ASSIMILATION
Nationalism and Assimilation.
In the question of assimilation we find the heart of the Japanese problem
in California. The reader will probably recall that, in discussing
California's effort to counteract the progress of the Japanese in
agriculture, we stated that there would be no ground for justification of
the recent rigorous measure except on the assumption that the Japanese are
unassimilable, and that they should not, therefore, be allowed to flourish
in that State. He will also remember that we stated, in discussing the
Japanese population in California, that, were it not for the apprehension
of the probable impossibility of assimilating the Japanese, their increase
in number either in California or in the United States was not an occasion
for anxiety. These arguments implied our belief that the entire problem of
the Japanese-California situation would finally resolve itself to one
crucial point; namely, the question of assimilation. It is our profound
conviction that if it be established that the Japanese are unassimilable,
then decisive steps--much more decisive than any so far adopted--should be
taken by both America and Japan in order to forestall a possible tragedy
in the future.
We hold this view because the present state of world affairs allows us to
entertain no other opinion. As long as our world order is such that its
constituent units are highly organized, composite nations with independent
rights and marked individualities, it is only natural that each nation
should demand that foreigners entering for the purpose of permanent
settlement conform in a large measure to the social order and ideals of
the country. In case this is deemed impossible, the nation opposes any
large influx of foreign races because of the necessity of maintaining its
national unity and harmony.
Naturally, this tendency of conserving strict national integrity is
strongest among the oldest and most highly organized States, and weakest
among the new and loosely integrated countries. Countries like Japan and
England, which have long, proud histories and traditions, and which are
highly organized, are more strict about the way they take foreigners into
their households. On the other hand, new countries like Australia and the
South American republics, which have short histories and few traditions,
are more or less liberal in admitting foreigners. This truth has been
exemplified by the history of the United States. She has shown a marked
laxity in this regard during the colonial and growing periods; but as soon
as she achieved a more perfect national unity and consciousness, she began
to manifest a strong tendency toward integration, exerting her energy on
the one hand upon consolidation of her population and on the other upon
excluding "squatters" who would not readily assimilate.
Whether or not such a nationalistic policy may be considered just, and
whatever change the future may witness in this regard, the fact remains
that not a single nation in the world at present discards or rejects the
policy in practice. In the face of such a situation the only alternative
for the Japanese in the United States, when they obstinately cling to
their own ways of living and thinking, would be to go elsewhere.
This conviction of ours should not be confused with the hasty, groundless
conjecture that the Japanese are a race utterly impossible of assimilation
to American ways by nature and constitution. Most of the careless
agitators who put forth statements to this effect start from the wrong end
in their reasoning. They assume what ought to be proven, and forthwith
proceed to formulate a policy on this assumption. They assume that the
Japanese are unassimilable and conclude that, therefore, they should not
be given an opportunity to progress. This is analogous to saying that
because a child is ignorant he should not be sent to school, forgetting
that the very ignorance of the child is due to the fact that he has been
denied an education. They fail to see that their conclusion is the very
cause of their premises. What we maintain is that when the Japanese shall
have proved unassimilable, _after all means for their assimilation have
been exhausted_, they should then be persuaded to give up the idea of
establishing themselves in America.
Meaning of "Assimilation."
A great deal of confusion arises from the ambiguity of the term
"assimilation." Its interpretations vary from the idea of a most
superficial imitation of dress and manners to that of an uncontrollable
process of biological resemblance or identity. Those using the term in the
former sense, in face of the fact that the Japanese in their midst dress,
talk, and live like Americans, consider it indisputable that they are
assimilable. Those who use the word in a narrow sense of ethnological
similarity, on the contrary, insist with equal conviction that the
assimilation of the Japanese is absolutely impossible. Neither is wrong in
reasoning, for assimilation, according to the accepted diction, means the
process of bringing to a resemblance, conformity or identity--it is a
relative term. Hence, in order to determine whether it is possible for the
Japanese to become Americanized, it is necessary to find a standard by
which the process can safely be gauged. Without this it is wholly absurd
to say either that they are or are not assimilable. If the standard be
fixed at physical identity with Americans, the Americanization of the
Japanese is hopeless--at least for a few generations; but if it be fixed
at conformity with American customs and social order, the Japanese have to
a certain degree already been assimilated.
