Farewell The Manzanar By Jeanne Wakatsuki Houston

Since America’s declaration of independence on July 4, 1776, America has continually dealt with racism and religious intolerance. Racism and religious tolerance is around However, how many of the people “native” to the United States views towards different races or groups of people has changed. Another thing that is important to note the importance of immigration patterns on which groups were targeted by racist individuals occurred at different time periods. The Catholics were viewed negatively during the founding of the country, but were virtually ignored when there was an influx in immigration of Eastern Europeans and Asians. The minorities in the United States were viewed as nuisances that needed to removed. The Mormons were a group

The height of tension between Japanese Americans and whites was during World War ll when the United States fought against Japan in the Pacific. Many Japanese Americans were put into internment camps where they would have to wait out the war until its ending. In the book, “Farewell the Manzanar” by Jeanne Wakatsuki Houston and James D. Houston In the book Jeanne discusses her experience in an internment camp called Manzanar during World War ll. Jeanne at the time felt that she was an American, but was viewed as a Japanese by others. We were the only Japanese family in the neighborhood. Papa liked it that way. He didn't want to be labeled or grouped by anyone. (Wakatsuki 8). In the quote Wakatsuki talks about how her father moved them to an all-white neighborhood because he did not want to be grouped together with a bunch of other Japanese Americans who had chosen to live together in neighborhoods. “It was the first time I had lived among other Japanese, or gone to school with them, and I was terrified all the time (8). In the quote it shows that some of the Japanese who were forced into the camps did not view themselves as Japanese, but rather as Americans who do not share a lot of the customs with traditional Japanese. Jeanne was scared of other asians and was used to hanging out with Whites because she had lived in white neighborhoods. Jeanne’s account of the her experiences show that a lot of Japanese viewed themselves as Americans and had assimilated into society. The threat that Franklin Roosevelt had for creating the internment camps were not valid. “These precautions didn't do him much good. He was not only an alien; he held a commercial fishing license, and in the early days of the war the FBI was picking up all such men, for fear they were somehow making contact with enemy ships off the coast (5-6). In the quote it shows that the FBI was