Not Just A Rising Sun:

America is a Country based on diversity and immigration of many cultures creating a melting pot people from all over the world living together in freedom. The Asian American ethnic group is also based on diversity and different immigration patterns of different cultures all representing each other under one name Asian American. Asian Americans have a very diverse history and have different subgroups that have different social status. This essay will discuss and analyze the history of and how Asian Americans and subgroups are affected differently by discrimination and prejudices, and have different identities that can lead to different assimilation into American Culture and economy. This essay will discuss this through examining Chinese Americans, Japanese Americans, Korean Americans, Filipino and other Southeast Asian Islanders.

Waves of Migration

The Asian American community achieved their status in America in many different ways throughout history; with different reasons for immigrating to America and suffering different challenges and prejudices along the way. There were 2 distinct waves of immigration to the United States from Asian Americans. There was the old Asian wave of immigration that consists of Asians that immigrated from the middle of the Nineteenth Century to the early years of the Twentieth Century. The second wave is Asians that have immigrated to the United States since 1965.

Chinese History The Chinese were the AA first to immigrate to the United States. A series of wars, rebellions, civil disorders, floods, famines and droughts made earning a livelihood in China difficult. Also, China faced a disheartening defeat in the Opium War of 1840 against the British. When news of a gold rush on the west coast of America reached China there was a huge influx of young male peasants immigrating to the United States trying to better themselves economically and then return home to there families. These immigrants started off working construction and on railroads. This was recognized by the white workers as a threat. The Chinese were not only forced out of the there jobs, but there was also legal measures taken to keep the Chinese out of the American workforce; with the Chinese Exclusion Act, passed in 1882 by the U. S. Congress. This was the first time in American History that a specific ethnic group was completely barred from immigrating to America. This was very hard on the population and assimilation of the Chinese in America. Since the Chinese were mostly males that held low-paying jobs and were faced with harsh discrimination from the dominant group, the Chinese were forced into separate "ghetto" neighborhood that are referred to as "Chinatowns"

"By 1910 it [Chinese Population] had dropped to around 70,000, a figure that did not change radically until after 1965.This decline was the result of not only of the restrictive legislation itself but also the of the overwhelming male composition of the Chinese population that had made up the mid-ninetieth-century immigration. Before 1882, more than 100,000 men but fewer that 9,000 women had immigrated it the United States from China." (Marger, pg356)

Japanese History With the exclusion of the Chinese came an opportunity for the Japanese to immigrate to America in the late 19th Century. In the late 1860s, a new ruling dynasty in Japan initiated an era of industrialization. By the 1890s, people living in agricultural areas were finding ever fewer economic opportunities, while the population grew and poverty increased. This lead to many Japanese males, like the Chinese, immigrating to America to economic stability. The Japanese were also faced with the same problem as the Chinese; they were viewed as a labor threat to the white workers. Although Japanese immigration started with mostly males, their population gradually balanced out with more female immigrants. That combined with the Japanese ability to become a part of California's economy through farming; the Japanese were able to assimilate into American Culture. Even though they were faced with the Oriental Exclusion Act of 1924 and the Japanese Interment after Pearl Harbor; which stands next to African slavery and native American Genocide as the worst acts of discrimination American history. The Japanese were the only subgroup of Asian Americans to grow in America without huge immigration patterns in the second wave of immigration.

Korean History The Koreans immigrated in very small numbers in the first wave of Asian American immigration. Ironically, after the Chinese Exclusion Act, Korean workers were needed in Hawaii to replace the Chinese in the Sugar factories. There were only 2,000 or less Korean immigrants on the United States mainland before the Korean War in the 1950s. Most Korean Americans came to America in the second wave of immigration.

Second wave of Migration

The Second Wave of Asian American immigration was more diverse, including Chinese, Korean, and many other Southeast Asian Pacific Islanders. This current wave of immigration history began in 1965, when strict quotas based on nationality were eliminated. Congress passes the Immigration Act of 1965. Among its significant changes, the Act dramatically increased the quota set for Asian immigration, but it also favored middle class immigrants, The Chinese immigrants that came to America were the most wealthy of the new wave. They came to America with social status and professional skills. While most Koreans and other Pacific Islanders, such as Cambodian and Vietnamese came as poor immigrants or refugees that had very little to any skills and almost no comprehension of the English language.

The Chinese and Japanese are the oldest of the Asian American population, well into 3rd and 4th generations. The Japanese have immigrated with a strong family structure holding strong value on education, which has lead to very successful assimilation and social status. Since most current Chinese immigrant are coming to America with social status and skills, and old 3rd and 4th generation immigrants values on education lead to social and economic success as well. Chinese and Japanese are currently more highly educated and hold important jobs are increasingly moving toward social and cultural assimilation in the United States. The median Family income for Chinese Americans is 58,300 and for Japanese it is 61,630. There were some Koreans that immigrated in the first wave of immigration that had used good values on education to achieve high socio-economic status as well.

After America took control of the Philippines prior to the Spanish-American War, the Philippines held a close relationship with American culture and politics; English was widely spoken by educated people in the country. After World War 2 and into the 1960s the Filipino population