How is the criterion to be determined? Perhaps it may be found, like the
standard of our morality, in practical usage; that is, in the accepted
usages and customs of the United States. Here we can do no better than
point out the traditional spirit of cosmopolitanism, or firm adherence to
the policy of racial non-discrimination, which was sustained even at the
costliest of sacrifices and which is inscribed in the immortal fourteenth
amendment of the Constitution, which states that "All persons born or
naturalized in the United States and subject to the jurisdiction thereof
are citizens of the United States and of the State wherein they reside."
If the supreme law as well as the traditions and customs of the land do
not deny, on account of color or race, any person born in America the
right of citizenship, it is apparently un-American to make racial
similarity or conformity the standard of assimilability.
A nation, however, cannot maintain its own rights and honor among the
family of nations without upholding its individuality. But America's
individuality does not consist in ethnological unity alone. It consists
more in cultural and spiritual solidarity. America upholds her dignity and
national rights with the strength of that patriotism of her people which
is born of their active sharing in her culture and ideals, as well as of
their common experiences of American life. Clearly, then, one criterion of
Americanization is unmixed devotion and allegiance to the cause and
welfare of the United States--devotion and allegiance not blindly
compelled by force of imposition, but born of voluntary and unrestricted
participation in American culture and ideals, religion, and industry; in
short, in the entire American life. More concisely expressed, the required
standard of assimilation in America is an active share in American life as
a whole to such an extent that unmixed love and the will to devote self to
the United States are no longer resistible.
The essence of Americanization was elucidated in simple and beautiful
words by President Wilson in his memorable speech delivered at
Philadelphia in 1915 before an audience of naturalized citizens of that
city. He said in part:
... This is the only country in the world which experiences this
constant and repeated rebirth. Other countries depend upon the
multiplication of their own native people. This country is constantly
drinking strength out of new sources by the voluntary association with
it of great bodies of strong men and forward-looking women out of
other lands. And so by the gift of the free will of independent people
it is being constantly renewed from generation to generation by the
same process by which it was originally created.
You have just taken an oath of allegiance to the United States. Of
allegiance to whom?... to a great ideal, to a great body of
principles, to a great hope of the human race.... You cannot dedicate
yourself to America unless you become in every respect and with every
purpose of your will thorough Americans. You cannot become Americans
if you think of yourselves in groups. America does not consist of
groups. A man who thinks of himself as belonging to a particular
national group in America has not yet become an American....
My urgent advice to you would be, not only always to think first of
America, but always, also, to think first of humanity. You do not love
humanity if you seek to divide humanity into jealous camps. Humanity
can be welded together only by love, by sympathy, by justice, not by
jealousy and hatred.
Biological Assimilation.
With this clarified meaning of assimilation or Americanization, let us
examine the assimilability of the Japanese. First of all, we shall take up
the matter of racial amalgamation. Immediately the questions arise, "Is it
possible to amalgamate the Japanese? Is it desirable to do so? Is it
necessary to do so?"
To the first question, paradoxical as it may seem, careful observations
compel us to reply that it is, and that it is not, possible to amalgamate
the Japanese blood with the American. Just as there is no national
boundary in science, so there is no human barrier in marriage. Truth and
love appear to transcend all natural and artificial obstacles. That love
defies racial difference has been amply proven in the United States, where
all races are in the process of being fused together. It has no less
conclusively been proven by the number of happy marriages that have taken
place between Americans and Japanese in this country and in Japan. On the
other hand, it is unthinkable that the Japanese should begin wholesale
intermarriages with Americans in the near future, to the extent of losing
their racial distinction. This is unthinkable because of the social
stigma--and Americans as well as Japanese are extremely sensitive on the
question of social environment--and the legal and economic handicaps
which cause thoughtful persons of both nationalities, who take into
consideration the welfare of themselves as well as of their descendants,
to refrain from indulging in uncustomary marriages. It is more likely,
therefore, that while here and there sporadic cases of intermarriage will
continue to take place, and that such cases will gradually increase as the
Japanese raise the degree of Americanization, it is wholly out of the
question that under the present conditions of social, economic, and
political encumbrances, the practice will prevail to any large extent.
