Skip to Content (press Enter/Return)
preview

Farming the Home Place, by Valerie J. Matsumoto

analytical Essay
859 words
Open Document
859 words
  • Small
  • Normal
  • Large
  • Huge
bookmark

Farming the Home Place: A Japanese American community in California 1919-1982 by Valerie J. Matsumoto presents a close and in-depth study of social and culture history of Cortez, a small agricultural settlement located in San Joaquin valley in California. Divided into six chapter, the book is based primarily on the oral interviews responses from eighty three members of Issei, Nisei, and Sansei generations. However, many information are also obtained from the local newspapers, community records, and World War II concentration camp publications. After the end of World War I in 1919, a group of thirty Japanese settled in San Joaquin Valley, California making their ethnic community in Cortez. Despite the Alien Land Law of 1913, which prevented Asians from purchasing land or leasing it for more than three years, most of the families were able to establish fruit orchards in large land areas. It is this community that the author of the book conducted her research. Matsumoto studies three generations, Issei, Nisei, and Sansei living in a closely linked ethnic community. She focuses her studies in the Japanese immigration experiences during the time when many Americans were scared with the influx of immigrants from Asia. The book shows a vivid picture of how Cortex Japanese endured violence, discriminations during Anti-Asian legislation and prejudice in 1920s, the Great Depression of 1930s, and the internment of 1940s. It also shows an examination of the adjustment period after the end of World War II and their return to the home place. Valerie has successfully portrayed the picture of change in gender role within the ethnic community. She has cited an example of Sansei. In the book, it is said that the older generation was purely patri... ... middle of paper ... ...ons. First, the oral history sources are well integrated with the existing literature. Next, by covering relatively long period of time, the reader gets a good sense of the dynamics of change. In her book, Matsumoto has mentioned that Cortez community has formed community institutions such as Cortez Growers Association and the language schools for maintaining unity against prejudice and economic competitions. Nonetheless, the community was not free factions: between Buddhist and Presbyterians, between Cortez and other prosperous Japanese community nearby. These divisions were, however, muted in the due course of time. The author has covered various aspects of the life of Cortez. There are no two opinions that her extensive research can help create a living portrait of a stable yet constantly evolving community. Works Cited Faming the Home Place, Matosumoto, V

In this essay, the author

  • Explains that valerie j. matsumoto's farming the home place: a japanese american community in california 1919-1982 is an in-depth study of the social and culture history of cortez, a small agricultural settlement located in san joaquin valley.
  • Describes how a group of thirty japanese settled in san joaquin valley, california, and established fruit orchards in large land areas despite the alien land law of 1913.
  • Analyzes how matsumoto studies three generations living in a closely linked ethnic community. she focuses on the japanese immigration experiences during the time when many americans were scared with the influx of immigrants from asia.
  • Analyzes how valerie has successfully portrayed the picture of change in gender role within the ethnic community, citing an example of sansei.
  • Analyzes how matsumoto's history of cortez is a sentimental relationship that she has established with her subjects in the course of her studies.
  • Explains that the transfer of culture from one generation to another becomes difficult when the culture that one brings from his/her homeland becomes seemingly inappropriate in the new home.
  • Explains that assimilating into a new culture in the name of adaptation can sometimes be chaotic. it is important for anyone to preserve their unique identity.
  • Explains that the questionnaire she used in her interviews with the dozens of cortez residents is included in the appendix. these questions are useful tools for conducting oral history interviews.
  • Analyzes how matsumoto focused on the study of rural ethnic group rather than the one housed in an urban location, which is important in exploring many hidden facts about asian american history.
  • Analyzes how matsumoto's cortez community has formed community institutions for maintaining unity against prejudice and economic competition. however, the community was not free factions between buddhist and presbyterians.
Get Access
Check Writing Quality

Let Our AI Magic Supercharge Your Grades!

    Related
    • analytical
    • opinion
    • explanatory
    • Douglas Monroy's Thrown Among Strangers: The Making of Mexican Culture in Frontier California
      analytical essay
      When Spaniards colonized California, they invaded the native Indians with foreign worldviews, weapons, and diseases. The distinct regional culture that resulted from this union in turn found itself invaded by Anglo-Americans with their peculiar social, legal, and economic ideals. Claiming that differences among these cultures could not be reconciled, Douglas Monroy traces the historical interaction among them in Thrown Among Strangers: The Making of Mexican Culture in Frontier California. Beginning with the missions and ending in the late 1800s, he employs relations of production and labor demands as a framework to explain the domination of some groups and the decay of others and concludes with the notion that ?California would have been, and would be today, a different place indeed if people had done more of their own work.?(276) While this supposition may be true, its economic determinism undermines other important factors on which he eloquently elaborates, such as religion and law. Ironically, in his description of native Californian culture, Monroy becomes victim of the same creation of the ?other? for which he chastises Spanish and Anglo cultures. His unconvincing arguments about Indian life and his reductive adherence to labor analysis ultimately detract from his work; however, he successfully provokes the reader to explore the complexities and contradictions of a particular historical era.

