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 * U.S. and Japan and Gentleman's Agreement**

**Kim Ly and Selina Perez**

What is a Gentlemen's Agreement?

__** Causes **__ In 1885 Japanese workers first immigrated to the independent Kingdom of Hawaii. Many of the Japanese immigrants wanted to permanently reside in the United States, so they brought their families. As the Japanese population grew in California, so did the anti-Japanese groups. By1905 many newspapers were filled with anti-Japanese articles, and the "Japanese and Korean Exclusion League" was also established. The Japanese and Korean Exclusion League argued with the San Francisco school board numerous times about segregating Japanese students from schools, but they were ignored because it was financially impossible to build a new school for just a few kids.

After the earthquake and fires in 1906, the 93 Japanese students were sent to the Chinese Primary School where Chinese and Koreans also attended school. Japanese parents became angry because it was not fair that their children's education was not as good as the education of the white students. Getting to school was also a difficult task for them because transportation was insufficient after the earthquake, so many of the kids could not even go to school. Japanese parents debated with the schoolboard by saying the segregation went against the Treaty of 1894, which stated that Japanese in America would be treated with equality. The US Supreme Court did not consider it a violation of the Treaty as long as the buildings were mostly equal. Japanese-Americans responded by bringing awareness to the media and government in Japan.

__** What Happened **__ The informal agreement between the United States and the Empire of Japan the United States would not impose restriction on Japanese immigration and Japan would only allow further emigration for wives, children, and parents of Japanese who already reside in the United states. The general goal was to reduce tensions between the two nations. San Francisco school board approved separate schools for Japanese students, which upset Japan and therefore had Japan promising to minimize the number of emigrants in order to change the their image of overpopulating America. The agreement helped grow the Japanese population because the act portrayed family formation with picture brides.

__**Impacts **__ The 1907 Gentlemen's Agreement impacted the world because less and less Asians were immigrating to the United States. It also led to new laws against the Japanese and Asian communities. By 1924 the immigration of Japanese was completely put to an end with the Immigration Act of 1924.

__**Today **__ By the late 90s the United States developed a better, stronger relationship with Japan. The US and Japan have become close allies, economic partners, and supporters. Economy wise, the US has imported both raw materials and manufactured goods to Japan. The US exported things like meat, fish, grains, and computer parts, while Japan exports mostly manufactured goods like automobiles.

__**Primary Sources **__ __**4 Ps **__
 * Power:** By establishing the Gentlemen's Agreement, the US had the //power// to better regulate the number of Japanese immigrants.
 * Peace:** The Gentlemen's Agreement brought //peace// to both sides, and helped stop a possible war.
 * Prosperity:** The Agreement led to the strong relationship between the US and Japan, which then led to quality trade of resources.
 * Principles:** The US hold principles of keeping peace with Japan.

**__Debate__**
**Kim**: I think Roosevelt did the right thing by establishing the Gentlemen's Agreement. He wanted to show the Japanese that the policies of California were not the same as the whole country, stop the SF segregation policies, and find an answer to the Japanese immigration problem. I think his intentions were good because he wasn't just trying to help one side, he was trying to do something that would benefit both. If the agreement had never happened and the segregation continued, the United States and Japan might not have such a strong relationship today.

**Selina**: There was a strong desire on the part of the Japanese government to "preserve the image of Japanese people in the eyes of the world". Japan did not want any legislation passed dealing with immigration since the Chinese Exclusion Act. That's when Roosevelt accepted the agreement rather than a harsh legal agreement. I believe he did the right thing by doing this because he wanted to fight the immigration problem while dealing with segregation policies. Many problems could've occured anywhere from then to now that could have a major impact on how we see these two countries today.

__** Questions **__ Kim:
 * 1) Factual: When and where did Japanese workers first immigrate to?
 * The Independent Kingdom of Hawaii.
 * 1) Factual: Why did the SF schoolboard ignore the Japanese & Korean Exclusion League's plea to segregate the Japanese students?
 * There was not enough money to build a new school for a small amount of students.
 * 1) Factual: Was the 1907 Gentlemen's Agreement formally documented?
 * No.
 * 1) Critical: Why do you think Roosevelt wanted to fix the problem between the United States and Japan?

Selina:
 * 1) Factual: What is a gentleman's agreement?
 * A beneficial and informal agreement that is not legally binded and is supported by the trust of both parties.
 * 1) Factual: What were the impacts of the Gentleman's agreement?
 * Less and less Asians were immigrating to the U.S. and led to laws against the Japanese and Asian communities.
 * 1) Factual: What year did the agreement take place?
 * 1907
 * 1) Critical: Do you think something like this could happen again today? Why?

__** Works Cited **__ ** Primary Sources: ** Nguyen, Anh. Yellow terror. N.d.wikipedia. Web. 13 Feb. 2012.. KQED. "KQED : Pacific Link: The KQED Asian Education Initiative: History: Angel Island: Immigration from Japan." //KQED Public Media for Northern CA //. KQED. Web. 15 Feb. 2012. . "MOFA: Japan-The United States Relations." //Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Japan (MOFA)//. Web. 15 Feb. 2012. . "RELATIONS WITH JAPAN 1938-1940."  //Mount Holyoke College, South Hadley, Massachusetts // . Web. 15 Feb. 2012. <http://www.mtholyoke.edu/acad/intrel/WorldWar2/japan.htm> ** Secondary Sources: ** <span style="background-color: #fff9e5; display: block; font-family: Arial,Verdana,sans-serif; font-size: 11px; text-align: left;"><span style="background-color: #ffffff; display: block; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 11px; text-align: left;">Vallejo, Marvin. Gentlemen's Agreement of 1907. Jan. 2012. <span style="background-color: #fff9e5; display: block; font-family: Arial,Verdana,sans-serif; font-size: 11px; text-align: left;"> <span style="background-color: #fff9e5; display: block; font-family: Arial,Verdana,sans-serif; font-size: 11px; text-align: left;"><span style="display: block; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; text-align: left;">// Blogspot //. N.p., n.d. Web. 13 Feb. 2012. <http://aapcgroup11.blogspot.com/2009/12/ gentlemens-agreement-of-1907.html>. <span style="background-color: #fff9e5; display: block; font-family: Arial,Verdana,sans-serif; font-size: 11px; text-align: left;"> <span style="background-color: #fff9e5; font-family: Arial,Verdana,sans-serif; font-size: 11px;"><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif;">Gordic, Jeremy. "No Japs in Our Schools / Citizens' Mass Meeting." //<span style="background-color: #ffffff; font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 16px;">Asian American Pop Culture //<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif;">. Blogger. Web. 15 Feb. 2012. <http://jgasampop.blogspot.com/2009/12/no-japs-in-our-schools-citizens-mass.html>.

<span style="background-color: #fff9e5; display: block; font-family: Arial,Verdana,sans-serif; font-size: 11px; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif;">Neiwert, David. "Invasion: Repeating History." //<span style="background-color: #ffffff; font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 16px;">Orcinus //<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif;">. Blogger. Web. 15 Feb. 2012. <http://dneiwert.blogspot.com/2006/05/invasion-repeating-history.html>. //<span style="background-color: #ffffff; font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 16px;">The Great San Francisco Earthquake of 1906 - EarthquakeFacts.Net //<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif;">. 1906. Photograph. //<span style="background-color: #ffffff; font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 16px;">EarthquakeFacts.Net - Find Facts on Earthquakes //<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif;">. Web. 15 Feb. 2012. <http://earthquakefacts.net/San-Francisco-Earthquake.html>.