World War I

Nicole

During World War I Asian Americans were not exempt from the participation to fight for their country.  More than 25,000 Filipino Americans served in the armed forces during the years of the war.  This follows the stats of them being the predominant Asian group to serve in the US armed forces without having citizenship.  The reason for the large number of non-citizens fighting for their “host” country is because of the Philippines position as a colony.  Their lack of independence and limitation of rights, allowed for the “recruitment” of Filipino’s.  Also, under the occupation of the US the presence of military bases was a huge influence on those living nearby, and joining the service (mainly the navy) became an economic opportunity.  During the First World War, Filipinos who joined or were recruited to the navy held positions such as petty officers, stewards, attendants, and other low rankings most relating to chores.  After the war the Navy ruled that Filipinos were to be restricted to the ranks of officer stewards and mess attendants, even if they had a college education.  This effectively locked them into domestic roles within the navy.  With this act Filipino Americans were unjustly restrained to the very bottom of the military hierarchy.  In a way this seems to follow the trend of giving the jobs no one else wants to the immigrated groups that can’t do much in their position.  It is a form of taking advantage and in the process forming a standard for discrimination.  Even until the 70’s were these military practices upheld, confining different ethnic groups to the steward class, and placing above them a very low glass ceiling.  Finally, because of the influence of the civil rights movement, were these practices stopped during investigations of the military in the 1970’s.  This goes to show that once a practice like this is started, in a twisted way it becomes viewed as acceptable or normal and can stay in effect for a long time.  Because of the classification of Filipino placement in the First World War, future generations of military occupants were hurt.  Even though they were working to fight for their adoptive country, they were still hurt by its stereotypes.  The large participation of Filipino Americans in the navy had a lasting effect on their communities.  After the war, the sailors had shared a close bond with other Filipino Americans serving and thus formed communities when settling down.  This led to the accumulation of large Filipino American populations around navy towns, and a continuation of the cycle of generations of Filipino Americans serving in the navy.

Duke Kahanamoku

                       Nicole

                        Duke Kahanamoku was the first Asian Pacific American to participate in the Olympics and went on to become a legend for his influence on surfing.  Born in Honolulu, Duke excelled in swimming and went on to break several records.  In 1911 he swam in the Hawaiian Amateur Athletic Union swimming championships.  For the event of the 100 yard freestyle, he broke the existing world record and set a new fastest time.  Unfortunately this feat was not immediately recognized by the AAU who argued against the validity of the conditions the event was held under, brushing it off as being unprofessionally monitored.  Examining their reaction, the Amateur Athletic Union can be seen as exemplifying the attitude of European Americans at the time towards the Asian American cultures.  Their unwillingness to accept Kahanamoku’s feat, is an unwillingness to accept the competency of other cultures and their ability to be equal or superior in some areas.  Kahanamoku’s athletic recognition finally arrived in the 1912 Olympics where he became the first Asian Pacific American participant.  When he attended the Olympics he walked away with a gold medal for the 100 meter freestyle.  Not only did he place first in this event, but set yet another new world record.  Kahanamoku went on to participate and place in other Olympic Games held over the next years, opening the way for other Asian Pacific American athletes.  Besides setting world records and aiding the recognition of Asian American athletes, Duke Kahanamoku’s greatest influence lies in the sport of surfing.  Before his time, surfing was a sport exclusive to Hawaii culturally tied to the history of the Hawaiian natives.  However, on a trip to the mainland (more specifically southern California) in 1912, Kahanamoku brought with him the surfing influence and its popularity caught on.  For his achievement of popularizing surfing not only on the mainland but worldwide, he became recognized as the father of surfing.  His actions played a significant part in spreading a cultural activity that over time became incorporated and accepted as a part of American culture.  It is a good example of pop culture’s ability to transcend cultural boundaries and have an event that both parties can enjoy together.  A world wide trend such as the popularization of surfing avoids cultural exclusion as it is an activity anyone who really wants to, can do.  Over time, Duke Kahanamoku was able to overcome the cultural bias placed on him and got attention of the world in recognizing his talent.

