Takahashi v. Fish and Game Commission (1948)
According to Angelo, the U.S Supreme Court struck a California law that denied immigrants ineligible for US citizenship the right to fish in waters along the California Coast. Created in 1943, a California statute prohibited Japanese immigrants from acquiring fishing business licenses. The law was amended in 1945 to prohibit all aliens ineligible for citizenship from fishing. Takao Takahashi had a commercial fishing license from 1915 to 1942, and therefore, was affected by the statute. However, the Supreme Court invalidated the California law and held that equal protection law was violated and that the state had limited power to make a classification on alienage basis (33). The case of Takahashi is yet another case of discriminative laws against the Asian Americans, even though, Takahashi emerged victorious in the Supreme Court.
The late 1940s and 1950s witnessed a slow …show more content…
The discrimination was outright and widespread before the nineteenth-century, spreading to early 1940s. The racialization process of the many ethnic groupings has underpinnings on the fact that they faced similar discriminative laws. The ten court cases in this paper have shown instances where the Asian Americans lost legally due to the existing laws. However, they remained steadfast in fighting for their rights and justice which led to the repeal of various discriminative laws. Although anti-racial laws were enacted, Asian Americans continue to face discrimination to date. In some instances, they have faced rejection from other Americans, particularly the White Americans. Accordingly, the positioning of the Asian Americans can be described as a minority community, despite their growth in population. Nevertheless, the legal battles have been fruitful in their quest for social recognition and
According to Angelo, the U.S Supreme Court struck a California law that denied immigrants ineligible for US citizenship the right to fish in waters along the California Coast. Created in 1943, a California statute prohibited Japanese immigrants from acquiring fishing business licenses. The law was amended in 1945 to prohibit all aliens ineligible for citizenship from fishing. Takao Takahashi had a commercial fishing license from 1915 to 1942, and therefore, was affected by the statute. However, the Supreme Court invalidated the California law and held that equal protection law was violated and that the state had limited power to make a classification on alienage basis (33). The case of Takahashi is yet another case of discriminative laws against the Asian Americans, even though, Takahashi emerged victorious in the Supreme Court.
The late 1940s and 1950s witnessed a slow …show more content…
The discrimination was outright and widespread before the nineteenth-century, spreading to early 1940s. The racialization process of the many ethnic groupings has underpinnings on the fact that they faced similar discriminative laws. The ten court cases in this paper have shown instances where the Asian Americans lost legally due to the existing laws. However, they remained steadfast in fighting for their rights and justice which led to the repeal of various discriminative laws. Although anti-racial laws were enacted, Asian Americans continue to face discrimination to date. In some instances, they have faced rejection from other Americans, particularly the White Americans. Accordingly, the positioning of the Asian Americans can be described as a minority community, despite their growth in population. Nevertheless, the legal battles have been fruitful in their quest for social recognition and