Japanese Immigrants During The 19th Century - 1866 Words

In the early 19th century, there was an increase of Japanese immigrating across the states. The first wave of Japanese immigrant settled in Kingdom of Hawaii where they were hired as contract laborers and worked in plantations. The second wave of immigrant came to California in the1890s. According to Kitano, the census identified more than 110,000 Japanese on the West Coast by 1920. To elaborate, the Japanese immigrants came as single males, and employment for them consisted of physical difficult labor, long hours of work with bad conditions, and low-paying jobs. The generations of the Japanese were categorized to research their historical background. Furthermore, the first-generation immigrant were identified as the Issei, and were those†¦show more content†¦Some Issei returned to Japan as successful men, and those who stayed in the United States typically married â€Å"picture brides†. The marriages and children made the Japanese remain permanently in the United Sta tes. Kitano stated, â€Å"The Issei lived their lives segregated from the U.S. mainstream, and their major interactions revolved around their families and their community. Most of them acquired just enough knowledge about the United States in order to function but left the major of acculturation and a more secure existence to their American-born children†. Moreover, the Nisei were born between 1910 and 1940, and were more acculturated to the United States in comparison to the Issei. The Nisei were concerned and had low expectations of their future because they experienced discrimination and prejudice. It was difficult for the Nisei to live in the U.S. because they were treated inferior although they were U.S. citizens. The Nisei had a strong relationship with the U.S. and moved away from the Issei to assimilate to the American lifestyle. The Sansei were born during or after World War II. After the attack on Pearl Harbor, many Americans became suspicious of the Japanese and fe ared another attack. Prejudice influenced Americans to stereotype the Japanese in negative ways, which lead for U.S. laws to discriminate and segregate the Japanese. As a result, on December 7, 1941, the FBI searched and arrested â€Å"spies†, including 2,192 Japanese