This being the case, our second query--"Is intermarriage
desirable?"--appears superfluous. Indeed, had it not been for the
dangerous dogmatism inculcated by some willful propagandists that the
result of intermarriage between Americans and Japanese is "the germ of the
mightiest problem that ever faced this State; a problem that will make the
black problem in the South look white,"[43] the subject would be purely an
academic one. To allow this sort of baseless assertion to go unchallenged
is extremely dangerous, because it exaggerates an unimportant point to
misrepresent maliciously the whole question of the Japanese in the United
States.
The conclusions of able observers, such as Dr. Gulick and Professor
Millis, invariably confirm the fact that, as far as the ordinary means of
observation go, the offspring of a Japanese and American couple is in no
respect inferior to those of either American or Japanese unmixed descent.
Professor Millis states:
So far as experience shows, there is nothing inherently bad in race
mixture, if it takes place under normal conditions, and neither race
is generally regarded as inferior and the offspring therefore given
inferior rank, as in the case of the negro.[44]
From his extensive association with Japanese, Dr. Gulick has been able to
make some valuable observations on this topic. He states in his important
book, _The American Japanese Problem_:
The offspring of mixed marriages are oftentimes practically
indistinguishable from Caucasians. The color distinction is the first
to break down. The Japanese hair and eye exert a stronger influence.
So far as the observation of the writer goes, there is a tendency to
striking beauty in Americo-Japanese. The mental ability, also, of the
offspring of Japanese and white marriages is not inferior to that of
children of either race.[45]
These observations are valuable in refuting the kind of vile allegations
we have quoted. But because of the limited number of cases observed, and
the necessarily unscientific character of the observation, the utilization
of these studies must be confined to pointing out the absurdity of the
opposite extreme dogmatism and not extended to the constructive argument.
Even less reliable are the opinions of speculative biologists who by the
use of analogy--that is, by examples of hybridization of plants and
animals--try to throw light on the subject of racial intermarriage. In
general, the assertions of these biologists agree that the intermixture of
races too far apart is undesirable because it results in a breakdown of
the inherent characteristics of each, but that the combination of races
slightly different is more desirable than intra-racial marriage because it
tends to invigorate the stock. To this extent, opinions concur; but as to
the question what races may be considered similar and what races different
they begin to disagree. Most of them divide the human races by the color
of the skin, and state that the case of the black and white races is that
of extreme intermixture, and cite that between two white races as a
desirable one. When they are pressed to pass a verdict on the result of
mixture between the yellow and white races, most of them give only
vacillating replies, as in the following extracts:
Yellow-white amalgamation may not be fraught with the evil
consequences in the wake of the yellow-black and the white-black
crosses. At the same time, it should be pointed out that the
Caucasians and the Mongolians are far apart in descent, and that the
advantages to be gained by either in this breaking up of superior
hereditary complexes developed during an extended past are not
clear.[46]
Professor Castle is more precise in his assertion. He says:
Mankind consists of a single species; at least no races exist so
distinct that when they are crossed sterile progeny are produced.
Offspring produced by crossing such races do not lack in vigor, size,
or reproductive capacity....
Racial crosses, if so conducted as not to interfere with social
inheritance, may be expected to produce on the whole intermediates as
regards physical and psychic characters.[47]
Here, Professor Castle touches on the important question involved; namely,
social inheritance. Indeed, human civilization is not all that is
contained in germplasm. Mankind developed and accumulated an elaborate
system of living conditions which operate independently of biological
processes. However wonderful a brain a child has, he will have to remain a
savage if he is born in a savage tribe of Africa or in a place where the
level of culture is extremely low. In discussing the possible effect of
intermarriage upon progeny, therefore, the cultural level of parents and
their environment must first of all be taken into consideration. It is
here that we find ground for opposition to intermarriage between Japanese
and Americans at present. With some marked exceptions, the cultural
standard attained by the mixed couples has on the whole been not of a very
high order. This is inevitable when we consider that intermarriage between
Japanese and Americans has not yet received full social sanction, thus
obstructing free play to the process of natural selection. Aside from the
purely biological consideration, this want of social approval of
intermarriage, with its concomitant, an unenviable social position of the
parents, results in an undesirable environment for the offspring.
