Asian Americans: Opposing Viewpoints (American History Series)

Primary historical sources cover the response to Chinese immigration in the nineteenth century, the internment of Japanese Americans during World War II, and the status of Asian Americans after 1965

Gr. 7^-12. Are Asian Americans the "model minority" ? What was public policy toward them when they first came here? How has it changed? This collection of speeches and articles, part of the Opposing Viewpoints in American History series, provides in-depth primary material about how this country has looked on Asian immigrants. There are arguments from the 1850s onward about whether Chinese immigration should be restricted, whether Japanese residents can be assimilated, whether Asian Americans have been accepted in Hawaii. Policy makers in the 1940s argue for and against the internment of Japanese Americans during World War II. A final section looks at Asian Americans in the years after 1965. There is not much published for YAs on these historical issues. The connections with the past will make readers think about present immigration arguments and the way we live today. A long annotated bibliography and a chronology are included. Hazel Rochman