      In this essay, the author

      • Analyzes douglas monroy's "thrown among strangers: the making of mexican culture in frontier california."
      • Analyzes monroy's description of the indian and iberian cultures and the importance of comprehending the diametrically opposed cosmologies. they fused the material and spiritual into one existence and conceived time and life as cyclical.
      • Opines that california's indians are viewed as static remnants of ancient stone-age peoples. native cultures constantly changed and adapted to shifting social and ecological conditions.
      • Analyzes how monroy contradicts himself by writing, "unbeknownst to most europeans, the natives they encountered varied more widely than did the different european people themselves."
      • Analyzes how the spanish philosophy of colonization entailed military regulation and religious conversion at the missions.
      • Explains that the work of women was central in an economy based largely on plant gathering, and women were accorded great respect and independence.
      • Argues that if one believes rice, then the power relations of the indians did not necessarily lead to their spiritual conquest. discrepancies between the two texts create epistemologically challenging situations for the reader.
      • Analyzes how monroe blames both parties and deconstructs why the cultures were antithetical, but he often contradicts himself. mcwilliams, rice, and others portray the complexity of the mission situation.
      • Analyzes the legacy of missionization on mexican culture before and after the mexican-american war. the rancheros employed the indians, reinforcing the previous labor pattern in an arrangement called seigneurialism.
      • Analyzes how monroy compares the anglos' treatment of the mexicans with the indians'.
      • Analyzes how monroy's chapter explains the growing pool of mexican unskilled labor in southern california and examines the psychology behind american ideology.
      • Analyzes how douglas monroy reveals the intricacies of cultural interactions, but does not escape the tendency to create homogenous?others.
      1454 words
      Read More
    • Analysis Of Novena To Bad Indians
      analytical essay
      “California is a story. California is many stories.” But whose story is heard? What stories are forgotten? In the memoir, Bad Indians, Native American writer and poet Deborah A. Miranda constructs meaning about the untold experiences of indigenous people under the colonial period of American history. Her memoir disrupts a “coherent narrative” and takes us on a detour that deviates from the alleged facts presented in our high school history books. Despite her emphasis on the brutalization of the Indigenous people in California during the colonization period, Miranda’s use of the Christian Novena, “Novena to Bad Indians,” illustrates an ‘absurd’ ironic stance amidst cruelty and violence. The elocution of the Novena itself, and the Christian

      In this essay, the author

      • Analyzes how deborah miranda's memoir, bad indians, constructs meaning about the untold experiences of indigenous people under the colonial period of american history. the christian novena illustrates an ‘absurd’ ironic stance amidst cruelty and violence.
      • Analyzes how miranda uses religious allegories to portray the vile actions the christian priests used against the native americans.
      • Analyzes how miranda's explicit use of the novena further attests to other evangelical allegories. the number nine holds a symbolic richness.
      • Analyzes how miranda's diction allows her to recreate a "living" conversation between her and the past indigenous populace.
      • Analyzes how miranda's word choice mirrors the way the novena is used as a means of communication to god in christendom, which adverts with further religious allegories.
      • Analyzes how deborah miranda's use of the christian novena illustrates the irony of using her oppressors as a call out for help, not to god, but to her past ancestors.
      1215 words
      Read More
    • Japanese Internment Camps during WWII
      opinion essay
      "Relocation of Japanese Americans." The Virtual Museum of the City of San Francisco. N.p., n.d. Web. 27 Apr. 2014.

