Title: Asian-American History
Headings: Asian-American History
Asian-American History
From Chinese laborers in the 1800s to millions of U.S. citizens today
Gold Rush Boom
Violent Protests
Japanese Arrive
Contact with the Philippines
Japanese Internment
Increasing Numbers
Increasing Clout
A More Diverse Group

Content: Though Filipinos faced the same prejudices as Chinese and Japanese laborers (as described in Carlos Bulosan's book America is in the Heart ), Filipinos arrived with English skills, making assimilation easier. Japanese Internment
During World War II, more than 100,000 Americans of Japanese ancestry were placed in internment camps. Even though many did not speak Japanese or have close ties to Japan, they were nonetheless regarded as wartime threats. Although the U.S. was also at war with Germany and Italy, Americans with ancestors from those countries did not face internment. In 1988, Congress passed a measure giving $20,000 to Japanese Americans who had been interned during the war. President George H.W. Bush signed it the following year. Increasing Numbers
Although Asian immigration increased steadily through much of the 20th century, the region still contributed fewer newcomers than Europe, Latin America, and North America. The McCarran-Walter Act of 1952 eliminated race as a barrier to immigration, and in 1965 national quotas were ended, thus facilitating Asian immigration. Increasing Clout
Political power soon followed. Dalip Singh was elected to U.S. Congress from California's Imperial Valley, and in 1962 Hawaii sent Daniel K. Inouye to the U.S. Senate and Spark Matsunaga to the U.S. House.