Title: Japanese | Immigration and Relocation in U.S. History | Classroom Materials at the Library of Congress | Library of Congress
Headings: Presentation
Immigration and Relocation in U.S. History

Presentation Immigration and Relocation in U.S. History
Japanese
An Open Door

Content: Japanese | Immigration and Relocation in U.S. History | Classroom Materials at the Library of Congress | Library of Congress
Presentation Immigration and Relocation in U.S. History
Japanese
Child waiting to be sent to internment camp, 1942
Japanese immigrants began their journey to the United States in search of peace and prosperity, leaving an unstable homeland for a life of hard work and the chance to provide a better future for their children. However, before the first generation of immigrants could enjoy the fruits of their labor, they had to overcome hostile neighbors, harsh working conditions, and repeated legislative attacks on their very presence in the country. Acceptance came only after the immigrants and their children were forced to endure one of the 20th century's worst crimes against civil liberties, and from that crucible fought to claim their place in the life of the nation. An Open Door
In 1853, Commodore Matthew Perry of the United States Navy sailed gunships into Tokyo harbor, forcing a reclusive nation to open itself up to trade with the U.S., and incidentally providing the people of Japan with an unprecedented glimpse of an alien culture. Osaka street scene
Since 1639, Japan had maintained an official policy of isolation from Europe and most of its colonies, and emigration was strictly controlled. However, in the years that followed Perry's arrival, Japan underwent a tremendous social transformation, and for many Japanese the U.S. increasingly became a model not only of modern military might, but also of a desirable way of life. After the Meiji Restoration in 1868, Japan's rapid urbanization and industrialization brought about great social disruption and agricultural decline. As farmers were forced to leave their land, and workers were left jobless by foreign competition, they looked more and more for a better life outside the islands of their homeland. As Japanese wages plummeted, and word of a booming U.S. economy spread, the lure of the United States became difficult to resist. Woman with child, Tokyo
Some of the earliest Japanese immigration to lands that would later become part of the United States was illegal.