Major Problems in Asian American History - Book Report/Review Example

Major Problems in Asian American History Designed to encourage critical thinking about historical events, thisbook introduces history students and any other reader to both primary sources and analytical essays on some vital concepts in the United States history. It presents distinct group of reading in a format that requires students to evaluate sources, test the interpretations of illustrious historians and finally drawing conclusive conclusions. Offering a rich and insightful guidelines and road map of Asian American history and describing its evolution for over 200 year, this book and chapter 10 in particular marks the first systematic endeavor to take stock in history as a field of study (Lon and Murray, 319). The chapter examines comments and ultimately questions the changing contexts and assumptions that underlie the contributions and experiences of an exceedingly diverse population of Americans. Arriving and settling in the United States as early as the 1790s, with American-born generations dating back more than a century, it is a fact that Asian Americans have become an essential part of the American experience. The book in general offers the trajectory of that journey; but chapter 10 in particular offers researchers invaluable information and interpretation about the Asian-American history. The 2nd world war came to an end after Japan surrendered in 1945, however, the international affairs continued to impact the lives of many Asian Americans. The diplomatic relationship that existed between American, Japan and China was a complete contrast of the relationship that existed between these countries during the 2nd world war. Once a loathed foe and an occupied country, Japan become an important American friend especially during the “cold war” between communist and capitalism. This growing relationship prompted the USA to establish strategic bases in the Japan in order to contain communist aggression that existed in Asia. On the other hand, China went from being an ally during the 2nd world war to a communist adversary after Mao’s victory in 1949. The intense ideological war that existed between capitalism and communism during the late 1950s also affected immigration and naturalization policies of the United States of America. Watchful of communist denunciations of American discrimination against minorities, the politicians in the United States of America started advocating for the abolishment of racial barriers to naturalization and immigration. This lead to several Acts and the most famous one is the 1952 McCarran-Walter Act that reaffirmed and extended the US origins quotas that limited Asian immigrants to just 2% of the total number of immigrants allowed in the country. This Acts and other similar ones were uploaded by some Japanese America. As a result of the changes in the immigration and naturalization acts, many Asia immigrants were no longer considered aliens that were ineligible for citizenship or denied the basic right to own properties (Lon and Murray, 324). One important political concept that arises in this chapter is the concept of Leftist. Leftist Asian Americans were vulnerable especially in the 1950s. The 1950s was witnessed by the hunting for communist agents. As a result, Leftists mistrusted the government intentions of developing a Chinese Confession program in 1957. This program aimed at convincing the Chinese that entered the country during the exclusion era and regularize their status. According to me, this is a true reflection that the US government was doing anything in their power to protect the rights of the immigrants and hence improve its diplomatic relationship with the Asian countries (Lon and Murray, 340). The analysis of this chapter would not be complete without mentioning several documents that existed during the exclusion era. The first three documents demonstrate how the occupation of Japan and the ultimate expansion of the U.S military bases across Asian affected the perception of the Americans towards race and gender. The other two documents examine how the immigration and naturalization policies were impacted by the cold war. The last four documents illustrate the impact and the intensity of conflict that existed between Asian America communities as a result of the cold war (Lon and Murray, 333). After the end of the 2nd World war in 1945, American soldiers took over Japan as a conquered province. By the time of surrendering it back, most of the American soldiers had engaged themselves with the Japanese women. The nature of their relationship ranged from casual dates, fleeting affairs to real marriage. Harassed at first by Japanese and Americans similarly, many couples opted for separation as opposed to enduring to the pressure. However, other did not succumb to the pressure and lived together in America or Japan (Spickard, 356). As a result of these marriages and fleeting relationships, many children were born. Some of the children were raised by their mothers without knowing who their father is. Interestingly, others never knew their mothers and they lived as orphans cast upon the uncertain benevolence children’s home, relatives or private families. These children underwent through psychological, physical and economic problems. The relationship between these soldiers and Japanese women was not as a result of pure love but rather was motivated by the prevailing situation (Lon and Murray, 324). This is explained by the fact the fabric of Japanese society had been rent because of the war-bombs that destroyed the cities. The economic status was at stand still. Many were homeless and the food was scarce. People were wounded, demoralized and death. In a climate characterized by suppressed mutual hatred and fear, some personal relationship had to come into being. Japanese men and women were forced to work with their conquerors to rebuild their country. Some become friends others enjoyed recreational relationships. However, with time most relationship became more and more intimae characterized by love (Spickard, 45). To show how intimate some relationships were, Japanese radio announced the birth of a baby with mixed parentage in June 1946. It is worth arguing that love transverse everything and this is reflected on the relationship that exist between these soldiers and Japanese women. The most important twist of events in this whole scenario was when the military and the government bent their energies towards keeping the soldiers from marrying the Japanese women they had fallen in love with. When they failed in this attempt, the government tried another method that aimed at barring Japanese spouses from entering and out of the United States. However, in December 1945 Congress bowed to pressure and passed Public Law 271 (Lon and Murray, 350). This Act was later known as the War Brides Act. The Act was developed to enable American soldiers to bring back their children and spouses they had acquired abroad through relinquishing the normal immigration quotas and visa requirements. In general, American-Japanese marriages after the 2nd world war suffered stiff opposition from American and Japanese citizens and the military (Spickard, 78). Couples that succeed in marrying were faced with challenges such as; economic insecurity, cultural differences, loneliness, inability to communicate their feelings openly, inadequate support systems and hostility from some Americans. It is clear that the government of the US bowed to pressure from civil societies and some politicians to amend several laws that discriminated against the Asian society. And despite the fact that these laws were amended and eventually the racial discrimination was abolished, this book reveals some dark history of U.S.A. I give much credit for the Asian Women and American soldiers who despite several limiting factors and barriers managed to marry hence evolution of the Asian-American children. In my own opinion, I argue that the beginning of the end of the racial discrimination was not on the Acts passed but the moment the first soldier fell in love with a Japanese women (Spickard, 134). This is the turning point of the whole scenario as it showed that despite the cultural or racial differences; individuals share a lot more than just race or culture. For development of a country, then it needs diverse concrete ideas which are derived from different cultures. For me, I think that U.S as a country have come to realize and appreciate this fact and that is why there are the current champion against racial abuse even though they practiced it long time ago. References Lon, Kurashige and Alice Y. Murray. Major Problems in Asian American History + Frakes Writing for College History. Cengage Learning, 2003. Spickard, Paul R. Mixed Blood: Intermarriage and Ethnic Identity in Twentieth-Century America. Madison, Wis: University of Wisconsin Press, 1989. Print. Read More