CHINESE AMERICANS
AND JAPANESE
AMERICANS
CHAPTER 13
Chinese Americans
Americans held conflicting views on Chinese
immigration from the beginning
Settlers unwilling to tolerate alien culture
Labor was welcomed
Chinese exclusion act of 1882 - 1943
Gradual immigration from 1943 - 1965
Increase in immigration came with the
passage of the 1965 Immigration Act
Chinese in US are
Significant component of
those adopted by American non-Chinese
couples
Chinese adoption laws loosened to promote
adoptions of children
Mainly girls abandoned under China’s one-child
policy
Faced complex issues of cultural and social
identity
Chinese Americans is a collective term
Vast diversity within the group
• Language, nationality, and region of origin
• Divisions are sharply expressed
Occupational Profile of
Chinese Americans
Early on discriminatory laws were passed
making it difficult for Chinese to enter certain
occupations
Early on gravitated toward service
occupations or low paying jobs that whites
found undesirable
Chinese sought relative safety of Chinatowns
and the tourist industry
New immigrants find it difficult finding jobs outside
of Chinatown
Lack of English is another reason for new
immigrants seeking work in Chinatown
Chinatowns Today
The economic paradox of Chinatowns
The impression of glitter and wealth hidden
among economic deprivation and poverty in
Chinatown
Rich history of organizational membership
Clan or tsu organization and functions
(Surname Association)
Membership based on clan and family
ties
Provided mutual assistance
Hui Kuan (Huiguan)
Benevolent associations that help members
adjust to a new life
Based on person’s district of origin rather than
kinship
Hui kuan associations are part of a larger
organization, Chinese Six Companies,
(Chinese Consolidated Benevolent
Association)
Tongs or secret societies
Formed on the basis of common interests
Some are political, others protest exploitation of
Chinese workers, others provide illegal services
Conclusions reached about the various
social organizations
All have followed patterns created in traditional
China
All three types have performed similar functions
• Providing mutual assistance and representing interests
to a sometimes hostile dominant group
Because all groups had similar purposes and
operated in the same locale, conflict was
inevitable
Old associations have declined in significance
When communicating with dominant society, all
groups downplayed problems of Chinatown
Social Problems
Myth that Chinese Americans and
Chinatowns have no problems
The tourist industry in Chinatown as double
edged sword
Jobs but at substandard pay
Poverty
Poor health care, especially for the elderly
High suicide rates
Poor and run-down housing
Rising crime rates
Poor working conditions
Inadequate care for the elderly
Weak union representation of laborers
Family and Religious Life
People’s Republic of In the China organized
religion barely exists
State policy discourages and prohibits foreign
missionary activity
Change in family life is most difficult cultural
change to accept
Domestic violence is a problem that recently
surfaced
Another problem is rise in gang activity
Chinese American youth are not part of the model
minority
Japanese Americans
Initial Japanese immigrants came around
1885 (Push and pull factors)
Came from a very stratified society
Most came from the lower class in Japan
Initially many found employment in forestry,
agriculture and then migrated to cities along
the West Coast and established small
businesses
Feelings of “yellow peril” also directed at the
Japanese
Japanese Americans distinguish themselves
according to number of generations a family has
been in the US
Each succeeding generation more acculturated and
less likely to know Japanese
Issei (pronounced “EE-say”)
• First generation born in Japan
Nisei (“Nee-say)
• Children of first generation born in US
Sansei (“SAHN-say”)
• Third generation must go back to grandparents to reach their
roots
Yonsei (“YAWN-say”)
• Fourth generation
Kibei (“KEE-boy”)
• Nisei sent back to Japan for schooling and marriage then return to
US
Early Discrimination
Laws were passed prohibiting Issei from becoming
citizens
California Alien Land Act of 1913
Prohibited anyone who was ineligible for citizenship from
owning land and limited leases
Economic impact on agricultural land owned by
Japanese Americans
Adjustments to the act led many to transfer
ownership to their American born children
Many left agriculture and migrated to cities and
established small businesses catering to both the
Japanese and dominant group
The Wartime Evacuation
