Research project: Japanese American Citizens League 1940-1948

Founded in 1929, the JACL sought to represent Japanese Americans the way the NAACP fought for African Americans.  As tensions between the US and Japan escalated in the late 1930s and early 1940s, the JACL struggled awkwardly to guide the community. You will read about this in the organization's publication, The Pacific Citizen, as well as in a secondary source (book). The assignment has three parts: (1) You will choose a research question and read relevant issues of the Pacific Citizen (2) You will read  the book JACL in quest of justice, by Bill Hosogawa; (3) You will write a 8-10 page paper with much of the focus on what the organization did and said trying to represent its community. 

Research questions (3 options): 

a) How did the JACL (and Pacific Citizen) try to defend and represent Japanese Americans as relations between the US and Japan worsened (1940-1941)?

b) How did it represent them during World War II (1942-45)?

c) How did it represent them in the aftermath (1946-48)?

 Primary source research (newspapers):

 1) Begin by downloading this research database-excel.xlsx Download research database-excel.xlsx

 2) We are using the Pacific Citizen, the monthly newspaper of the JACL, as the key primary source. It is available at the JACL digital archives  https://www.pacificcitizen.org/newspaper-archives/ Links to an external site.   Find the relevant years and read the monthly issues of the newspaper, looking for articles that provide information about JACL activities or show what the organization advocated.   

3) Fill in  database and write short description of no less than 20 articles. 

Secondary source research (books):

 4) JACL in quest of justice, by Bill Hosokawa

The library has two copies that can be ordered and picked up remotely. Here are most of the chapters in pdf.

Hosokawa_JACL In Quest of Justice ch1-10.pdf Download Hosokawa_JACL In Quest of Justice ch1-10.pdf

Hosokawa_JACL_ch11-21.pdf Download Hosokawa_JACL_ch11-21.pdf