. Earlier arrivals claimed the best ground. The Issei took what was left. They worked wonders with this land. Japanese farms yielded crops which were as good as or better than those of white farmers.
The Japanese success startled white settlers. When those workers started owning land and competing with white Americans, many whites started panicking.
Nearly twenty-five thousand Issei and Nisei lived in the United States in 1900, almost all of them on the Pacific Coast. Another hundred thousand would arrive in the next eight years. Westerners noted the increased Japanese numbers. The San Francisco Chronicle decried the “complete orientalization of the Pacific Coast.” 1
In 1905, anti-Japanese campaigns stepped up after Japan triumphed over Russia in the Russo-Japanese War. Membership in an anti-immigrant group, the Native Sons of the Golden West, increased. The young Earl Warren was one of those new members. The Oriental Exclusion League sought removal of all Asian immigrants. When Japanese immigrants opened successful laundry businesses, whites started the Anti Jap Laundry League.
The San Francisco Chronicle led a barrage of racist attacks against the Japanese. Headlines warned of “THE YELLOW PERIL.” 2 Soon, the city followed the newspaper. In 1906, San Francisco removed its Japanese students from white schools and ordered them to attend segregated schools in Chinatown.
The Japanese government protested these measures. President Theodore Roosevelt made a so-called gentleman’s agreement with the Japanese government. It stated that the United States would not pass anti-Japanese laws. Japan, in turn, would stop issuing passports allowing Japanese citizens to enter the United States, except for “former residents, parents, wives, or children of residents.” 3
When the Issei became successful, they sent for their families. If they were single, they started families. Many states outlawed marriages between people of Japanese descent and white Americans, but baishaku-nin (go-betweens) arranged marriages between Japanese-American men in the United States and eligible women still in Japan. Often, the would-be groom knew nothing more about his bride than the picture she sent. These women became known as “picture brides.”
Facing Discrimination
Roosevelt’s promise did not extend beyond his term in office, and it did not include laws
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