The Squeaky Wheel: Japanese Race Relations on the West Coast and Legislation in the 1920S

Abstract

During the 1920s legislation was created in California that eliminated immigration from Japan. This Exclusion Clause in the 1924 Immigration Act was not fully supported by the population on the West Coast, where the vast majority of Japanese immigration occurred. Regarding the fruit industry in California, the logging industry in the northern part of the West Coast, and other social and religious interactions between Japanese and white Americans, the Exclusion Clause was not supported by the majority of the population. The passing of this legislation was due to a small, vocal, but politically influential group.