      In this essay, the author

      • Compares the treatment of the jewish people and the japanese americans during world war ii. both groups faced different types of discrimination by different oppressors.
      • Explains that the lead up to the japanese americans internment took place over many decades leading to wwii. the japanese immigration peaked after the chinese exclusion act of 1882.
      • Explains that the bombing of pearl harbor on december 7, 1941 restarted the hate on japanese americans. one japanese boy, ben uchida, viewed himself
      • Narrates how they never thought they looked different from the other kids at school.
      • Narrates how they went to school the day after pearl harbor and realized they were caucasian.
      • Explains that their hair was black, their skin was darker, and their eyes were almond.
      • Recounts how their face was the face of the enemy. they were told to pack a few months later.
      • Describes what they could carry, sell, and get on a train that would take them to their destination.
      • Explains that after the bombing of pearl harbor, the us rounded up 1,500 people they viewed as dangerous and interrogated them.
      • Explains that president franklin delano roosevelt issued executive order 9066, which allowed the us to pick and choose areas that certain people would have to leave.
      • Explains that the initial phase of the japanese internment was considered phase 1 by the us.
      • Opines that the japanese americans lost their culture and the equivalent of 5 trillion dollars in today's world because of their unfair internment.
      • Explains that jewish people living in europe during wwii faced discrimination and were rounded up based on their religion and put into concentration camps.
      • Compares the holocaust and the japanese internment camps. both groups had laws passed against them that took away their rights.
      • Introduces themselves as ben uchida, number 13559. even though they had never been to japan, can't summary:
      • Narrates how they spent 1942 and 1943 in a concentration camp in northern california.
      • Opines that japanese should be locked up, just in case they were dangerous to americans. they even included american citizens like my sister and me.
      • Explains that the us government may have acted unconstitutionally when it sent the japanese americans to internment camps and forced them to leave their homes.
      • Cites bodart, joni r., "the journal of ben uchida." scholastic teachers.
      • Describes lt. gen. j.l. dewitt's letter of transmittal from the virtual museum of the city of san francisco.
      • Narrates the history of japanese internment camps and leading up to it.
      • Explains that roosevelt, franklin delano, "executive order 9066." 19 feb. 1942. american history. abc clio.
      • States that estes, matt, "the japanese internment: world war ii." american history. abc clio, n.d.
      • Analyzes how the united states put its own citizens in concentration camps during wwii.
      • Narrates the relocation of japanese americans at the virtual museum of the city of san francisco.
      1569 words
      Read More
    • Essay On Japanese Internment Camps
      analytical essay
      Japanese-American internment camps were a dark time in America’s history, often compared to the concentration camps in Germany (Hane, 572). The internment camps were essentially prisons in which all Japanese-Americans living on the west coast were forced to live during World War II after the bombing of Pearl Harbor Naval base in Hawaii. They were located in inland western states due to the mass hysteria that Japanese-Americans were conspiring with Japan to invade and/or attack the United States. At the time the general consensus was that these camps were a good way to protect the country, but after the war many realized that the camps were not the best option. Textbooks did not usually mention the internment camps at all, as it is not a subject most Americans want to talk about, much less remember. Recently more textbooks and historians talk about the camps, even life inside them. Some Japanese-Americans say that their experiences after being released from the internment camps were not as negative as most people may think. Although the Japanese-American internment camps were brutal to go through, in the long run it led to Japanese-Americans’ movement from the west coast and their upward movement in society through opportunities found in a new urban environment such as Chicago and St. Louis.

      In this essay, the author

      • Explains that japanese-american internment camps were a dark time in america's history, often compared to the concentration camps in germany.
      • Explains that after the attack on pearl harbor, growing hysteria filled the country and japanese-americans feared for their future.
      • Explains that the most popular place during japanese resettlement was chicago totaling 11,309 japanese american residents. cities are a place where people associate with moving up in life usually for job opportunities.
      • Analyzes how the issei, the 1st generation japanese americans that immigrated to the u.s., got jobs in the work force as well as more professional jobs to pay for their children's schooling at universities.
      • Explains that japanese americans were considered non-white as well as not-black in both cities. they gravitated towards being associated with white people due to their social and economic stature.
      • Opines that if internment camps had not occurred, japanese americans would not have moved upward in society. the opportunities found in cities such as chicago and st.
      946 words
      Read More
    • Internment Camps or Prisons: The Struggle of a Japanese American During World War II
      explanatory essay
      In the middle of WW II, many Americans were worrying about their next meal or about the house payments; however, this wasn’t the case for Japanese Americans. Instead, they were worrying about if they were going to eat and if they were going to have a house due to internment camps. These camps were designed to protect and nurture the Japanese from the American people who were persecuting them. However, these camps did little good beyond that. Many Japanese Americans faced starvation, horrible living quality, and a large distance away from what they knew as home. These Japanese immigrants were always treated with discrimination in America; however, after Pearl Harbor they were forced to leave their homes, live in internment camps, and face prejudice for the years following.