Picture Brides

                 Nicole

                    1910 the first Korean “Picture Bride”, Sara Choe, was the start of many Korean and Japanese women traveling to America for marriage.  Because of the Gentlemen’s Agreement which restricted travel not only to America from Asia, but from Hawaii to the mainland, immigrant workers were left stranded on the island with hindrance to plans of returning to their homes to settle.  Thus the brides became a solution, since the Agreement allowed spouses to travel, for the men in America to have a means of starting a family.  The idea of picture brides was even encouraged by the plantation owners in Hawaii, looking at it as an opportunity to encourage workers to settle permanently.  For women, the appeal in this form of arranged marriage could be for economic or family reasons, as they also followed the belief in the land of opportunity.  Unfortunately, in such an arrangement there is some allowance for deception.  In some instances men would send to their potential bride younger pictures of themselves or of them posing in front of cars or other luxury items they did not own.  As a result, many women found themselves disappointed or even daunted by the situation they found themselves in.  The women who decided to stay went to work on the plantations alongside their new husbands.  Their presence in the work system not only allowed for the economic support of families, but for the development of a sustained family community.  They also engaged in building communities with the other women arriving, and set out to preserve cultural tradition in expectation of passing it on to their children.  Because of the continuation of settlement, the arrival of picture brides also worked to antagonize groups such as the anti Japanese movement, who had expected the Gentlemen’s Agreement to take care of working immigrants.  There was an overall negative view of the brides, as they were seen to be working alongside the men and would be raising a next generation of Asian Americans who would have more say.  As a result of this public feeling, the government stopped giving away passports altogether in 1920.  The system of picture brides worked out as a way of stabilizing Asian culture in the American environment.  It gave the bachelors an opportunity to settle and start families.  As a result there was a formation of communities, communities that were more likely to be accepted since they were family oriented as opposed to a group of bachelors.  Looking at the position of Asian women, whether they voluntarily or involuntarily came over, the conditions were not as advertised.  This goes to show the fortitude of the women who came over and had to do manual labor in order to support a family in living conditions she was not expecting.  It is an experience to be respected, and has been given recognition through adaptations in pop culture such as the 1987 novel Picture Bride, and the 1994 film Picture Bride.

James Ichiuji

Japanese School Segregation: San Francisco School Board Segregation Order of 1906

In 1905, the San Francisco Chronicle began printing anti-Japanese articles, which started this anti-Japanese movement, and then escalated to the formation of the Asian Exclusion League and efforts to limit the number of Asian immigrants. On October 11, 1906, the San Francisco School Board signed the Segregation Order of 1906 with the support of Mayor Eugene Schmitz who promised a more separated educational system. The order forced the move of all Japanese and Korean students to the segregated schools for the Chinese. Although it affected few people, as there were only 93 students of Japanese ancestry (25 of whom were born in the US), word reached Japan of the increasing anti-Japanese sentiment. In response, President Theodore Roosevelt was forced to get involved in local San Francisco politics. He called anti-Asian legislators and politicians “idiots” for creating unnecessary tension between Japan and the US. He said later, “To shut them out from the public schools is a wicked absurdity. …It’s absurd that the mob of a single city may at any time perform acts of lawless violence that would plunge us into war. A city should not be allowed to commit a crime against a friendly nation.”

The president faced resistance from the school board and realized that the state courts would fully support the segregation order and the school board. Newspapers statewide, along with state legislators and Southern Democrats encouraged that California would stand firm against the President’s pro-Asian policy. The school board refused to back down until a more strict immigration policy was practiced. Roosevelt needed to appease both sides and attempted to do this by restricting the immigration of Japanese and working to smooth relations with Japan, all the while preparing the Navy if the situation became hostile. A Japanese newspaper reported, “Stand up, Japanese nation! Our countrymen have been humiliated…Why do we not insist on sending [war]ships.” It is ridiculous and selfish of San Francisco to endorse this small racial segregation, leading to a whole avalanche of unnecessary Japanese-US tension.

Though the bill was eventually vetoed, San Francisco schools still found excuses such as “filthy or vicious habits” or “lack of English” to send Japanese students to segregated schools. The same year, the 1906 San Francisco earthquake destroyed a number of schools, which also helped the school board send Japanese and Korean students to separate Chinese dominated schools.

James Ichiuji

The Asiatic Exclusion League

Asiatic Exculsion League was formed in 1905 in San Francisco, California by labor unions in order to prevent Asian Immigration, specifically Chinese, Japanese, and Korean, to the United States. Political officials endorsed the group, during a time of racist feelings because Caucasians were losing jobs to cheaper Asian workers, who were seen as inassimilable into American culture. In a letter addressed to the AEL, Congressman E.A. Hayes of the Fifth District thanked the AEL for their continued work towards the exclusion of Japanese and Mongolians from the US. He claims that Congress was swayed towards a more anti-Asian policy because of his speeches, which included AEL propaganda. He goes on to encourage, “if the agitation is kept up, and we continue to bring the attention of the Japanese competition and the dire evil influence upon our civilization of their residence among us, we are bound to succeed.” The foundation of this group marked the beginning of the anti-Japanese movement in the United States. Its effectiveness eventually incited Canada to produce a chapter of the AEL.

