Part I. Context
The opening part of this book situates its contents in historical context. Its first chapter‡ concisely reviews the current state of substantiated knowledge regarding the core concerns of this book: the experiences of Americans of Japanese ancestry during World War II, and their subsequent successful campaign for redress and reparations 40 years later. This first chapter also provides a capsule description of each of the subsequent chapters of the book, as well as a detailed summary of key factual details for quick reference. Chapter 2 then surveys the important legal decisions affecting many Americans of Asian descent and preceding the wartime experience of Japanese Americans.
Chapter 1: Prologue: Willed Concealing, Forgetting, Remembering and Repairing(Greg Robinson)
The full chapter is available to the public | pdf.
Chapter 2: History
Chapter 2 is an historical introduction to Asian Americans’ legal experience. It introduces several major U.S. Supreme Court decisions that contributed to the legal construction of Asian Americans as a subordinated racial group in the U.S. Touching upon the areas of immigration, naturalization, the right to work and property ownership, these cases illustrate the hostile legal and social environment faced by Americans of Asian descent well before the events of World War II. They also foreshadow strongly arguments and attitudes that influenced the internment decisions.