The welfare of their progeny is not the only determining point of
intermarriage. Is it, then, sufficiently happy for the couple? Our
observations lead us to answer in the negative. To be sure, there are
cases of fortunate marriages in which it seems impossible for the couple
to be happier. But, on the whole, the husband and the wife often find it
difficult to harmonize their sentiments and ideals on account of different
antecedents. The inharmony seems to grow as the couple advance in age,
rendering their lives miserable. The greatest stumbling block, however,
seems to be economic. The Japanese in the United States who are engaged in
the ordinary walks of life are offered very little opportunities save in
farming on a small scale and in petty businesses. Regardless of their
ambition or ability, the Japanese cannot get what are considered in
America good positions. Hence, neither their positions nor incomes improve
very rapidly--perhaps no advance is made. Most American women are not
satisfied to follow a blind alley. They turn back and get a divorce.
Exceptional cases, of course, are found in the American-Japanese couples,
whose husbands have won distinction and wealth by extraordinary personal
ability or by scientific or literary attainments, or by representing great
firms of Japan.
Our discussion of intermarriage seems to suggest that it is not likely to
occur, for some time at least, in large numbers; that as far as hereditary
effect on progeny is concerned, it is wholly premature to pass any
judgment at present because of our limited knowledge; but that the social
as well as the economic position of the contemporary Japanese in America
does not seem conducive to the happiness of either the children of such
unions or their parents.
Is Assimilation without Intermarriage Possible?
Let us now consider the third question:--"Is intermarriage necessary for
the assimilation of the Japanese?" The people, who argue that the Japanese
should be discriminated against because they are biologically unamalgable,
thereby commit themselves to maintaining that intermarriage is the only
way by which Japanese may become true Americans. Governor Stephens states
that California's effort at Japanese exclusion is "based entirely on the
principle of race self-preservation and the ethnological impossibility of
successfully assimilating this constantly increasing flow of Oriental
blood."[48] Without questioning whence he derived the authority for the
assertion that the Japanese are ethnologically impossible of assimilation,
we wish to refute the contention that the Japanese are unassimilable
because they are racially impossible of amalgamation. We believe that
racial amalgamation is not a prerequisite of assimilation. We have already
shown that the customs and traditions, as well as the supreme law of the
United States, do not demand that all Americans be of one and the same
race. This fact alone is sufficient condemnation of those baseless
utterances which seek an excuse for failure and negligence in successfully
fulfilling the duty of Americanizing aliens by the camouflage of race
difference.
But there are other powerful reasons to support our view that race
intermixture is not the only way to Americanize the Japanese. And this we
find in the strong influence of environment on the physical and mental
make-up of man. Perhaps the most significant anthropological contribution
of recent times is the establishment of the truth that race is not a fixed
thing, but that it is a changeable thing; changeable according to the
conditions of environment. Professor Boas, a recognized authority on
anthropology, found, in a strictly scientific investigation concerning the
changes in bodily form of immigrants and their descents in America, that
aliens change considerably in physical form after they come to America.
His conclusions are:
The investigation has shown much more than was anticipated, and the
results, so far as worked out, may be summarized as follows:
The head form, which has always been considered as one of the most
stable and permanent characteristics of human races, undergoes
far-reaching changes due to the transfer of races of Europe to
American soil.
The influence of American environment upon the descendants of
immigrants increases with the time that the immigrants have lived in
this country before the birth of their children.
The differences in type between the American-born descendant of the
immigrant and the European-born immigrant develop in early childhood
and persist throughout life.
Among the East European Hebrews the American environment, even in the
congested parts of the city, has brought about a general more
favorable development of the race, which is expressed in the increased
height of body (stature) and the weight of the children.
There are not only decided changes in the rate of development of
immigrants, but there is also a far-reaching change in the type--a
change which cannot be ascribed to selection or mixture, but which can
only be explained as due directly to the influence of environment. We
are, therefore, compelled to draw the conclusion that if these traits
change under the influence of environment, presumably _none of the
characteristics of the human types that come to America remain
stable_.[49]
A very similar result has been reached by Dr. Fishberg in his study[50] of
the Jews in America, in which he found that the physical features of the
Jews in the United States are changing considerably as the result of
change in social elements.
