Territory of Hawaii

Ruth Awasa, a Japanese American internment camp survivor, once stated, “Sometimes good comes through adversity” (Awasa). After viewing and researching several articles and pictures on densho.org, I gathered some pieces of knowledge about the Japanese Americans that resided in the Minidoka Internment Camp in southern Idaho. The internment camp residents I believe faced treatment there that was not justified for their situations. Additionally, the Japanese Americans there, especially the younger…

During the 1940s the world became a living hell once more; WWII had began. Nation upon nation became dragged into different calamitous conflicts. Every country had a reason for being involved, whether it was to protect their best interests, provide aid to other countries or to preserve certain ideals. The U.S. was one of these nations. We were sucked into the war because we were petrified and enraged by the events occurring in Europe and Asia. We fought for democracy, for freedom of all people,…

The United States has officially joined the war after a surprise attack on Pearl Harbor early Sunday morning. This plan, known as Operation Z, was created by Isoroku Yamamoto, a Japanese Marshal Admiral. Just before 8:00a.m. on December 7, a fleet of Japanese war planes approached the Hawaiian island of Oahu and bombed the U.S. naval base, Pearl Harbor. A total of over three hundred Japanese fighter and bomber planes were sent in two waves to carry out the attack. Radars located at Pearl…

Ashlyn Nelson, a writer for Al-Jazeera, writes this article about anti-Japanese sentiment during World War II, and its similarities to today’s anti-Muslim sentiment. To open her article, Nelson establishes ethos by stating that her grandparents are both second generation Japanese Americans, or Nisei. She writes about her grandfather moving to America, only to face extreme anti-Japanese hostility. She continues by stating, “My grandfather stopped leaving the house alone because he feared…

The Book titled, Yakama Rising by Michelle M. Jacob allows a new outlook on the Native American culture in comparison to how students are taught inside a public classroom. In primary school the main focus on Native culture is how the white man came into their land and tried to rake control. There is little reflection on their tribal practices and rituals. That is where Yakama Rising is different. The novel begins with painted images of how their culture is celebrated and perceived through the…

The date December 17, 1941 will live in our hearts forever because after that date many lives, laws, rules and thoughts were changed. But this essay will be focused on one person, Papa from the story, Farewell to Manzanar that is based on the true story of the Kawasaki family. After the attack on Pearl Harbor, President FDR put an executive order 9066 that required all Japanese to go to internment camps for the “protection” of the Japanese. The Kawasaki's family was no exception, papa Ko was…

December 7, 1941 all around the United States of America people and radios are buzzing with the latest news, Pearl Harbor, a navy dock in Hawaii, has been bombed by the Japanese. At that time President Franklin Roosevelt made some drastic changes. The attack on Pearl Harbor had a large impact on everyone and is still important today. Pearl Harbor is a day that will live in infamy, many people agree. In fact even the president himself said, “Yesterday, 7 December 1941-- a date which will live…

The annexation of Hawaii by the United States was a great idea by Congress and President McKinley. It was an area that was ideal for sugar growing and it was a place for the U.S. to be able to have more control of the Pacific Ocean. With the annexation of Hawaii, many opportunities opened up for the United States. The leaders of Hawaii were willing to be annexed by the U.S., so the U.S. made a good decision and took the land (Doc. 1). The U.S then used the land for refueling stations. With the…

Executive Order 9066, issued February 19, 1942, was a controversial order signed by president Franklin Delano Roosevelt, endearingly referred to by historians as FDR. Under the terms of this executive order, more than 110,000 Americans of Japanese descent were forcibly moved to internment camps located in the Western United States. FDR, at the time a third-term president who had just guided the nation through the Great Depression, was faced with the first foreign attack on US soil since 1918 –…

Marginality of American Asians In the United States, Asians encompass 6% of the total population. There are now 17.3 million Asian Americans, up from 6.9 million in 1990, in the United States. Asian Americans are currently the fastest growing population in America (Census data, n.d.). The rise of Asian Americans really tweaked my interest in Asian Culture. Asian culture is one that I have very little knowledge. In my teaching experiences, there have been very few Asian Americans in my…