[I too, am an American], essay by Kiyoko Kasai, Sequoia High School class of 1942
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- Created Date
- [1944]
- Description
Essay written by Kiyoko Kasai, senior class of 1941-1942, Sequoia High School, Redwood City, California and printed by Japanese Students Club of Sequoia High. Kasai discusses her family history, especially from the point of view of her grandmother who arrived to the US as a laborer at an undetermined time. Tone of essay is very patriotic, Kasai expresses her strong beliefs of her American and Christian identity and her disdain for the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor. Questions the necessity of incarcerating Japanese Americans: "...why should we, Japanese Americans, be evacuated with the aliens? We are American citizens. Why must we be compelled to undergo curfew regulations? Why must this happen to those who know nothing but America, and who have no loyalty but for America?"
The War Relocation Authority (WRA), together with the Wartime Civil Control Administration (WCCA), the Civil Affairs Division (CAD) and the Office of the Commanding General (OFG) of the Western Defense Command (WDC) operated together to segregate and house some 110,000 men women and children from 1942 to 1945. The collection contains documents and photographs relating to the establishment and administrative workings of the (WDC), the (WRA) and the (WCCA) for the year 1942.
- Creator
Japanese Students Club of Sequoia High: Publisher
Kasai, Kiyoko: author
- Partner
- California Digital Library
- Contributing Institution
- California State University, Dominguez Hills, Archives and Special Collections
- Subjects
- Race and racism--Stereotypes
Race and racism--Discrimination
World War II--Pearl Harbor and aftermath--Decision to incarcerate
Identity and values--Japanese American identity
Identity and values--Nisei
Immigration and citizenship--Arrival
Geographic communities--California
Identity and values--Children
World War II--Mass removal ('Evacuation')
Religion and churches--Christianity - Type
- text
- Format
- Essays
- Language
- English
- Rights
- Copyright has not been assigned to the San Jose State University Library Special Collections and Archives. This item is available for educational, non-commercial purposes. Please contact San Jose State University for publication information.
- Chicago citation style
- Japanese Students Club of Sequoia High: Publisher, Kasai, Kiyoko: author. [I too, am an American], essay by Kiyoko Kasai, Sequoia High School class of 1942. [1944]. Retrieved from the Digital Public Library of America, http://cdm16855.contentdm.oclc.org/cdm/ref/collection/p16855coll4/id/6301. (Accessed January 22, 2025.)
- APA citation style
- Japanese Students Club of Sequoia High: Publisher, Kasai, Kiyoko: author, ([1944]) [I too, am an American], essay by Kiyoko Kasai, Sequoia High School class of 1942. Retrieved from the Digital Public Library of America, http://cdm16855.contentdm.oclc.org/cdm/ref/collection/p16855coll4/id/6301
- MLA citation style
- Japanese Students Club of Sequoia High: Publisher, Kasai, Kiyoko: author. Retrieved from the Digital Public Library of America <http://cdm16855.contentdm.oclc.org/cdm/ref/collection/p16855coll4/id/6301>.