Because of lack of scientifically established data pertaining to the
physical change of Japanese descendants in America, we forbear from
making any bold assertion on that topic. Yet, even to the casual
observer, it seems almost undeniable that American-born Japanese children
are fast departing from the type which their parents represent, thus
corroborating the truth discovered by scientists. The Japanese Educational
Association of San Francisco once conducted an extensive physical
examination of Japanese children in twenty different grammar schools in
California, and found (1) that they are generally superior in physical
development to children of corresponding ages in Japan; (2) that in height
they are from one to two inches taller than children in Nippon; (3) that
in weight they are from three to seven pounds heavier; (4) that they have
fairer skin when compared with that of their parents born in Japan; (5)
that their hair is dark brown and not jet black, as is that of their
parents; and (6) that their general posture is much better than that
commonly seen among the children of Japan.[51]
These purely bodily changes of American-born descents may be attributed to
the difference in diet, in mode of living, in climate, and in the
mysterious power of the social _milieu_, of whose influence upon the
physiology of man we are yet uninformed. It is well to remember that
America is a wonderful melting pot which does not depend, in its
functions, solely upon the biological process of cross-breeding, but also
in a good measure upon the social and natural process of automatic
conformity to type.
Cultural Assimilation.
The real criteria of Americanization being, as we have seen, a genuine
patriotism and cultural refinement, it is in the light of these two
points, more than in any other regard, that the question of Japanese
assimilability must be examined. Patriotism is a peculiar emotion
manifesting itself in love of one's own country, in willingness to devote
one's self for the maintenance of national honor and welfare. It arises in
us from our association, since early childhood, with things that surround
us. We love things that we are used to; we cherish the mountains, rivers,
and trees among which we were brought up; we hold dear the friends and
people with whom we associated in our early childhood, and as we grow
mature, we take pride in finding ourselves members not only of local
communities and societies of various sorts but also of the family of a
great nation whose ideals and history we inherit. These and numerous other
things become a part of our life for which we do not hesitate to fight,
and if necessary to lay down our lives.
This suggests that two things are necessary for the genesis of
patriotism--native birth and a free sharing in the goods of life. While no
generalization can be made off-hand, introspection reveals that, when we
migrate to another country after we have grown up, it seems well-nigh
impossible to find ourselves emotionally attached as closely to the
adopted country as to the country of our birth. To _be born_ in a country
is the strongest factor in one's patriotism. The Constitution of the
United States in claiming all persons born in America as its citizens is
clearly a product of master minds. Nativity alone, however, is not often
sufficient to enkindle the fire of patriotism in our hearts. In the slave,
to whom most of the goods of life were denied, to whom no active share in
communal life was allowed, who was treated not as a member of the nation
but as a tool, could mere nativity arouse strong love for his country?
Only when the child is brought up in an environment of friendly spirit,
encouragement, and sympathy does he learn to identify himself with the
country.
How do we find the patriotism of the Japanese in America? Are they
patriotic in relation to the United States? For all those Japanese who
came to America as immigrants of mature age with the prime object of
making money, the answer must be made in the negative. Born and reared in
the beautiful country of Nippon among a most hospitable people, their
love of Japan is surely stronger than their love of America. Trained and
educated in the customs and traditions of Japan, imbued with the belief,
ideas, and ideals that are peculiar to Japan, they would not know even how
to avail themselves of the opportunity, supposing they were granted the
rights and the freedom to share in the now forbidden privileges. To
complete the inhibition, there are all sorts of handicaps placed on them,
making it unthinkable that they should love this country. They cannot
vote, they cannot get public positions, and now they can neither own nor
lease the land in California. No; the Japanese immigrants in America do
not love America more than they love Japan.
Assimilability of Japanese Immigrants.
How, then, about their cultural conditions? It is impossible here to
compare the culture of the Japanese _en masse_ with that of other people.
We can take only a few specific points and see how they stand. Of course,
in the absence of accurate data our conclusions are necessarily
unscientific.
