Pearl Harbor: Catalyst for American Xenophobia

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It all started with a surprise attack on Pearl Harbor. During the 1940s, United States placed an embargo on Japan’s access to war materials in an attempt to stop Japan from further invasion in Asia. However, the plan did not work out well. On December 7, 1941, the Japanese attacked the US’s Pacific Fleet at Pearl Harbor, and caused more than 2,400 deaths of Americans (Roark 671). This surprise attack not only pushed the United States into World War II, but also triggered the start of racial discrimination against Asians in America, specifically Japanese Americans, Chinese, and of course, the Japanese. In this essay, an excerpt taken from the Life Magazine will be analyzed and supported with The American Promise written by James Roark et al. …show more content…

This excerpt was published days after the attack and its purpose was to “distinguish friendly Chinese from enemy alien Japs” (“How To Tell Japs” 81-82). The title of this excerpt was capitalized in bold letters with a subheading “angry citizens victimize allies with emotional outburst at enemy”. Based on the subheading, one can conclude that besides Japanese Americans, other innocent Asians also fell into the enemy category after the attack. Although the US citizens were outraged, they could not just take their anger out on every Asian looking person because the Chinese, who were an ally of US, make up a huge population in the country. Therefore, to avoid mistaking a Chinese as a Jap, this excerpt was published to serve as an information guide for Americans to differentiate the two …show more content…

The need for Americans to physically draw out the two ethnic groups is ironic and racist. It is racist because all the descriptions provided on the Chinese and Japanese were based on the Americans’ perspectives towards the people, they were all stereotypes of Asians in general. On the other hand, it is ironic because the Americans claimed that the Chinese were their ally, yet they couldn’t tell the differences in appearance between a friend and an enemy. In conclusion, not only did the Japanese’ attack surprised and frightened the nation but it also revealed the ignorance of

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