The Impact of the Attack on Pearl Harbor

Abstract

Although Japanese comprised only one percent of the population of California, by the early 1900s they controlled nearly one-half of the state’s commercial produce market. Agricultural skills brought with them from Japan enabled the Issei to grow crops on land deemed infertile by other farmers. The Japanese farmer, working unusually hard in a cooperative and innovative manner, was able to sell high-quality produce at low prices. Success in both wholesale and retail produce markets led to further collective endeavors in floriculture, commercial fishing, and gardening. Japanese Americans had developed a thriving niche economy most notably in southern California.¹ Fuming that Japanese immigrants and their descendants were unfair economic competition, organized labor in California launched an anti-Japanese campaign based on racial stereotypes and fear of the “Yellow Peril.” that ultimately became a national movement.