It is often alleged that the Japanese in the United States have a
different standard of morality from that of the Americans, and as evidence
of this allegation the attitude of Japanese men towards women is pointed
out. Japanese men are really "bossy" in their attitude toward women, but
that is the outcome of custom and should not be charged against their
morals. They are often accused of being tricky, untrustworthy. We have
already seen that there have been cases that justify such accusations, but
that the cause was mostly due to their ignorance of legal processes and
obligations, in which they sadly lack training. On the whole, the Japanese
in America are law-abiding; they very rarely become public charges, and
are peaceful and industrious. These facts even the most uncompromising
Japanese exclusionist, Mr. J. M. Inman, admits as true, and states further
that they are "sober, industrious, peaceful, and law-abiding, and contain
within their population neither anarchists, bomb-throwers, Reds, nor I. W.
W.'s."[52]
That the Japanese in America have been able to make rapid progress in the
Christian religion has been due to the generous aid and wise direction of
the American churches. Within less than thirty years Christianity has
become deeply rooted among the Japanese communities, exerting the most
wholesome and powerful influence in uplifting their living conditions. In
1911, the _Den Do Dan_, or Japanese Inter-Denominational Mission Board,
was organized with a view to carrying on a systematic campaign for
evangelistic as well as community service. The Mission Board has been
successful in propagating Christianity among the Japanese. This is clearly
shown by the fact that at the present time there are sixty-one Protestant
churches on the Pacific Coast, besides fifty-seven Sunday schools. The
greatest success of the Board, however, has been attained in the field of
practical social service, where the organization of young people's
Christian associations, the campaign against gambling and other vices,
relief work among the needy, and the promotion of Americanization, have
been successfully carried out.[53]
Judging from the small percentage of illiteracy and the complete system of
Japanese compulsory education, the Japanese in America do not seem to be
much behind the corresponding elements in the American population in
average intelligence. Only in English are they markedly weak. The
importance of a knowledge of the language in assimilation can hardly be
exaggerated. It is the gate through which the alien can arrive at an
understanding of American institutions and culture. The weakness of the
Japanese in English is chiefly due to the radical difference of the
language from their own. Statistics indicate, however, a decided increase
in the number of those who can command English. The census of 1900 showed
that less than 40 per cent. of the Japanese in America could speak
English, but in the census of 1910 the rate increased to 61 per cent.[54]
The rate for foreign-born whites in 1910 was 77 per cent.
The economic status of the Japanese appears to be about the same as that
of European immigrants. This is indisputable from the sheer fact that the
earnings of both are about the same. The only difference is that the
Japanese show a tendency to mediocrity of earning power without becoming
either paupers or millionaires. This is due to the fact that while there
is an abundance of work offered to Japanese which enables them to earn a
comfortable living, all avenues for a greater economic success are closed
to them. No sooner do the Japanese show signs of some small success in
agriculture than the privilege to till the soil is denied them. A similar
restraint is now being attempted on the Japanese progress in fishing in
California. In a sense, economic welfare is the foundation of cultural and
spiritual progress, and to be denied the opportunity to make progress in
this field is a heavy disadvantage.
The gravest defect of the Japanese is their lack of training in democratic
institutions. Having been given little opportunity to share in public or
political activities in Japan, their understanding and training in civic
duties is notoriously weak. Obviously this must hinder the process of
Americanization to a great extent. To counteract this weakness the
dissemination among them of a knowledge of American civics is necessary.
It may be most effectively done by allowing them to share in a measure the
American communal activities. But this is a privilege denied them.
The foregoing discussion of the cultural conditions of the Japanese in
America is important, not in determining whether or not the Japanese
immigrants are qualified to become American citizens--for this is out of
the question at present, since the right of naturalization is not granted
to them--but to show what is the character of the influence which is
exerted upon the native-born Japanese, Americans by birth, by their
parents. The core of the Japanese problem in America is, in our opinion,
whether or not American citizens of Japanese descent can become worthy
Americans. Those immigrants who came from Japan will die out in the course
of time, and further immigration can be stopped. In this way it is
possible to curtail to a minimum the number of alien Japanese in the
United States. But the American-born Japanese are American citizens and
they are here to stay. Whether these young Americans will become a strong
and successful element of the American people or whether they will
degenerate to a kind of parasite and become America's "thorns in the
flesh" is really a question of cardinal importance. But this depends much
on the freedom and opportunity which are extended to their parents in this
country. Thus the treatment of the Japanese in California or elsewhere in
the United States assumes an aspect of vital significance to the nation.
