Where Did the Japanese Settle in America?

The first Japanese to come to the United States settled in Hawaii before it was officially a part of the United States. A majority of these Japanese were single men looking for work on sugar plantations.

The first Japanese settled in Hawaii in the year 1885. Their immigration was plentiful from the years 1885 to 1894. During this nine-year period, more than 28,000 Japanese immigrated to the Hawaiian Islands.

• This immigration was caused by a boom in the sugar industry that occurred during the period of the 1870s to the 1880s.
• The Japanese immigrated to Hawaii due to the high levels of unemployment, civil disorder, and bankruptcy that existed in Japan at the time.
• Plantation owners in Hawaii - who knew the labor rules under the ownership of the United States would change -  imported more than 26,000 laborers from Japan in 1899, just before Hawaii was made a part of the United States in the year 1900.

Japanese Workers As Contract Labor

The sugar boom in Hawaii and the devastating state of affairs in Japan led to many Japanese fleeing to the Kingdom of Hawaii in order to seek out better living conditions. So, what happened when they got there?

• Many of these initial immigrants were single men who had come to the location looking for work.
• Not only were they single men, but they were also farmers and farm laborers.
• Nearly three quarters of the initial immigrants returned to Japan after making their way to Hawaii, once discussions were in place to purchase Hawaii and make it a part of the United States.
• Once Hawaii was officially a part of the United States, contract labor was abolished. Those who had been imported to Hawaii as contract laborers had their contracts terminated under law, which led to many Japanese Americans travelling to the main land looking for work.

Rise, Fall and Rise of the Japanese American

From this point in time a number of events took place, which led to the Japanese rising in the American economy.

The Japanese Americans were not well thought of during the period of the second World War when the Japanese planned a sneak attack against Pearl Harbor in Hawaii amidst false talks of peace. After a period of racism against the Japanese, however, they once again rose to power in the United States.

Here is how it happened:

• By 1910, there were a number of native born Japanese that were born in Hawaii, making them official citizens of the United States. The generations of Japanese were identified by different names. Second generation, or natives born in Hawaii and on the mainland, became known as the Nisei.
• Many of the Japanese moved to the mainland as unskilled laborers. However, it become clear after some period of time that they were extremely hard workers. It was not long before they had fought for their rights for higher wages and many began to earn much more than the median income of whites at the time. It took many strikes on the part of these workers to get them to this level.
• The strikes on behalf of the Japanese laborers affected society greatly, since the Japanese accounted for nearly 77% of the workforce at the time. The Japanese fought and won their place within the American society.
• On December 9, 1941, hostilities had grown between Japan and the United States. Although there were peace talks happening, on this date in history, the Japanese launched a sneak attack against the United States at Pearl Harbor.
• The attack on Pearl Harbor led to laws being passed to imprison anyone of Japanese decent as an enemy of the United States. The place in society that the Japanese had fought to protect was lost. Yet again, the economy was affected.
• At the end of the war after retaliation by the United States, the Japanese were let go and permitted to work once again in the United States. 

So, now you know where the Japanese first settled in America, as while as a bit more of the history of Japanese immigration.