SETTING
In the U.S., the decade before World War II was defined by the Great Depression.
"October 29, 1929, was a dark day in history. "Black Tuesday" is the day that the stock market crashed, officially setting off the Great Depression. Unemployment skyrocketed--a quarter of the workforce was without jobs by 1933 and many people became homeless." www.americaslibrary.gov "The depression movements of the unemployed and of industrial workers followed a period of economic breakdown that produced distress and confusion in the daily lives of millions of people." www.americaslibrary.gov |
A Growing Japanese Population
The Nisei, second generation Japanese Americans, born in the U.S., become a majority in the Nikkei population. The Nisei** had the right to own land that their parents, the Issei*, first generation who emigrated to the U.S., did not have.
(*Issei – meaning “first generation” of Japanese in the U.S.) and American citizens (**Nisei – the second generation of Japanese in America, U.S. citizens by birthright.) "Over 90% of Japanese Americans [in California] were involved in farming." Historic Wintersburg, Arthur A. Hansen
"Before their internment, many Japanese Americans were successful farmers and business owners. In 1940, Japanese Americans controlled 458,056 acres of California farmland." www.pbs.org |
Japanese Anti-Sentiment
Competition for jobs as well as the growing population and hard earned prosperity of the Japanese American community created public fear and animosity, especially in the West coast states, most visibly in California. |