Struggles in our Democracy: The Japanese American Experience
Please answer the following questions thoroughly, with attention to detail, complete
sentences, good grammar, neatness, and spelling.
1. What brought Japanese immigrants to the U.S.?
2. What kind of work did most Japanese immigrants do in the Pacific Northwest?
3. What kinds of limitations were placed on the Japanese in the U.S.?
4. Define Issei and Nisei.
5. Why did some Americans view the Japanese as “unassimilated foreigners”? (If
you do not know what unassimilated means, look it up).
6. When the U.S. government investigated the loyalty of the Japanese in the U.S.,
what did they find?
7. What caused the U.S. to declare war on Japan and enter World War II?
8. How many people of Japanese ancestry in the U.S. were charged or convicted of
espionage or sabotage? (Again, if you do not know what these words mean, look
them up)
9. What was Executive Order 9066?
10. The Japanese internment was justified on the basis of “military necessity”, but
many who were put into camps were of no threat to the nation. Furthermore, Italian
and German-Americans were (for the most part) not subjected to the same
treatment. What do you think accounts for this?
11. What were the camps like?
12. What was the 442nd?
13. What led to the Civil Liberties Act of 1988, and what was the act about?
14. You spent time learning about and defining “Civil Rights” last quint. Were the
Civil Rights of Japanese and Japanese-American individuals violated during World
War II? Why or why not?
15. Regardless of your opinion in the question above, was the Japanese Internment
a good idea?