Summary of “The Japanese Conquest of American Opinion”
“The Japanese Conquest of American Opinion” by Montaville Flowers was written predominantly in an attacking manner towards “The American Japanese Problem” (1914). Montaville Flowers was a key supporter of anti-Japanese racism in California around the twentieth century. Montaville Flowers main objective in this excerpt was to attack “The American Japanese Problem”, this suggested racially non-discriminatory immigration laws, and was to oppose its author, Reverend Sidney L. Gulick.
In the beginning paragraph of the excerpt, Flowers asks, “What is a nation?” The word nation has two basic ideas from it. One has to do in relation with people, the other in relation to the land they reside on.
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Several of many is that all current leading civilizations were created by people of mixed races, or that there aren’t really any people of pure race. Gulick continued to make efforts to push his theory that race mixture has benefits. He was trying to prove that Japanese and Asians were compatible with the white race, Flowers believed his theological hypothesizes were proved wrong by science and was forgotten about by educated men. Gulick’s treatment of “social assimilation” blundered the theory of assuming, the evolutionary processes stops completely and does not continue in equal relation with psychic and social evolution. Flowers’ goes on and talks about the arguments of Mr. Gulick, his hypotheses were in a way old school, he gave a great effort to bring together his theories but couldn’t ignore the truths of modern science, led all the way into the end of trying to get Japanese into the U.S. and into social relations with white …show more content…
Gulick. He supported anti-Japanese racism. The quote I found very interesting was when Flowers asked, “What is a nation?” The way he described how land and people correlated was very intriguing. A nation is indeed like a big family, a family that is together in many different factors like blood, rank, government, and in peace.
This excerpt in many ways is true in my belief and values, a race in my opinion cannot really fully assimilate with another, there will always be that sense of culture or physical appearance entwined in that individual. You can try to fit in as much in a culture or race but you will never be fully accepted. I myself had conflicts with being of a different cultural descent from others trying as much as possible to fit in, but realized that could never be possible. I should embrace and be proud of my Nigerian heritage. Flowers made very good points in his excerpt, but the way he was criticizing and judging Reverend Sidney L. Gulick was in a way very harsh. The part of this excerpt that is most important is when Flowers emphasizes on nations; this made the correlation of race, people, and land very understandable. If any error or mishap becomes in between these factors conflict abruptly start to arise. Flowers main purpose for this excerpt is to make sure the reader understood
Okihiro, Gary Y. Whispered Silences: Japanese Americans and World War II. Seattle: University of Washington Press, 1996.
John Dower's War without Mercy describes the ugly racial issues, on both the Western Allies and Japanese sides of the conflict in the Pacific Theater as well as all of Asia before during and after World War II and the consequences of these issues on both military and reconstruction policy in the Pacific. In the United States as well as Great Britain, Dower dose a good job of proving that, "the Japanese were more hated than the Germans before as well as after Pearl Harbor." (8) On this issue, there was no dispute among contemporary observers including the respected scholars and writers as well as the media. During World War II the Japanese are perceived as a race apart, a species apart referred to as apes, but at the same time superhuman. "There was no Japanese counterpart to the "good German" in the popular consciousness of the Western Allies." (8) Dower is not trying to prove how horrible the Japanese are. Instead, he is examining the both sides as he points out, "atrocious behavior occurred on all sides in the Pacific War." (12-13) Dower explores the propaganda of the United States and Japanese conflict to underline the "patterns of a race war," and the portability of racist stereotypes. Dower points out that "as the war years themselves changed over into an era of peace between Japan and the Allied powers, the shrill racial rhetoric of the early 1940s revealed itself to be surprisingly adaptable. Idioms that formerly had denoted the unbridgeable gap between oneself and the enemy proved capable of serving the goals of accommodation as well."(13) "the Japanese also fell back upon theories of "proper place" which has long been used to legitimize inequitable relationships within Japan itself."(9) After...
The Attack on Pearl Harbor Shapes American History “Yesterday, December 7, 1941 - a date which will live in infamy. . .” These famous lines were spoken the day after the attack on Pearl Harbor. President Franklin D. Roosevelt gave this speech to the U.S. Congress on December 8, 1941. Many criticized the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, but the decision to attack America was wisely made. The Americans were going to enter the war sooner or later, and on the allies’ side.
The bombing on Pearl Harbor impaired America, which brought an increase to racial tension. However, this impairment brought all nationalities together. “Thirty-three thousand Japanese Americans enlisted in the United States Armed Forces. They believed participation in the defense of their country was the best way to express their loyalty and fulfill their obligation as citizens” (Takaki 348). Takaki proves to us that the battle for independence was grappled on the ends of enslaved races. The deception of discrimination within the military force didn’t only bewilder Americans that sensed the agony of segregation, but also to the rest of world who honored and idolized America as a beam of freedom for
Racism had been an ongoing problem in America during the time of WWII. The American citizens were not happy with the arriving of the Japanese immigrants and were not very keen in hiding it. The Japanese were titled with the degrading title of “Japs” and labeled as undesirables. Bombarding propaganda and social restrictions fueled the discrimination towards the Japanese. A depiction of a house owned by white residents shows a bold sign plastered on the roof, blaring “Japs keep moving - This is a white man’s neighborhood” ("Japs Keep Moving - This Is a White Man's Neighborhood"). The white man’s hatred and hostility towards the Japanese could not have been made any clearer. Another source intensifies the racism by representing the Japanese as a swarm of homogeneous Asians with uniform outfits, ...