Executive Order9066, signed by President
Roosevelt on February 13, 1942
Defined strategic military areas and authorized
the removal of people considered threats to
national security
Economic cost to the evacuees was in excess
of $400 million or in current dollars $3.7 billion
Psychological impact and weakened family
ties
The way out and the loyalty test
Questions were ambiguous
Japanese Americans demonstrated their
loyalty to the United States by participating in
the war effort
Racism and internment
German and Italian Americans were not interned
Japanese in Hawaii left alone because they were
and integral part of the economy
Japanese migration from the camps after the
war
Mitsuye Endo v. United States (1944)
Detainment was unconstitutional and
consequently freedom was to be granted
Commission on Wartime Relocation and
Internment of Civilians (1981)
Government formally apologized and give
$20,000 tax-free to 82,000 surviving internees
Civil Liberties Act (1988)
Signed by Ronald Reagan authorizing payments
Payments slow in coming, other federal
expenditures had priority
Aging internees dying at rate of 200/month
First checks issued in 1990
Economic Picture
Socioeconomic status very different from
Chinese Americans
Upward mobility after WWII
Japanese American educational attainment is
higher than whites
Occupationally have been upwardly mobile
but still experience the glass ceiling and wall
Higher median family income than whites
Few excuses apart from racism to explain
why Whites continue to view Japanese as
different from them
Family and Religious Life
Acculturation and change in family
structure
Conjugal nuclear family structure
Neolocal pattern of residence
Outgroup marriage is increasing and is
approximately 50% among the Yonsei
Rising divorce rate
Crime, delinquency, and reported mental
illness
Japanese have lower incidence than other
minorities and Whites
Dual religious customs in Japan
One can be Shinto and Buddhist at the same
time
United Statesthe emphasis is on
belonging to a single religion
Immigrants found it easy to accept Christianity
changing religious customs over
Impact is
time among Japanese-Americans
Buddhism growing in US
New adherents are Whites attracted to their
perception of a more enriching value system
Remnants of Prejudice
and Discrimination
Fu Manchu image is gone, but replacement
is not better
Entertainment media, if present
Karate experts or technical specialists
Chinese Americans are ignored or
misrepresented in history books
Chinese andJapanese Americans believe
racism has decreased but subtle reminders
remain
Young Asian Americans are trying to fight
racist and exclusionary practices
Intermarriage, not typical, legal and more
common
More than 1/4th of Chinese Americans marry
someone who is not Chinese
Increase indicates Whites are increasingly
accepting Chinese Americans
Also suggests Chinese and Japanese ties to
native cultures are weakening
Chinese and Japanese Americans more
acceptable and less alien to Whites
Japanese American community struggles
to maintain its cultural identity while paying
homage to those interned during WWII
Some are seeking to justify internment
Critics feel that teaching of internment too
biased and arguments for internment being
correct action should be included
Some Japanese Americans, especially
Sansei are politically active
Emerged as activists for environment
Attack apparent rise in hate crimes in US
against Asian Americans
Lobbied forpassage of Civil Rights
Restoration Act
Extending reparations to evacuees
Japanese Americans show little evidence
of wanting to maintain distinct way of life
Values that have endured are
Attitudes, beliefs, and goals shared by and
rewarded by White middle-class
Any Asian American is culturally part of a
society that is dominated by a group that
excludes others because of racial
distinctions
QUESTIONS
What has been the legacy of the “yellow
peril”?
What made the placement of Japanese
Americans in internment camps unique?
respects does diversity
In what
characterize Chinatowns?
How has Japanese American assimilation
been blocked in the United States?
What are the most significant similarities
between the Chinese American and
Japanese American experience?
What are the differences?
The Japanese were provided and apology
and monetary reparations for their
internment during WWII. What differences
are reflected in their situation compared to
African Americans and their struggle for
reparations for slavery?
What events can you imagine that could
cause the United States to again identify
an ethnic group for confinement in some
type of internment camps?