Early Immigration to Hawaii and the U.S.
By the early 20th century, over 400,000 Japanese came to the United States and U.S.-controlled lands. Upon arrival, they had to face racism and hostility from the public and exclusion from the government.
Unlike in the United States, Hawaii actively involved Japanese immigrants for labor. Struggling to make new lives for themselves, many primarily worked on plantations chopping sugar cane. They were a major unit of the workforce in Hawaii and made up most of Hawaii's population by 1923.
Japanese immigration to the U.S. took more time than it did in Hawaii. At the turn of the century 100,00 Japanese immigrants came to the U.S., but the Japanese only made up a small percentage of the population. Legal barriers were created against Japanese immigrants, such as the Immigration Act of 1924 which restricted immigration from non-European countries.
Unlike in the United States, Hawaii actively involved Japanese immigrants for labor. Struggling to make new lives for themselves, many primarily worked on plantations chopping sugar cane. They were a major unit of the workforce in Hawaii and made up most of Hawaii's population by 1923.
Japanese immigration to the U.S. took more time than it did in Hawaii. At the turn of the century 100,00 Japanese immigrants came to the U.S., but the Japanese only made up a small percentage of the population. Legal barriers were created against Japanese immigrants, such as the Immigration Act of 1924 which restricted immigration from non-European countries.
Images from the Library of Congress and the Smithsonian National Museum of American History
Picture Brides
As many Japanese immigrants came to the United States and Hawaii, certain traditions traveled with them. In Japan, it was common for marriages to be arranged for Japanese men and women. As immigrants poured into the U.S., a form of arranged marriages began to emerge in the Japanese public. Through these arranged marriages, Japanese women in Japan were paired with Japanese men in the U.S. through photographs of the possible bride. Through this process, these paired couples could marry oversea and the wives could be brought to the U.S. and become citizens. This brought upon massive immigration between 1910 and 1920. However, in 1920, the Japanese government ceased issuing passports to "picture brides," and seemingly stopped the process altogether.
Pearl Harbor
"Yesterday, December 7th, 1941 -- a date which will live in infamy -- the United States of America was suddenly and deliberately attacked by naval and air forces of the Empire of Japan..."
-Franklin D. Roosevelt, Pearl Harbor Address to the Nation
-Franklin D. Roosevelt, Pearl Harbor Address to the Nation
On December 7, 1943, the Japanese attacked the U.S. Navy at Pearl Harbor. The attack lasted for less than two hours and resulted in 2,500 deaths. Aside from the casualties, 1,000 men were wounded and 18 American ships and 300 airplanes were damaged or destroyed.
The following day President Roosevelt gave his Address on Pearl Harbor, which resulted in Congress declaring war on Japan. The shock and anger of America's worst attacks fueled American hostility towards the Japanese, especially within American borders. As the United States prepared for war, Japanese Americans became the targets for major discrimination and racism by the public.
"Pearl Harbor merely triggered the gun loading of the previous two decades, or, more correctly , of the anti-Japanese movement that spammed the entire range of a people's history, from plantation to concentration camp."
- Gary Okihiro
- Gary Okihiro