History of Japanese Americans and the Internment

History of Japanese Americans
and the Internment
Comparing Cultures
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3BJjo0BCbGo
Immigration
• Immigration was concentrated in the latter quarter of 19th
century. They entered the plantation economy as contract
workers. Migration (especially to CALIF) occurred in
1890s. (25,000 – 1900 Census)
• Japanese were accused to taking jobs away from US
citizens.
• Many were single males, employment was physically
difficult, low prestige, and low paying. The majority came
from a working class.
• Picture Bride was a way to select wives.
History
• Gentleman’s Agreement (1907)- Japan agreed not to issue
passports to skilled or unskilled workers or to wives or
children of these workers.
• Immigration Act (1917) enacted in order to stop Japanese
immigration as well as immigration from other Asian countries.
• Immigration Act (1924) allowed a total of 100 migrants per year
for the following decades.
• National Origins Act of 1924
• Ozawa v. United States (1922)
• Lives segregated from US mainstream
• Ethnic enclaves
Pearl Harbor
• Dec. 7, 1941 Attack on Pearl Harbor
• FBI began to round up Japanese leaders in Hawaii +
Mainland. By 6:30am, 736 Japanese were in custody; w/in
48hrs, the number was 1291. Held on no formal charges +
family members were forbidden to see them.
• Mar. 24, 1942 Japanese Americans were removed from
their neighborhoods. Most were taken to assembly centers
or temporary detention camps.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3BJjo0BCbGo
Relocation
• February 19, 1941 Executive Order
9066.
• Over 110,000 Japanese Americans
Relocated
““Well, the only thing when I heard about that,
I said to myself, being Japanese, "shikata ga
nai." Means "can't help it." Because we have
oriental face. Can't do anything about it.
That's the reason we all went to the
relocation center. We had to do what the
government told us to do. We can't fight the
government. So we were sent to relocation
center, what we call concentration center”George Matsui
Assembly Centers
• Manzanar and Tule Lake California
• Amache, Colorado
• Minidoka, Idaho
• Topaz, Utah
• Heart Mountain, Wyoming
• Jerome, Arkansas
• Gila River and Poston, Arizona
World War II
Concentration Camps
• As a group, they were taken
into concentration camps
during WWII.
• Loss their possessions, faced
a hostile public, + had lost
faith in American system.
• Over 110, 000 Japanese were
imprisoned at Manzanar + 9
other camps.
• Of these, 2/3 were American
born citizens.
WWII Soldiers
• Many argue there
was an exploitation
of Japanese American
soldiers during
WWII.
• Many were
volunteers from
concentration camps
whose families were
behind barbed wires.
Military Intelligence Service
 First
location at Presidio,
San Francisco.
 First group of Nisei
began language training in
November 1941.
 45 Nisei graduated the
First MISLS class.
 Language School lasted
five years.
M.I.S. Duties
“They
are our secret weapons.
The role that 6,000 Japanese
American soldiers played in
the Pacific battlefield has been
a well kept secret until now”Harry S. Truman
Duties
• Interrogation of POWs
•Translation of captured documents
•Intercepted and decoded radio
messages
Personal Perspectives
• “The
way they did it I felt
shameful”- Ted Tsukiyama
• “I think I must have felt
glee, my country needs me,
you know. I never did
analyze the why or how
come. Today when you think
about it, I think my kids must
think I am stupid or
something”-Akira Otani
Volunteering from Relocation Camps
“My brother and
myself went to Merced
assembly center. Until
then, I didn't feel I had
lost my freedom. 'Even
with curfew, I felt free.
But, once in
Internment camp with
fences and MPs, I
resented that”- Harry
Akune
Voices
• "At Gila, there were 7,700 people crowded into space
designed for 5,000. They were housed in messhalls,
recreation halls, and even latrines. As many as 25 persons
lived in a space intended for four."
(http://www.pbs.org/childofcamp/history/camps.html)
• “There were shootings…Topaz, an elderly evacuee thought
to be escaping was killed. At Gila River, a Guard shot and
wounded a mentally deranged evacuee. At Tule Lake, after
segregation, an evacuee in an altercation with a guard was
shot and killed.” (http://www.children-of-the-camps.org/history/timeline.html)
Voices
• “A Jap’s a Jap. There’s no way to determine their
loyalty…This coast is too vulnerable. No Jap should come
back to this coast except on a permit from my office.” –
General John L. DeWitt, head, Western Defense Command
((http://www.children-of-the-camps.org/history/timeline.html)
• Physically we were 100% Japanese but we are 100%
American in our hearts. It’s not that I want to wave the flag
but we were born and raised here in the American system.
It was a crushing blow that the government would say
“You’re Japanese. You’ve got to get out of here”
• We cooperated with the government, because in the long
run we hoped to prove our citizenship.
