Japanese Immigrants

Today all over the united states we can see people of japanese ancestry. They are just as important as any other race and they play a big part in our everyday society. Most japanese came from japan to the pacific northwest in the early 1880’s once any other chinese immigrant exclusion laws had been revocat. The new japanese immigrants were called Issei or first generation immigrants. They helped create the Great Northern, Northern Pacific, Oregon Short Line and other major railroads along the Columbia River Basin. By the 1900’s most Japanese immigrants lived along the West Coast. Many lived in bigger cities such as Portland. Here the Issei tried to keep their culture alive. They built many Buddhist and Methodist churches and other associations

There were many nativist activists associations such as Hood River and Anti-Alien Ass. that would pressure states to pass laws to forbid and Japanese from buying, selling, or owning property. Many Japanese bought or sold their property under their childrens names because they were Nisei or American born Japanese. Sometimes if that didn't work they would sublease from white Americans. THe Issei did whatever they could to please the government, but in the end failed. At a Federal level there then became the National Origin Act of 1924 which restricted European immigration and once again discluded any further Japanese immigrants. THis also caused many problems for farmers who had land laws and restrictions on the growth of Japanese-Americans. By the end of 1928 Oregon's population had dropped 30% due to many Japanese leaving. Still many were faced with racism, some were even denied citizenship because of their

Roosevelt had passed the Executive Order 9066 after Japan bombed Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941. The Executive Order 9066 gave military officials power to decide who would be a threat to the United States. Of course there was anti-Japanese paranoia all around and the military saw them as the biggest threat for security risks. Then began the relocation of all Americans of Japanese ancestry into concentration camps. More than 127,000 Japanese citizens were imprisoned for the crime of being Japanese. 10 camps had been established along the West Coast in Idaho, California, Colorado, Utah, Arizona, Wyoming, and Arkansas. Evacuation started on March 22, 1942. Most were forced to sell their homes, businesses, assets, stores, and property within a short period of time. Some were given a week, whereas others only a couple of days. Hysteria broke out across the country. Nisei's were so overwhelmed and often sold their belongings for half of their original value. Some even burned down their homes so that they didn't have to deal with all the financials. Japanese-Americans were only allowed to bring what they could carry. They were searched and often tagged. Once they were inside the camps, which was guarded 24/7 with watchtowers every 200 yards and barbed wire around the whole area, there were small shack looking houses that held 2 or 3 families each. They slept on tarpaper barracks and had army style grub meals all together in a mess hall. There was