      In this essay, the author

      • Explains that many americans were worried about their next meal or house payments, but japanese americans faced starvation, horrible living quality, and a large distance away from home.
      • Describes the events leading up to the internment camps for these japanese citizens and immigrants in the 19th century.
      • Explains that the day of december 7th, 1941, lived in infamy for many americans, including japanese immigrants who were now in trouble of losing their homes.
      • Explains that humans were treated like animals in the social and physical aspect. they were threatened by death, stripped of their way of life, and deprived of access to basic daily needs.
      • Explains that the japanese americans believed that they would be free to do what they wanted, but their old freedoms were relinquished. they returned to their homes expecting for them to be vacant.
      • Explains that japanese americans were stripped of all of their rights during this time period. they were sent to internment camps for protection; however, all they received was injustice.
      1146 words
      Read More
    • United States and the Japanese-Americans
      analytical essay
      The United States of America has had a rich and complex history that showcases a nation on the move, a nation based on the ideals of life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness, and a nation that is based on equality under the law and considered to be the land of opportunity for all. However, these American ideals are not always put into practice, especially when it comes to the treatment of immigrants. Whether these immigrants are Irish, Jewish, Italian, etc, they have not been afforded the same rights and privileges as their American brethren. One such group of immigrants that gets overlooked in the discourse of the mistreatment of the immigrant is the Japanese. Although they are often passed over when it comes to other immigrant groups, their story reflects the deep-rooted inequality between the so-called American citizen and the Japanese immigrant, as shown through the internment of the Japanese during World War II and the events that led up to it.

      In this essay, the author

      • Explains that the united states of america has a rich and complex history that showcases the ideals of life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. however, immigrants are not afforded the same rights and privileges as their american brethren.
      • Analyzes how american-japanese immigrant relations began shortly after the american civil war, when the first japanese immigrants settled in california.
      • Explains that the u.s. created certain understandings with the japanese government to choke off japanese immigration.
      • Analyzes how the "gentleman's agreement" favoured the united states. the san francisco school board could continue to segregate japanese students, putting them at an educational disadvantage.
      • Analyzes how the united states created an inequitable state between themselves and japanese immigrants, but it is equally important to know why the us held such hostile views toward the japanese immigrant.
      • Describes how the first large scale protest specifically against japanese took place in 1900, when in all mainland united states they numbered fewer than 25,000. the site was san francisco, the mecca of the anti-oriental movement.
      • Analyzes how the anti-japanese economic argument came into being in the early 20th century, when japanese immigrants were heavily concentrated in hawaii, california, oregon, and washington.
      • Analyzes how raymond williams has put together a very solid argument surrounding the race-hatred issue that can be effectively applied to the situation of japanese-americans.
      • Analyzes how physical, cultural, and socio-economic differences are taken up, projected and generalized, so confused that different kinds of variations are made to stand for or imply each other.
      • Explains that race-hatred is a way for one group to express differences among other groups. this can be applied to the case of the japanese-americans.
      • Analyzes how maria mies' book patriarchy and accumulation on a world scale helps frame the u.s.-japanese relationship in economic terms.
      • Argues that mies' argument has nothing in common with concern to the treatment of the japanese; the ideas expressed here are integral to economic suppression of not just women but all minority groups.
      • Explains that minority groups are the first group of people to be fired from their jobs in the times of economic crisis.
      • Analyzes how mies discusses the power of the state and how it will misuse that power in certain situations. the situation of japanese-americans fits well into the argument.
      • Explains that the plight of the japanese people living in america reached its apex during world war ii, and the subsequent internment of them.
      • Explains that the war relocation authority asked for japanese-americans to leave their homes but eventually realized that they would have to force them into the "relocation centers".
      • Analyzes how jeanne wakatsuki houston and james d. houston's farewell to manzanar describe the horrific conditions that japanese-americans were forced to live under.
      • Describes how the women's latrine was an open room, over a concrete slab, with twelve toilet bowls arranged in six pairs, back to back.
      • Opines that the way the u.s. treated the japanese-americans during world war ii is inexcusable and completely against the ideals that this nation was founded upon.
      • Explains that japanese-americans were treated as they were by the differences in the japanese from their white counterparts, which made it reasonable for them to be treated.
      • Explains that the reason behind inequality and undeserved hostility boils down to a matter of race and the inherit differences between different races.
      • Analyzes how gordon h. chang brings up another fascinating viewpoint that delves into why the united states became suspicious of japanese-americans.
      • Explains that the supreme court ruled against hirabayashi and korematsu, using the same rhetoric seen throughout world war ii about how the japanese were disloyal to the united states.
      • Analyzes stuart hall's analysis of how the united states gained such power as to successfully intern a whole race of people.
      • Explains that weber's key issue is not simply the state’s violence or force, but the question of legitimacy.
      • Analyzes how the ideas expressed by hall fit into the situation of the japanese-american. the united states created laws or executive orders to tip the scales of justice against them.
      • Argues that hall's analysis is limited to the power of the state and how that state can and will misuse that power in certain situations.
      • Analyzes the role of race in the inequality between the u.s. and the japanese in cultural divides.
      • Explains that some of those responsible for the internment of the japanese have expressed deep regret for their actions. roger daniel, earl warren, and president jimmy carter formed a fact-finding committee.
      • Explains that the commission on wartime relocation and internment of civilians act was signed into law by president carter, who acknowledged the unjust treatment of japanese americans during world war ii.
      • Argues that by apologizing for their own actions or the actions of the u.s. government, the relationship between the united states and japanese-americans was based on unequal footing with the us in the position of power, leaving the japanese powerless.
      • Explains that the japanese were released from the internment camps, but their lives were forever changed by the incident. ichihashi also comments on the difficulty of transitioning to a post-internment setting.
      • Opines that the war relocation authority is trying to push all the evacuees out of the centers, but this won't be easy.
      • Analyzes how ichihashi's statement supports sandra taylor’s assessment of the situation, arguing that many japanese will probably face some post-world war ii hostility because the united states was fighting against japan.
      • Opines that the closing of the camps, in the fall of 1945, only aggravated what had begun inside. papa had no money and could not get work.
      • Explains that the japanese-americans were robbed of their freedom, dignity, and lives after internment.
      • Analyzes how the japanese internment epitomized the relationship between the united states and japanese immigrants.
      • Analyzes berthold, megan, maki, and kitano's achieving the impossible dream: how the japanese obtained redress.
      • Explains chang, gordon h. morning glory, evening shadow: yamamoto ichihashi and his internment writings, 1942-1945.
      • Explains goldberg, david theo. racist culture: philosophy and the politics of meaning.
      • Explains hall, stuart, gregor mclennan, and david held. the idea of the modern state.
      • Explains higa, karin m., the view from within: japanese american art from the internment camps, 1942-1945.
      • Describes houston, jeanne wakatsuki, and james d. houston's farewell to manzanar.
      • Explains japanese immigration: an exposition of its real status. seattle: the japanese association of the pacific northwest, 1972.
      • Explains mies, maria, patriarchy and accumulation on a world scale.
      • Explains miller, dale t., and prentice, deborah a. cultural divides: understanding and overcoming group conflict.
      • Explains taylor, sandra c., jewel of the desert: japanese american internment at topaz.
      • Describes williams, raymond. a vocabulary of culture and society.
      5343 words
      Read More
    • Japanese American Internment Camp Rights and Responsibilities
      analytical essay
      Harth, Erica. Last Witnesses: Reflections on the Wartime Internment of Japanese Americans. New York: Palgrave for St. Martin's, 2001. Print.