Internment Camp
Gila River Camp, Arizona
Manzanar Relocation Camp, CA
http://www.pbs.org/childofcamp/
history/camps.html
http://www.csuohio.edu/art_photos/fa
malbum/famalbum.html
Heart Mountain Relocation Camp, Wyoming
Gila River Relocation
Camphttp://www.csuohio.edu/art_photos/famalbum http://www.csuohio.edu/art_photos/famalbu
m/famalbum.html
/famalbum.html
After the WWII
• 1948 President Truman signs the Japanese Americans.
Evacuation Claim Act, a measure to compensate Japanese
Americans for economic losses.
• 1954- Issei could become citizens
• 1965 Pres. Johnson amends the Immigration Nationality
Act, making Asians equal to Europeans in immigrant
matters.
• 1988 Pres. Reagan signed into a law for individual
payments of 20k to each surviving internee.
Impact of Concentration Camps
• Strengths/Resiliency factors: family and community support,
cultural values, spiritual/religious beliefs
• Economic/Financial impact
• Social impact: loss of community leadership, selfidentification as “camp generation”
Impact of Concentration Camps
• "Long-term health consequences included psychological anguish as
well as increased cardiovascular disease. Survey information found
former internees had a 2.1 greater risk of cardiovascular disease,
cardiovascular mortality, and premature death than did a noninterned counterpart.“
• "One of the most hauntingly pressing issues facing Japanese Americans today is
their concentration camp experience during World War II. Yet, the major group of
survivors -- the Nisei -- generally do not confront the implications of it within
themselves or with their own children. In many respects the Nisei have been
permanently altered in their attitudes, both positively and negatively, in regard to
their identification with the values of their bicultural heritage; or they remain
confused or even injured by the traumatic experience."
- "Identity Crisis of the Sansei and the Concentration Camp", Nobu
Miyoshi, 1978.
Impact of Concentration Camps
•
"Trauma may directly or indirectly affect the children of trauma victims. The multiple
pathways of its effects create a variety of consequences. Despite the silence, or perhaps
because of it, the Sansei who had a parent interned felt the effects of that experience in
numerous ways. They are sad and angry about the injustice and attribute a number of
negative consequences in their own lives to their parents' internment. These include feelings
of low self-esteem, the pressure to assimilate, an accelerated loss of the Japanese culture
and language, and experiencing the unexpressed pain of their parents."
- "Legacy of Injustice: Exploring the Cross-Generational Impact of the Japanese
American Internment", Donna K. Nagata, 1993.
• "Long-term health consequences included psychological anguish as well as
increased cardiovascular disease. Traumatic stress was buffered by culturally
constructed coping mechanisms that were less inculcated in the youngest
detainees. They reported more post-traumatic stress symptoms of unexpected and
disturbing flashback experiences than those who were older at the time of
incarceration. "
- "The Experience of Injustice: Health Consequences of the Japanese
American Internment", Gwendolyn M. Jensen, 1997.
The Present
• One of the best educated groups in US
• School achievement remains consistently high
• Issei group started low SES, 1980s introduced millionaires,
lawyers, doctors, engineers, etc.
Generation Summary
• Issei (一世)The generation of people born in Japan who later
immigrated to another country.
• Nisei (二世)The generation of people born in North America, Latin
America, Hawaii, or any country outside of Japan either to at least
one Issei or one non-immigrant Japanese parent.
• Sansei (三世)The generation of people born in North America, Latin
America, Hawaii, or any country outside of Japan to at least
one Nisei parent.
• Yonsei (四世)The generation of people born in North America, Latin
America, Hawaii, or any country outside of Japan to at least
one Sansei parent.
• Gosei (五世)The generation of people born in North America, Latin
America, Hawaii, or any country outside of Japan to at least
one Yonsei parent.
Values
• Work ethic is very strong—traced back to Confucius and
Buddha
• Situational orientation- learning how to behave toward
those above, below + equal
More Recent Immigrants:
• Group is the priority over the individual
• Children socialized to conformity, dependency, and
obedience
Rabbit in the Moon
How much of your own identity is defined by your
ties to your family and community?
• Is there one person or organization that represents or
speaks for your community – ethnic, religious, gender,
professional? Did they assume this leadership role on their
own, or were they chosen?
• How would you cope with the loss of authority figures in
your family and community?
Rabbit in the Moon
• What experiences have you had that may have
called into question your right to call yourself an
American?
• What was that questioning based on? The way you look?
Where your ancestors were from? What languages you
speak?
• Have you ever questioned anyone else's right to call
themselves an American? What factors brought you to this
conclusion?
• Based on those experiences, what do you think it means to
be an American?