The serious, racist nature of the AEL could be summed up by one of its documents, which stated, “As long as California is white man’s country, it will remain one of the grandest and best states in the union, but the moment the Golden State is subjected to an unlimited Asiatic coolie invasion there will be no more California.” Furthermore, in a New York Times article from 1908 titled “Wants Orientals Kept Out”, the AEL warned Congress that if the “immediate legislation for the absolute exclusion of Japanese, Koreans, and Chinese from American shores” was not passed “the people will take the law into their own hands”. It was clear that Caucasian American laborers were angered at the loss of jobs, and because of this were willing to take action if the government did not support their cause. In a way, this is the American version of the Nazi cleansing and the prosperity of the Aryan race. It is ironic that the group wanted to prevent Asian immigrants from entering the workforce, despite being immigrants themselves. In fact, the first president of the club was Olaf Tveitmoe of the Building Trades Council, a European immigrant.

James Ichiuji

The Alien Land Law of 1913

The Chinese first came to the US as cheap laborers to build the railways and tend to fields. Their large population as a source of cheap labor created tension between the Chinese and Caucasian workers who were losing their jobs. This anti-Asian sentiment eventually carried over to the Japanese in the mid-1800s. The California Alien Land Law of 1913, signed by Governor Hiram Johnson on May 19^th 1913, prohibited Asian immigrants from owning property, which greatly affected immigrant farmers. It was written by attorney Francis J. Heney and California state attorney general Ulysses S. Webb, men known for their anti-immigration stances. California, by passing this law, inspired ten other Western states to pass similar laws between 1913 and 1923. The law seemed to target the Chinese, Indian, Korean, but mostly Japanese farmers by allowing them to only lease land for 3-year increments. Its primary purpose was “to prohibit Orientals who cannot become American citizens from controlling [Californian farmers’] rich agricultural lands… Orientals, and more particularly Japanese, [have] commenced to secure control of agricultural lands in California” which would not be tolerated in the eyes of Californian officials. In the eyes of Californians the purpose of this law was to not only prevent further immigration, but to drive the Asian American inhabitants out. On the other hand, the US federal government opposed this law because of the ever-important relations with Japan. After victories in the Sino-Japanese and Russo-Japanese wars, Japan was seen as a first-class world power.

In response to the law, the Consul General of Japan, Kametaro Iijima commented that the anti-Japanese feelings greatly increased. He said further, “this country has always been regarded by the Japanese people as the best friend of Japan among the nations. Now they find that California makes laws which discriminate against Japan…” He concludes by pointing to the Chinese, whose “unlimited” markets, sparked in the past by the Japanese, are capable of accommodating both Japanese and American businesses.

Though the law was harsh, Japanese Immigrants found ways around this law by putting the title of the land under the names of their US born children. They also formed trusts and title-holding agriculture corporations with non-Asian, noncitizens. The success of Japanese farmers despite a law whose goal was to specifically shut them down, led to the more strict Alien Land Law of 1920, which covered loopholes previously used by Asian American farmers.

Erin

Bellingham Riot of 1907

In the midst of tension, white laborers were targeting South Asians, leading to the Bellingham Riot of 1907. Laborers were upset at the loss of mill jobs to Asian workers because they were driving down wages, and decided to retaliate. On September fourth, white laborers broke into the mills, damaged property, and pulled Asian workers out forcing the police to put them in jail for their own safety. Many South Asians were beaten and forced to flee. After a couple days, the South Asians had completely disappeared from Bellingham.

The riot plus the anti-racism managed to keep all Asians out of Bellingham, at least until the 1960s after the government reconstructed immigration policy. I find this interesting in the sense that one city could manage to eradicate an entire race from a specific region. While we see cases of violence against immigrants in other areas, namely the Chinese, we have not seen a community of immigrants disappear for a long period of time, decreasing the diversity of the current place.

A newspaper article that came out after the riot did not condone the violence, however it did support the cause. South Asians were portrayed as low class Hindus, more dangerous than the Japanese, and even more unlikely to assimilate. At the same time they were congratulating the laborers who partook in the riot, claiming that jobs needed to stay among whites. It seems as if patriotism and comraderie were produced in the aftermath, and the violence was quickly dismissed. What we see in these riots is the public putting pressure on the government, asking them to restrict immigration to protect the well being of not the people, per se, but the white people. By depicting South Asians as a treachery to the American ideal, these newspapers were not only affecting their immediate community, but they would also affect the views of the rest of the country. From that point on, it would be difficult for a South Asian to approach a new place and not feel the stigma that arises from such a perception. Unfortunately, all groups of Asians would later feel this impact thanks to the spread of public media.

The most crucial part of their public reputation was that the South Asians present in Bellingham were of the Sikh religion, but because of the unfamiliarity with the culture, Americans and the press labeled them as Hindus. Not only were Sikhs unable to really solidify their own identity in America because of the constant grouping with Hindus, Hindus would struggle to separate themselves from Sikhs as well. It seems that at the time of the Bellingham riots, Sikhs and Hindus were both unfamiliar to the public and therefore would be labeled as “brown,” a term that would be used as an all-encompassing term.