      In this essay, the author

      • Explains that during world war ii, a segregation center was created in tule lake to incarcerate japanese americans who were deemed to be potential enemies towards america.
      • Explains that the japanese americans were curious and suspicious over the questionnaire the united states government forced them to answer.
      • Explains that amendment 6 was denied to the japanese americans because they were not given a fair trial.
      • Explains that president roosevelt's only concern was to protect all japanese americans, but he didn't take into account what they had to say about their relocation.
      • Explains that the conditions the japanese americans had to face in the tule lake internment camps were not suitable for anyone to withstand.
      • Opines that the japanese americans' incarceration in an internment camp was not fair since they were not treated as an equal pupil among all citizens.
      • Analyzes how protests and strikes occurred because of how despicable the united states government was acting towards the japanese americans. nisei knew the government violated their civil rights, including every other person in the tule lake internment camp.
      • Demonstrates that the bills of rights were denied to the japanese americans because amendment one; freedom of public assembly, was punished.
      • Explains that the japanese americans were incarcerated into the tule lake internment camp. they were denied their rights and faced indecent conditions in the camps.
      • Explains that confinement and ethnicity: an overview of world war ii japanese american relocation sites, western archeological and conservation center, national park service.
      • Analyzes harth, erica's "last witnesses: reflections on the wartime internment of japanese americans."
      1389 words
      Read More
    • Japanese Internment History
      explanatory essay
      The relocation process was confusing, frustrating and frightening. Japanese Americans were required to register and receive identification numbers (Japanese American Internment During World War II 1). The Japanese Americans only had a few days to either sell all possessions or give it to a close friends or family to watch over the property. The Japane...

