The immigration quota era, 1924–1965

¶ … Topaz" and "Desert Exile: The Uprooting of a Japanese-American Family" by Yoshiko Uchida. Specifically it will describe and compare the experiences of several ethnic and racial groups during World War II, and explain any similarities or differences in the treatment they received, and their reactions to it. Racial tensions, especially between the Americans and the Japanese, were high during World War II. American distrusted all Japanese, regardless of their ancestry, and sent them away to detainment camps far from their homes and businesses. Other ethic groups and racial minorities suffered as well during the war, but none so much as Japanese-Americans, most of whom lost everything they had worked for their entire lives.

On February 19, 1942, President Franklin D. Roosevelt issued an executive order which authorized the Secretary of War 'to prescribe areas from which any or all persons may be excluded'" ("Journey to Topaz" vii). This was the beginning of one of the darkest times in U.S. history - the internment of thousands of Japanese-Americans, simply because of their ethnicity. In "Journey to Topaz," Japanese-American Yoshiko Uchida chronicles her family's removal and relocation from Oakland California to the Topaz internment camp outside Delta, Utah in "Desert Exile," and writes of a fictional Japanese family in "Journey to Topaz." Both books indicate the struggles and inhumanities faced by the Japanese after the bombing of Pearl Harbor, and show their strength of spirit in the face of adversity.

Interestingly, the fictional Sakane family is religiously American. They celebrate American holidays, attend American churches, and when Yuki's mother is stressed or upset, she bakes cakes and cookies. They spend their last night of freedom sitting down with their neighbors to a traditional turkey dinner with all the trimmings, as if it were Thanksgiving. They live American lives, and throughout their ordeal they show a remarkably stoic and undeniable spirit. Few of the Japanese are bitter over their incarceration; they simply attempt to make the best of a bad situation. Yuki's mother sums up their attitude when she says, "Fear has made this country do something she will one day regret, Mr. Kurihara, but we cannot let this terrible mistake poison our hearts. If we do, Then we will be the ones to destroy ourselves and our children as well'" ("Journey to Topaz" 90). Thus, the Japanese, who were really loyal and dedicated Americans, gave up everything and still managed to remain hopeful and positive, for the most part.

The most appalling statistic regarding the Japanese internments is the staggering amount of young people, just like Yoshiko Uchida, who were interred along with their parents. Another author writes, "Most of the Japanese-Americans removed from their homes for reasons of 'national security' were school-age children, infants, and teenagers too young to vote. Two-thirds had been born in the United States" (Werner 79). The Japanese reaction to their incarceration during the war was mixed. Some people never recovered from the ordeal, or forgave the government for their imprisonment.

How did the Japanese react after they gained their freedom? Many, like author Uchida, wrote about their experiences so others would understand just what they endured because of their race. Others became embittered and failed to prosper when they finally returned from the camps in 1945. Still others fought for recognition and acknowledgement from the government. An official pardon came in 1976, and Uchida feels it is the generation who grew up in the camps that must pass the history on to their families. She writes, "We must tell them all we can remember, so they can better understand the history of their own people" ("Desert Exile" 147). The Japanese reacted differently, but the experience never left them, no matter how they dealt with it after they were free.

Italian-Americans were the largest ethnic group in the country on the eve of World War II - estimates place at least six million Italian-Americans in the country in 1940, most of them in the largest urban cities (O'Brien and Parsons 64). As fascism grew in Italy, it became increasingly contentious among Italians in foreign countries, including the United States. Like the Japanese, even though thousands of Italian-Americans were fighting in the war, the government designated "all unnaturalized Italians as 'alien enemies.' This designation mandated certain registration requirements and imposed limitations on travel and property ownership. The stigma struck hardest at the first generation, which supplied the greatest number of aliens" (O'Brien and Parsons 66). However, the government did not ship off the Italians to detention centers "for their own safety," and they were able to keep their jobs, their homes, and their dignity. Interestingly, while the Italians had complaints about their treatment by the American government, their reaction to the war was to become more patriotic and "American." Many Italian-American organizations changed their names from Italian to English, and many removed the flags of Italy from their meeting halls, replacing them with American flags (O'Brien and Parsons 73-74). Thus, even though they decried unfair treatment, they supported the war effort and Italian society became more Americanized as a result. The war changed Italians and Italian families, but for the most part, they escaped much of the harsh treatment heaped upon the Japanese.