Thesis
"A Citizen Same As You And I": Japanese American Student Relocation to Moscow, Idaho and Pullman, Washington, 1942-1945
Washington State University
Master of Arts (MA), Washington State University
01/2021
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.7273/000003099
Handle:
https://hdl.handle.net/2376/125164
Abstract
This thesis examines the relocation of Japanese Americans to the University of Idaho and Washington State College during World War II. Before the war, Japanese Americans faced limitations in the form of nativist policies that relegated them to second-class citizens. Nevertheless, Japanese Americans embraced Americanism as they worked to become equal citizens. After Pearl Harbor, Executive Order 9066 threatened the lives of thousands of Japanese Americans on the West Coast, including those enrolled in college. Hundreds of Japanese American students faced incarceration but were able to relocate inland thanks to the help of sympathetic faculty and citizens. In the early months of the war, two neighboring colleges, the University of Idaho and Washington State College, became potential locations where these students might resettle and find sanctuary. As Japanese American students arrived at these colleges, the towns became the setting for debates regarding relocation. As struggles between administrators, townspeople, and students took place, they reveal an ongoing discussion about American identity, citizenship, and race. The story of student relocation also illustrates the complex relationships between Japanese Americans and white Americans as the line between exclusion and tolerance was blurred. While anti-Japanese sentiment rose during the war, it was countered by Japanese American students and their allies who challenged nativist prejudice. The Japanese American response to prejudice and their embrace of American identity demonstrate a desire to change the United States into a more equal nation.
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Details
- Title
- "A Citizen Same As You And I": Japanese American Student Relocation to Moscow, Idaho and Pullman, Washington, 1942-1945
- Creators
- Mario Jesus Vega
- Contributors
- Jeffrey Sanders (Advisor)Noriko Kawamura (Committee Member)Raymond Sun (Committee Member)Kathleen Whalen (Committee Member)
- Awarding Institution
- Washington State University
- Academic Unit
- History, Department of
- Theses and Dissertations
- Master of Arts (MA), Washington State University
- Publisher
- Washington State University
- Number of pages
- 130
- Identifiers
- 99900662451701842
- Language
- English
- Resource Type
- Thesis