      In this essay, the author

      • Explains life in a wwii japanese-american internment camp : more information.
      • Explains that after the attack on pearl harbor, the united states was stricken with war hysteria. roosevelt signed executive order 9066, which allowed the military to circumvent the constitutional safeguards of american citizens.
      • Explains that the camps were like prisons with barbed wire borders and guards in watch towers around the japanese americans. the 442nd regiment was the most decorated unit of its size in united states history.
      • Explains that friends of minidoka - twin falls' early nikkei community. japan's american internment during world war ii.
      879 words
      Read More
    • Broken Promises: Japanese Relocation in WWII
      analytical essay
      ...res that were appropriated or sold, 43,000 of those were awaiting a new owner or caretaker of the land. As the evacuation process continued, so did the increase in farms and the loss of crops, which not only negatively affected the Japanese but also California. For those Japanese farmers that were able to find someone to maintain the land while they were relocated encounter problems of attainting rights to the land once they returned home and/or discovered that their tools had been misused and that the property was under duress due to losses. The amount of Japanese farmers that suffered losses was greater than those who were able to continue their lives where it was left off once the war was over. This loss left many people with anger and bitterness because they needed to rebuild themselves from the ground up when they returned to what they thought was home.

      In this essay, the author

      • Explains that president roosevelt authorized the establishment of war relocation camps for the protection of the united states against reconnaissance and sabotage by japanese decedents.
      • Explains that franklin d. roosevelt approved executive order 9066 on february 19, 1942 to authorize the secretary of war and military commanders the ability to establish military zones in designated areas.
      • Explains that the san francisco news was updating the public on the intentions of the government for the sites and the families that were being relocated.
      • Explains that government offices organized facilities in order to provide evacuees with adequate resources that would assist them with their relocation.
      • Explains that the western defense command and fourth army wartime civil control administration issued instructions for evacuation in the san francisco news.
      • Explains that the government established reception centers to assist with the affairs of those evacuating, but the japanese still suffered numerous economic losses throughout the exodus.
      • Analyzes how the relocation process negatively affected the japanese and california. the loss left many people with anger and bitterness because they needed to rebuild themselves.
      1273 words
      Read More
    • Japanese Internment
      analytical essay
      The War Department oversaw the removal of people of Japanese ancestry from the West Coast based upon wartime military necessity. Shortly ...

      In this essay, the author

      • Explains that the decision to imprison japanese americans was a popular one in 1942. many americans believed that people of japanese ancestry were potential spies.
      • Explains that president franklin d. roosevelt signed the executive order 9066 on february 19, 1942, which declared that the successful prosecution of the war required every possible protection against espionage and sabotage.
      • Explains that the supreme court upheld the order because of "military necessity." the military authorities considered the need for action was great, and time was short.
      • Explains that the war department oversaw the removal of people of japanese ancestry from the west coast based upon wartime military necessity.
      • Analyzes how dewitt's announcement was seen as a betrayal and violation of rights by the nisei, second-generation japanese americans.
      • Analyzes how veterans of world war i, such as joe kurihara, were especially outraged since they had already proved their loyalty by fighting for their country.
      • Explains that japanese americans protested, signed petitions, and attended meetings, but were not well organized and had little power to resist a presidential decree.
      • Explains that the camps were not brutal concentration camps like those established by the nazis in europe, but they were prisons nonetheless.
      • Explains that although negative attitudes remained, a greater number of people worked for increased tolerance and acceptance. mayer recommended that the order that kept the japanese off the west coast be relaxed.
      • Narrates how roosevelt listened while the head of the western defense command announced that the system of mass exclusion of persons of japanese ancestry was rescinded.
      • Explains that the united states supreme court upheld the constitutionality of interning american citizens of japanese ancestry during world war ii. the commission on wartime relocation and internment of civilians investigated the events that led to executive order 9066.
      • Explains that the executive order 9066 was legally right at the time, but it was morally wrong after the war. the supreme court concluded that there was no legal or moral basis for japanese internment.
      • Explains that the successful prosecution of the war requires every possible protection against espionage and sabotage to national-defense material, premises, and utilities.
      • Authorizes the secretary of war and the military commanders to prescribe military areas in such places and extent as he or the designated commander deems necessary or desirable.
      • Authorizes and directs the secretary of war and the said military commanders to take such other steps as they deem advisable to enforce compliance with the restrictions applicable to each military area authorized to be designated.
      • Authorizes all executive departments, independent establishments and other federal agencies to assist the secretary of war or the said military commanders in carrying out this executive order.
      • Describes the works of daniel s. davis and peter irons. justice delayed: the record of the japanese american internment cases.
      • Cites smith, page, and stanley, jerry. i am an american: a true story of japanese interment.
      2189 words
      Read More
    • Vallejo and Estanislao
      explanatory essay
      In some accounts of California’s history, the state’s native people were pastoral pacifists who led an idyllic communal existence before the arrival of the Spanish. This view of history suggests that the native population meekly submitted to the missionaries; active resistance (or at least, violent resistance) was a trait learned from the Spanish over several generations of contact. This misreading of history, perhaps motivated by the ideology of the teller, may have at its root the fact that resistance to the Spanish occupation was not, at first, organized resistance.

