Title: Asians in America During the Years From the Great Depression to WWII | Synonym
Headings: Asians in America During the Years From the Great Depression to WWII
Asians in America During the Years From the Great Depression to WWII
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1 Employment
2 Location
3 Discrimination
4 Internment

Content: 2 Location
Asian-American numbers were highest in the Pacific states, particularly in California. Filipinos, Japanese and Chinese came to work in various industries and on Californian farms. In large cities, entire areas became associated with specific immigrant groups, like San Francisco’s Chinatown which was home to many of the city’s 16,300-strong Chinese population in 1930. 3 Discrimination
Asian-Americans faced outright discrimination in the 1920s and 1930s. They were subject to strict immigration laws, including the 1924 Johnson-Reed Act, which prevented immigration by anyone born in a defined “Asiatic Barred Zone,” and the 1934 Tydings-McDuffie Act, which introduced a quota, meaning just 50 Filipinos could emigrate to the United States per year. During the Great Depression, many jobs and employment programs were only open to U.S. citizens. As Asian-Americans were barred from gaining U.S. citizenship, they were excluded from these opportunities. 4 Internment
The outbreak of World War II was a disaster for many Asian-Americans, particularly those who lived in the newly designated military areas of California, Washington and Oregon. Those of Japanese ancestry were deemed untrustworthy and forced to relocate to large internment camps. Typically located in isolated, inhospitable desert areas and ringed by barbed wire and armed guards, the camps were home to around 120,000 Japanese-Americans for more than four years.