Racial Issues: Shaping Califor
In the history of California, race-based issues occupy a central place in the state's overall narrative. These issues, unique in their own right, contribute to the uniqueness of California. The state has experienced prosperous episodes that have not always guaranteed positive outcomes for some of its inhabitants. The induction of the railroad era made the state rich, but left many behind, like the Chinese who helped build it (McCoy). As California grew and its wealth increased, it would experience many more race-based issues. In the 20th century, the most important of these issues were the removal of the Japanese during World War II, migrant workers' rights during the 1960s, and the Watts riots in 1965. Just as race-based events in the previous century had affected the course of California history, these events would influence the state into the 21st century. One of the most appalling race-based events in California occurred during the onslaught of WWII, with the relocation of Japanese Americans. This event "has been called 'our worst wartime mistake,' a blunder resulting from fear, confusion, and racial prejudice" (Rice 479). Beyond a wartime mistake, it may be one of the biggest and most embarrassing mistakes on the p
"Ironically, any threat of Japanese attack, real or imagined, had disappeared by then because of Japan's losses in the naval battles of the Coral Sea and at Midway in June" (Rice 479). Also, their annual income is above the national average as they enjoy opportunities for white-collar employment (Rice 481). While the rest of the state enjoyed the economic boom that resulted from WWII, Japanese Americans lost everything of material value (McCoy). His work helped establish the Agricultural Labor Relations Board in 1975 that guaranteed the protections of field workers (Rice 542). They rank above all other ethnic groups in terms of higher education rates and lower juvenile delinquency rates. Relocation had social and emotional affects that Japanese Americans faced well after the internment period. Not until 1964 did their situation change, when Congress let Public Law 78 expire - the law that "had kept local farm laborers' wages depressed ever since 1951 (Rice 539). California's economic boom in the 90s "provided the economic means for thousands of blacks to move into the middle class" (Rice 647). For example, Japanese Americans were left out of the economic prosperity following WWII, as California played a crucial component in the most powerful military and industrial complex in the world (McCoy). Without the Japanese and other ethnic groups, however, California would not be so prosperous. It seems that before these problems are solved in California, they will only incubate further catastrophes in the African American urban community. Decades passed before the state would approach the mistakes made during this period. art of California and the President of the United States. The relocation of Japanese Americans forced many to question the practices of the government. Thus the relocation of the Japanese and reasoning behind it had no factual basis.
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Acceptance Essays