      In this essay, the author

      • Argues that california's native people were pastoral pacifists who led an idyllic communal existence before the arrival of the spanish.
      • Explains that the "tribal" names assigned to california's native groups result from modern ethnological investigation rather than being recognized by the natives themselves.
      • Explains that california's native people actively resisted the imposition of the mission system from the start. in 1775, several neófitos—discontented with the franciscans’ rules and regulations—ran away from mission san diego.
      • Explains that the neófitos focused on retribution aimed at individual franciscans.
      • Explains that even when treated benignly, the neófito population grew discontent. malnutrition and foreign diseases brought by the spaniards led to many deaths.
      • Explains that the runaways spread the distrust of the spanish to the non-missionized natives in the countryside.
      • Describes how a neófito uprising occurred at three missions in santa barbara county. the rebels overthrew mission control and torched three-quarters of the mission’s buildings before fleeing to the countryside.
      • Explains estanislao's story is illustrative of both the positive and negative impacts of the california mission-system.
      • Describes how cucunuchi moved to mission san josé and was given the christian name estanislao. fray nàrcisco durán rewarded him with an appointment as a native alcaldé.
      • Explains that indian alcaldés were appointed in the mission towns to maintain order. they wore shoes and stockings, which newly appointed officers dispensed with as often as possible.
      • Describes estanislao's freedom to travel and interact with mexican citizens outside of mission san josé during partisan bickering and intense jealousy among leaders of alta california.
      • Explains that echeanda, an early advocate for secularization of the missions, did not support the efforts of franciscans and belittled their work. estanislao observed that the natives had neither freedom nor justice.
      • Describes how estanislao fled from mission san josé to the san joaqun valley with about four hundred followers. they raided mexican settlements and the properties of the missions at san jose, santa clara, and santa cruz.
      • Describes how ygnacio martnez dispatched sergeant antonio soto into the san joaqun valley with a small troop to capture the rebels. estanislao’s men killed several soldiers and seriously wounded others.
      • Describes how the governor sent a second company of forty men under the leadership of sergeant josé sánchez to punish the rebel yokut.
      • Describes the early life of mariano guadalupe vallejo, a californio born in monterey. he grew up with young josé antonio castro and juan bautista valentn alvarado, who played significant political roles during the last years of mexican rule.
      • Explains that vallejo was a young, inexperienced junior officer who entered military service in 1829 and was promoted to alférez (ensign). he had recently returned from his successful campaign to the tulares, where his troops had slain forty-eight natives.
      • Describes how vallejo set out from mission san josé, crossing the diablo range at middle pass, and reached the san joaqun river on rafts. they camped and then proceeded down the east side of the river the next morning.
      • Explains that the battleground was located on the north bank of the stanislaus river less than a half-mile upstream of its confluence with the san joaqun river, about twelve miles southeast of tracy.
      • Describes how vallejo's forces used the cannon to attack the stockade walls of the compound, with limited success.
      • Describes how vallejo entered the thicket, accompanied by thirty-seven men, but estanislao's band had taken advantage of the night and had fled.
      • Describes how lieutenant vallejo and his forces followed estanislao upriver and surrounded the fugitives in another thicket. the besieged yokut declared they would die rather than surrender.
      • Analyzes how vallejo and estanislao were accused of brutality and allowing their forces to commit atrocities during the battle.
      • Explains that estanislao went briefly to mission san josé to ask fray durán for absolution for his men and himself. he returned to the stanislaus river and continued to lead his people.
      • Explains that the mexicans enacted laws to control commerce with the mountain men, but to little effect. the yokut and miwok captured horses in raids on ranchos and missions.
      • Explains that french-canadian fur trappers from the hudson's bay company inadvertently introduced malaria into the san joaqun valley. the epidemic caused a temporary decline in organized raids on mexican settlements.
      • Explains estanislao left the valley on 24 august 1834 and returned to the mission san josé. he prospered there, teaching others the yokut language and culture, until his death on 31 july 1838.
      • Explains that estanislao raids were sudden, usually involving a trap, and ended with no loss of life. he may have served as partial inspiration for the fictional character zorro, created in 1919 by pulp writer johnston mcculley.
      2556 words
      Read More
    • Snow Falling on Cedars by David Guterson
      analytical essay
      Snow Falling on Cedars by David Guterson gives readers an idea of what it was like to be Japanese in the 1940’s and 50’s. In our nation at that time, much of the population felt that Japanese and Japanese Americans could not be trusted. Americans did not like the immigrants coming here and taking jobs that were once theirs. Last, of course, the evacuation and containment of the Japanese and even Japanese American citizens made it clear that America did not trust them.

