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A Japanese American is a person of Japanese ancestry or origin who was
either born in or is an immigrant to the United States.
Immigration
People from Japan began migrating to the U.S. in significant numbers
following the political, cultural, and social changes stemming from the 1868
Meiji Restoration. Particularly after the Chinese Exclusion Act of 1882,
Japanese immigrants were sought by industrialists to replace the Chinese
immigrants. In 1907, the "Gentlemen's Agreement" between the governments of
Japan and the U.S. ended immigration of Japanese workers (i.e., men), but
permitted the immigration of spouses of Japanese immigrants already in the
U.S. The Immigration Act of 1924 banned the immigration of all but a token
few Japanese.
The ban on immigration produced unusually well-defined generational
groups within the Japanese American community. Initially, there was an
immigrant generation, the Issei, and their U.S.-born children, the Nisei.
The Issei were exclusively those who had immigrated before 1924. Because no
new immigrants were permitted, all Japanese Americans born after 1924
were--by definition--born in the U.S. This generation, the Nisei, became a
distinct cohort from the Issei generation in terms of age, citizenship, and
language ability, in addition to the usual generational differences.
Institutional and interpersonal racism led many of the Nisei to marry other
Nisei, resulting in a third distinct generation of Japanese Americans, the
Sansei. Significant Japanese immigration did not occur until the Immigration
Act of 1965 ended 40 years of bans against immigration from Japan and other
countries.
The Naturalization Act of 1790 restricted naturalized U.S. citizenship to
"free white persons," which excluded the Issei from citizenship. As a
result, the Issei were unable to vote, and faced additional restrictions
such as the inability to own land under many state laws.
Japanese Americans were parties in two important Supreme Court decisions,
Ozawa v. United States (1922) and Korematsu v. United States (1943).
Korematsu is the origin of the "strict scrutiny" standard, which is applied,
with great controversy, in government considerations of race since the 1989
Adarand decision.
Internment
Main article: Japanese-American internment
The Internment during World War II, is the best known example of Japanese
Americans in U.S. history. However, the history of Japanese Americans should
not be reduced to the internment experience.
Farming
Japanese Americans have made significant contributions to the agriculture
in the western United States, particularly in California and Hawaii.
Nineteenth century Japanese immigrants introduced sophisticated irrigation
methods that enabled cultivation of fruits, vegetables, and flowers on
previously marginal lands. While the immigrants prospered in the early 20th
century, many lost their farms during the internment, although Japanese
Americans remain involved in these industries today, particularly in
southern California.
Detainees irrigated and cultivated lands nearby the World War II
internment camps, which were located in desloate spots such as Poston, in
the Arizona desert, and Tule Lake, California, at a dry mountain lake bed.
These farm lands remain productive today.
Soldiers
The 442nd Regimental Combat Team/100th Artillery Battalion is the most
highly decorated unit in U.S. military history. Composed of Japanese
Americans, the 442nd/100th fought valiantly in the European Theater even as
many of their families remained in the detention camps stateside. The 100th
was one of the first units to liberate the Nazi extermination camp at Dachau.
Hawaii Senator Daniel K. Inouye is a veteran of the 442nd.
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