Twenty years after the First World War, humanity was, yet again, plagued with more hostility. September 1st, 1939 marked the start of World War II, this time, with new players on the board. Waves of fear and paranoia rippled throughout the United States, shaking its’ very foundation of liberty and justice for all. The waves powerfully crashed onto a single ethnic group, the Japanese-Americans, who had their rights and respect pulled away from them. They were seen as traitors and enemies in their own country, and were thrown into prison camps because of it. This event marks one of the absolute lowest points in United States history and has changed the course of the country as a whole.
American society, like that of Germany, was tainted with racial bigotry and prejudice. The Japanese were thought of as especially treacherous people for the attack on Pearl Harbor. The treachery was obviously thought to reside in ...
In the process of war the public skipped to the conclusion that all Japanese Americans were out to get them. The suspicion of a government takeover was on everyones mind. Paranoia led people into to thinking every single Japanese American was guilty, no matter if it was a child, a WWI veteran, or if they had ever even been to Japan. The suspicion did not end there, inducing temporary segregation, and the exploitation of japanese american’s human rights. Mass hysteria and racism influenced the government's actions towards the Japanese.
Even before the attack on Pearl Harbor, there was still tension between Japanese-Americans and other United States citizens. Laws like the “Gentlemen’s Agreement,” a way of restricting Japanese immigration, was put into place in 1908 in fear of a “future Japanese ‘takeover’” (Hata and Hata, 7). After the attack on Pearl Harbor, growing hysteria filled the country and Japanese-Americans feared for their future. About a year later, Franklin D. R...
It was no secret that when Japan bombed Pearl Harbor, countless Americans were frightened on what will happen next. The attack transpiring during WW2 only added to the hysteria of American citizens. According to the article “Betrayed by America” it expressed,”After the bombing many members of the public and media began calling for anyone of Japanese ancestry။citizens or not။to be removed from the West Coast.”(7) The corroboration supports the reason why America interned Japanese-Americans because it talks about Americans wanting to remove Japanese-Americans from the West Coast due to Japan bombing America. Japan bombing America led to Americans grow fear and hysteria. Fear due to the recent attack caused internment because Americans were afraid of what people with Japanese ancestry could do. In order to cease the hysteria, America turned to internment. American logic tells us that by getting the Japanese-Americans interned, many
Shortly after the commencement of Japanese imprisonment, derogatory propaganda flooded the streets and fueled the Americans’ discrimination towards the foreigners. One of the main focal points of the propaganda utilized the term “Japanophobia,” which has been described as “the extreme and irrational fear of Japan, Japanese people or the Japanese culture” (Phobia Source). After Pearl Harbor, this term was born to justify the American prejudice and paranoia towards the Japanese. It was plastered on countless posters, newspapers, and images of propaganda in an attempt to quell any feelings of guilt for this hatred. In addition, some Americans simply hoped for revenge against those with Japanese in their blood because of the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor. Propaganda posters in the United States “focused on fueling the people's hatred for the enemy” (Education). This idea was quite evident in one specific image displaying a Japanese man strangling an American woman were released. One of the main goals of these murderous posters were to instill the impression that the Japanese were the enemy within. Omnipresen...
Through the selected readings it becomes clear that race is not only a social construct but also a value that changes depending on the region in which one inhabits. Despite the lack of scientific support for race as a biological phenomenon, race still results in misfortune for many minorities. This present throughout everyday life in terms of job opportunities, education, and life experiences.
In 1898, in an effort to free Cuba from the oppression of its Spanish colonizers, America captured the Philippines. This brought about questions of what America should do with the Philippines. Soon, controversy ensued both in the American political arena as well as among its citizens. Throughout its history, America had always been expansionistic, but it had always limited itself to the North American continent. Beginning in the mid-nineteenth century, however, there emerged a drive to expand outside of the continent. When America expanded to the Philippines, the policy it followed was a stark break from past forms of expansionism. Despite much controversy, America followed the example of the imperialistic nations in Europe and sought to conquer the Philippines as an imperialist colony that they would rule either directly or indirectly.
One historical event that shows the general attitude of anti-Japanese feeling that was so prevalent in the 1940 to 1955 time period is an article from the Tuesday, March 24, 1942 edition of the New York Times. The article is written in Manazar, California, the same place where the Japanese people of the novel were sent. The article's title "Japanese Begin Evacuation Trek" is a show of prejudice itself ("Japanese" 21). The fact that the wholly unconstitutional relocation of not only aliens but American citizens is called a "evacuation" is laughable. This event was the forced relocation of people who reminded some other people of the tragic events of Pearl Harbor. To do this nowadays would be like gathering up all Arab-Americans ...
Throughout Americas history, there has been prejudice, discrimination, and segregation. The prejudice, discrimination, and segregation of African-Americans and Native Americans are well known and often portrayed in movies. The group that is less exposed in movies is the prejudice, discrimination, and segregation of Asians. Mine is about a minority group that has seen prejudice, discrimination, and segregation that is now recognized universally deplorable the Japanese American. The incarceration of the Japanese by the United States during World War II is now considered unjust. After “Executive Order 9066 the army moved 40,000 long-term immigrants, and 77,000 United States citizens of Japanese descent.” (Miksch and Ghere, 2004 p. 212) Although, at that time “Most people thought internment of enemy aliens was a normal precaution in wartime situations.” (Miksch and Ghere, 2004 p. 211) “The practice of internment of enemy aliens is normal practice in Canada, Australia, United States, and European countries.” (Miksch and...