The Japanese Immigration

By. Alex, Eboni, Kaylee, and Madeline

Alex- Chung
Madeline- Ching
Eboni- narrator
Kaylee- narrator

Narrator: Life for Chung and his daughter Ching was great until the tragedy of their loved one, the wife and mother of Ching and Chung. A blight came over their crops and they are forced to make a difficult decision.

Ching: Your crops aren't growing! What are we going to do!

Chung: I think there is work in America!

Ching: What is life going to be like?

Chung: Life in America is going to be great, We are going to be treated equally and we are going to make more money.

Narrator 2: The boat took them to Angel Island, where they were inspected for disease and other illness’s.

Narrator 1: After a while, they finally reached the station where the doctor was located.

Doctor: Stand still while we examine you to make sure you are healthy.

Doctor: Can you read? Can you write? How much money do you have? What are you plaining to do in America?

Narrator 2 : It took a while, but after Chung and Ching passed the examinations. Then they were asked questions like: can you read and write, what is your name, and how much money do you have with you. Next they were sent on another boat to take them to a new life in America.

Chung and Ching: We finally made it!

Narrator 2: After they settled in their new home in California, they had to face discrimination, and Chung had to find a job.

Ching: What are we going to do father? You need to find a job fast!

Chung: I know, I know. I have heard of work with growing mullberry shoots and tea seeds..

Ching: Well we have to figure something out fast!

Narrator 1: After a couple of days, Chung learned of work in the Hawaiian Sugar-Cane farms, working in the fields. They soon moved there and Chung spent long days in the fields. Their life in America didn’t turn out the way they wanted to.

Reasons why the Japanese Immigrated to America:
The Japanese hoped for a better life, that only in America would be possible.
They came for better work and because of poverty in there homeland due to
the poor economic conditions in Japan decreased.
What happened to the Japanese once they got to America:
The Japanese peoples' lives in America were below their expectations, but it was still better than their life in Japan. They mainly worked in the Hawaiian Sugar Cane industry to replace the Chinese workers. Their they were forced to strip sharp sugar cane leaves, batch them into bundles, and haul them off to mills everyday. To make enough money to support themselves and their family, they worked 10 hour work days in fields and were penalized two days of work for every day that they missed, even due to sickness. The Alian Land Law in 1913 prevented many Asain-Americans from being able to own land. In 1869, many Japanese settled near Sacramento, California and began the Wakamatsu Tea and Silk Farm colony, but the dry soil prevented the mulberry shoots and tea seeds from prospering.

The Americans' Reaction to the Japanese:
Most Americans were not fond of the sudden increased Japanese immigration. A majority of Americans only wanted European Immigrants because their skin tone was close to white, and the Americans believed that the U.S. was supposed to be an all white country. A common name for the Japanese migration to the United States was the "Yellow Peril". Many hostile Americans put up signs saying "No Japs Allowed". Others were worried that Japan's influence as a world power.


Primary Sources:

Hoobler, Dorothy Thomas. The Japanese American. N.p.: n.p., 1995. Print.
We used this to see what the Americans’ opinions were of the Japanese.

-Zurlo, Tny. The Japanese Americans. Farmington Hills, MI: Lucent Books, 2003.
We used this one to learn about the Japanese life in Sugar Cane farms.

Hoobler, Dorothy and Thomas. The Japanese American Family Album. New York, New
We used this to answer why the Japanese came to America.

Secondary Sources:

-ABC Clio
"Asain Americans in U.S. History."American History. ABC-Clio, 2011. Web. 14 Sept. 2011.
This sourced was used to answer how the Japanese were treated in America.

Photo Citations:

Japanese Visitors. Photographer. Encyclopædia Britannica Image Quest. Web. 19 Sep 2011.__
This picture is a crowd of Japanese people.

Immigration USA / Japanese / C.1920. Photograph. Encyclopædia Britannica Image Quest. Web. 20 Sep 2011.
This is of Japanese children being inspected.

This is of Japanese on a boat.

JAPANESE INTERNMENT, 1943. - Sewing Factory At The Manzanar Relocation Center At Owens Valley, California. Photographed By Ansel Adams, 1943.. Fine Art. Encyclopædia Britannica Image Quest. Web. 20 Sep 2011.
This is of Japanese working in a sewing factory.

This is of Japanese being inspected.