Chapter 14

What brought about a change in attitude towards Asian immigrants?

-First positive change was brought by China becoming our ally in WW2.

-There was a presence of Asian-Americans in Washington since 1959 when Hawaii joined the U.S. and Asian-American Senators and Representatives would be elected.

-Asian-Americans juxtaposition to other minorities. When compared side by side with the perceived underachieving Blacks and Hispanic.

What characteristics have led to Asian Americans being called the model minority?

-Asian-Americans fit the standard for the ideal, normal, middle class.

“If one looks only at the aggregate data, Asian Americans are younger than the average American. They also have fewer children, are less likely to be unemployed or in jail, and are more likely to get higher education than the average American.”

What are ABCs and FOBs and who are the "silent" Chinese of San Francisco?

-The ABC is short for American-born Chinese and FOB refers to Fresh off the boat, when talking about the language barrier that exists between American taught and recent immigrants. The “silent” Chinese of San Francisco is a testimony form Dr. Ling-chi Wang, and it presents data to show the Chinese population is not actually quite the model minority. Dr. Ling-chi Wang concludes that inner city San Francisco and Chinatown unemployment was almost double the city-wide average, 2/3 of living was substandard, plus TB rates were six times the national average.

What are the three distinct increments of Filipino immigration?

-The groups of students that came with the 1898 American annexation of the Philippines.

In the 1920s and 1930s came farm workers that filled Japanese and Chinese agriculture.

-After 1965 a migration groups of educated, mobile professionals, would be entrepreneurs.

-Immigrants were mainly males… Not until 1960s did the female population begin to rise above 35 percent and it was in 1980 that the genders evened out.

What profession niche do recent Filipino immigrants dominate and why?

“Most, perhaps two-thirds, of recent Filipino immigrants have been professionals, most notably nurses and other medical personnel. During the 1970s, for example, the fifty nursing schools in the Philippines graduated about 200 nurses annually. At least 20 percent of each year’s crop of graduates soon migrated to the United States, where shortages of trained nurses, especially those willing to work long and uncomfortable hours demanded by public hospital, provided instant employment.”

Who were the Koreans who came before the 1965 immigration act?

-Korean Americans were mainly post-Korean War immigrants; the population was extremely small before the 1930s and like other immigrant groups expanded rapidly after 1965.

-Traditionally Buddhist, converted Christian

How and why do Vietnamese immigrants differ from other recent Asian immigrants?

“Rather than self-selecting immigrants reasonably well-qualified for success in America, Vietnamese, or many of them, have been poorly equipped for life in an urban society.”

-The book goes on to refer again to push, pull and means, and it confirms that Vietnamese have more “push” then “pull” and most would not have qualified if U.S. had not felt a responsibility.

What was the total number of Vietnamese War refugees and their children, and what nationalities are include

-Total number of war refugees and their children will exceed 1.25 million by 1990.

-Nationalities included Vietnamese, Laotians and Kampucheans (Cambodians); smaller groups like the Hmong as well.