      In this essay, the author

      • Analyzes how snow falling on cedars by david guterson gives readers an idea of what it was like to be japanese in the 1940s and 50s. the evacuation and containment of the japanese and japanese american citizens made it clear that america did not trust them.
      • Explains that prejudice against japanese and japanese americans was most prominent in the western states, including california, oregon, washington, arizona, and nevada.
      • Explains that european culture is similar to american culture, but the japanese have different customs than the united states. white people saw the quiet reserve of japanese descendants as an indication of a cold, heartless, unfeeling person.
      • Analyzes how the american public was filled with propagandist ideas, characterizing the japanese as sly and untrustworthy. these films and brochures did not show the enormous amounts of japanese americans who signed up to fight for the united states of america against her enemies.
      • Explains that the most obvious discrimination against japanese and japanese americans was the war relocation effort. they were removed from "military areas" and detained in internment camps, without having committed any crime.
      • Explains that the shortage of workers resulting from the absence of japanese labor became so great that 9,000 detainees were released to work in agriculture, where they were commended for their hard work.
      • Analyzes how kabuo miyamoto is presumed guilty by the jurors because he is not a man that can be trusted.
      • Analyzes the poor treatment of japanese americans in guterson's book. in the courtroom, there was no written law directing asians to the rear seats.
      • Analyzes how zenhichi's plans for his son kabuo, an american born nisei, were ruined when his family was swept away to the manzanar internment camp.
      • Analyzes how arthur chambers supported the japanese americans in his newspaper and often cited their good works even more than their caucasian counterparts.
      • Analyzes how snow falling on cedars gives us a realistic look into life of the fictional kabuo miyamoto.
      • Cites guterson, david, and mcwilliams, carey, in korematsu v. united states: murphy dissenting.
      • Cites oakie, john h., “japanese in the united states.” far eastern survey, 26 jan 1942, 11.2:23-26.
      1357 words
      Read More
    • Japanese Internment After Pearl Harbor
      opinion essay
      Japanese immigration created the same apprehension and intolerance in the mind of the Americans as was in the case of Chinese migration to the U.S at the turn of the 19th century. They developed a fear of being overwhelmed by a people having distinct ethnicity, skin color and language that made them “inassimilable.” Hence they wanted the government to restrict Asian migration. Japan’s military victories over Russia and China reinforced this feeling that the Western world was facing what came to be known as “yellow peril”. This was reflected in the media, movies and in literature and journalism.4 Anti-Oriental public opinion gave way to several declarations and laws to restrict Japanese prosperity on American land. Despite the prejudice and ineligibility to obtain citizenship the ...

      In this essay, the author

      • Opines that the media and ity found in japanese american a ready target at the time of uncertainty and anxiety.
      • Opines that manzanar nice place — it better than hollywood is better than san francisco news.
      • Describes how japan's attack on the united states navy left 2400 army personnel dead and over a thousand americans wounded.
      • Explains that the japanese race is an enemy race and the racial strains are undiluted.
      • Explains that most immigration to the united states from japan occurred in the late 1800s to early 1900s.
      • Describes the 'manzanar: historic resource study' in chapter three " evacuation of persons of japanese ancestry from the west coast of the united states.
      • Explains the relocation of japanese americans in washington, d.c. the internment camps were manzanar and tule lake in california, poston and gila river in arizona, rohwer and jerome in arkansas, minidoka, heart mountain, colorado, and topaz located in utah.
      • Analyzes how the incarceration program was a breach of the bill of rights, citing weglyn, michi n., robinson, greg, and muller.
      • Opines that guantanamo piled lie upon lie through the momentum of its own existence.
      2439 words
      Read More
    • Effects Of Racism In To Kill A Mockingbird
      analytical essay
      Farmers fleeing the Dust Bowl and the technological changes in farming in the Midwest came, like pioneers before them, to California.”

      In this essay, the author

      • Analyzes how nelson mandela wrote that no one is born hating another person because of his skin, background, or religion. as racism changed over time in america, could change mean increased or decreased prejudice?
      • Analyzes how racism affected voting rights, marriage, public facilities, and housing education.
      • Opines that atticus believes that goodness will prevail over the evils of racism and racial equality will exist.
      • Explains that the early '30s was a cruel time. farmers fleeing the dust bowl and the technological changes in farming in the midwest came, like pioneers before them, to california.
      • Analyzes how lee writes about the dark side of maycomb county, the people of the south, and growing up in small town during the depression.
      732 words
      Read More
    Get Access