It is not a question of the abstract principles of justice or equality
alone, but one of concrete and vital interest to America's own welfare.
It is in this connection that all sorts of pressure and
oppression--economic, political, social, and spiritual--exerted on the
Japanese population, become most objectionable and harmful. These
discriminatory efforts against the Japanese obstruct the Americanization
of native-born Japanese in two ways. They prevent the parents from
becoming well-to-do and refined people, and from getting permanent
occupation and homes, all of which are essential if parents are to bring
up their sons and daughters to a respectable standard. They also
unconsciously imprint on the tender minds of children the idea that their
fathers and mothers were not treated kindly in America, whose loyal
citizens they are destined to become. What do those exclusionists really
mean, when they insist that the Japanese should be given no opportunity to
progress either in agriculture or industry because they are unassimilable
people? Do they mean thereby to check Japanese immigration? They surely
cannot mean this, for there are other and more friendly ways of achieving
their object, since Japan has more than once expressed her willingness to
cooeperate with America in this respect. What else can they mean but that
they want to hinder the American citizens of Japanese descent from
becoming worthy Americans by ostracizing and persecuting their parents?
Native-Born Japanese.
Fortunately, in spite of all unfavorable influence and environment created
for them, the native-born Japanese show very hopeful signs of realizing
perfect Americanization. Here again we do not wish to dogmatize, in
apparent lack of scientific data, and assert that we need feel no
apprehension. Yet the few data gathered on the subject from observation
strongly point to the hopeful conclusion that as greater numbers of them
approach mature age they are gradually becoming Americans by the accepted
standard. They proved their patriotism to America during the great war by
enlisting in the American army and navy. In their manner, address, and
temperament these boys and girls are American, with an unconcealed air of
American mannerism. In their fluent and natural English, in their
frankness and bold recklessness, in their dislike of little and irksome
tasks and love of big and adventurous undertakings, in their chivalry and
gallantry, in their tall and well-built stature, these young people are
wholly American, no longer recognizable as Japanese except in their
physical features. Indeed, it is the common testimony of the Japanese
visiting America that the Japanese children born and reared here differ so
distinctly from children in Japan that in their manners, spirit, and even
in the play of expression on their faces, they appear characteristically
American. We cannot help being surprised by the completeness with which
the so-called racial traits of the Japanese are swept away in the first
generation of Japanese born in America.
The explanation for such a remarkable fact must be sought in the strong
influence of social, national, and spiritual environment. We have seen how
even the most stable elements of man's physiological constitution may
change in a new environment. This being the case, it may not be entirely
surprising that less stable elements, such as temperament and expression,
should change more rapidly and completely in a new social _milieu_. This
fact is a deathblow to the theorists who uphold the _a priori_ view of
race, that it is a fixed, pure, unchangeable reality. It attests the truth
of Mr. John Oakesmith's thesis in which he so ably establishes that "the
objective influence of race in the evolution of nationality is fiction,"
and that the sole foundation and unifying force of nationality is the
"organic continuity of common interest."[55]
In the cross-examination of native-born Japanese children by the
Congressional Sub-Committee on Immigration and Naturalization conducted on
the Pacific Coast last spring, it was found that in almost all cases the
children expressed the feeling that they like the United States better
than Japan because they are more familiar and closely associated with
things and people in America. This is doubtless an honest confession of
their sentiment. They generally do not read or write Japanese because it
is wholly different from English and so difficult. They learn from their
parents that the life is hard and competition is keen in Japan. They know
America is a great country, a land of liberty and opportunity. Naturally
their interest in Japan is very slight, and they think they are Americans,
and they are proud of it.[56]
These are the hopeful signs which offer us reason for being optimistic. We
cannot, nevertheless, be blind to the fact that there are many obstacles
which if left unchecked will tend to defeat our hopes. These obstacles we
find, first, in the congested condition of the Japanese on the Pacific
Coast. For convenience and benefit the Japanese have been living more or
less in groups, speaking their own language to a large extent, and
retaining many of the Japanese customs and manners. This tendency has been
a great obstacle in the assimilation of the Japanese. Their dispersal in
many other States of the Union is one of the first requirements of
Americanization, and consequently of an equitable solution of the
Japanese-California problem. We shall touch upon this subject in the
concluding chapter.