“What is the menace? Is there danger from the American-born children of Japanese parents?”
“There seems to be no danger from the parents. They have been law-abiding, industrious, honest and willing and anxious at all times that their children should acquire an education and knowledge of our language. It is not surprising that they should be a bit backward about asking their children to become wildly enthusiastic over a country that denied to the parents any opportunity to become citizens. Is it surprising that they should still cherish memories of the land that gave them birth and the only land that they can look for [legal] protection?”
“The children attend the public schools and are always among the best students. They have the respect of the teachers and of their associates. They take part in the school activities and are staunch supporters of the athletic and debating teams and root just as loyally for their football heroes and are just as likely to crab at the umpire as are the proud descendants of the Pilgrim fathers. The East may be east and the West may be west, but when the East and the West meet under the stars and stripes to root for the same football team, the influence of the American school will have made them one, so far as loyalty to the flag and the things for which it stands are concerned.”
More about the 1920s fear concerning Asian immigration can be read here.
Click here to read about the Yellow Peril in Canada.
