Blog 3

With America being a prosperous country and place for opportunity there is no question to why so many different groups of people found themselves migrating over to this inequitable land. Having the reputation of being the land of the free and the place where opportunity is available for all types of people allowed America to expand agriculturally as well as industriously while still maintain its hypocritical reputation as the promise land. With different groups such as Africans, Jewish, Irish, Chinese, Mexican, Indian, and Japanese migrating to America, one would view this country as multicultural instead of what it really was, an avarice ridden land with profit as its primary focus. Although all of these ethnicities, as well as many more, were victims to America’s white supremacy politics and its “by any means necessary” way of living the two groups that I will be focusing on will be the Japanese and the Mexicans.

In present day America, the Japanese are some of the highest paid people employed in the United States so it is questionable to why this same group of people was discriminated against. In the late 1800’s and early 1900’s thousands of Japanese found themselves deporting Japan and crossing the pacific ocean in search for a better life. Since agriculture production was low in Japan and the need for success was high amongst their people, farmers found themselves leaving their native land to attain riches in America, a country internationally publicized for its opportunity. With stories that workers would make a dollar a day in America it was stupid if Japanese workers didn’t decide to jump on the band wagon and migrate to America. By making a dollar a day Japanese laborers could save 1000 yen a year; an equivalence to the amount a Japanese governor makes. These figures attracted the foreigners to the infamous land with them unknowingly suspecting that in order to gain such riches one had to lose all their pride.

Japanese immigrants had it harsh. With them working from the early morning to the night as well as being limited to who can and cannot enter the country, many found America not to be the prosperous country that it had seemed to be, but more of an abusive one. In America if you are not a white American citizen than basically you are not a citizen at all. Due to the fact that Japanese occupants had color to their skin and different bodily features than the predominant white occupants, they were viewed as inferior to those white occupants as well as to other foreign occupants. In the workforce, Japanese were never given skilled jobs and were constantly watched as a white overseer watched them work. Aware of their unfair treatment and unfair wages, Japanese workers often went on strike. With women being underpaid than men and men being underpaid to their Portuguese counterpart workers, Japanese no longer could work without equal privileges. With time, these needs were met and all foreigners were making an equivalent amount of money, but that didn’t cease the racial discrimination they faced.
Like most parents, first generation Japanese wanted better for their children who, unlike their parents, where American citizens because they were born on the land. These second generation Japanese-American citizens were called Nesei and due to the fact that they were natural born American citizens their parents wanted them to achieve all the opportunity and education that was not presented to them. Since they were Japanese and American, many Nesei embraced both of their cultures and did things in the Japanese way as well as the American way, too bad America wasn’t ready to adjust to accepting them yet. With mass majority of the Japanese American population having some type of schooling, it was quite hard even for these American citizens to find employment. How can a person with a bachelor degree in physics and chemistry not be employable enough to get a job? It was not because the Japanese was inefficient to go job searching as it was employers’ racist ways in not wanting to employ any “Japs.” The Nesei, even though was very proud of their Japanese heritage, wanted to be accepted into American society but with common insults such as “go back to where you come from” or “do you speak English” and getting stones thrown at them, it was hard for Japanese-Americans to feel accepted in America.

Around the Same time that the Japanese was migrating to Hawaii Mexicans was crossing the Rio Grande getting access to the promise of American society. Since the Mexicans already bordered the United States it was easier for them to migrate to America other than all the other foreigners who had to cross oceans. Also like the Japanese the Mexican economy was low and many of their civilians saw America as their key to success as well as an escape from the revolution that Mexico was undergoing. In America Mexicans were viewed as the most promised workers. Since white men wouldn’t do the labor necessary that farmers needed, Filipinos had the reputation of being worthless, and American exclusion acts stop the access of Japanese and Chinese immigrants, the best workers for the job was the Mexicans. What really attracted American farmers to Mexican immigrants was the fact that they worked productively for cheap pay. Given that America is all about profits, hiring good work is a good way to make a profit, but hiring cheap work is an even better way to make a profit.

Like most other foreigners America wasn’t accepting of Mexicans either. Mexicans were permitted to shop in Anglo business section of the town only on Saturdays, could only go to cafes and eat at the counter or take their meal for carry out as well as having attending segregated schools. Mexicans, with their darker skin complexions, were treated as if they were African American by having to eat or go to the colored’s only area. Even at their segregated schools the students learned how to be obedient workers. American society didn’t want smart Mexican immigrants to work because than they would want higher wages and be less ignorant to expectations in their workforce. Mexicans typically didn’t receive anything higher than a seventh grade education and was training them to follow in their parents footsteps: once a farmer always a farmer.

Unlike their Japanese counterparts, Mexican workers weren’t trying to become Americanized. The Japanese Americans embraced both of their cultures but due to the racial discrimination that Mexicans received a lot of them didn’t even want to embrace American cultures. Some chose not to learn English as well as some chose not to speak it. A common perspective that Mexicans held was the fact that even if they were to become an American citizen they would still be considered Mexican. The Mexicans were attached to Mexico and hated the discrimination that America endured them at the same time they feared for another revolution in Mexico and appreciated the job opportunity in America.

When opportunity in America was publicized they did not indicate that these opportunities included discrimination, low wage, and unacceptance to American society. These foreigners left their homelands, their families, friends, and everything else near and dare to them to find opportunity in a place that would not accept them as people. The want for success outweighed the morals America should have held for these immigrants as well as the need for profit countered any humane acts not given to the immigrants. These immigrants wanted success and riches, that’s the reason they came to America, they also, however, wanted to be accepted.