Reform, Racism, and Propaganda: How a Progressive Era Lens Transformed the Japanese Immigration Discourse in America, 1906-1924

Abstract

Abstract This thesis examines the transformation of regional anti-Japanese sentiment in California into national exclusionary policy through strategic propaganda campaigns between 1906 and 1924. Through comparative biographical analysis of four central figures—exclusionist leaders Olaf Tveitmoe and James Phelan alongside inclusionist advocates Yamato Ichihashi and Sidney Gulick—this study reveals how deliberate narrative construction elevated local prejudices to national immigration policy. The research demonstrates that the exclusionists’ success stemmed not merely from widespread racism or economic anxieties, but from sophisticated propaganda techniques that framed Japanese immigration as an existential threat to American identity while portraying inclusionists as traitors to the nation. These competing propaganda campaigns drew upon distinct ideological frameworks about American identity and social evolution. Exclusionists embraced biological determinism that portrayed Japanese immigrants as permanently unassimilable based on race, while inclusionists argued for cultural adaptation and education as pathways to inclusion. Paradoxically, inclusionist arguments emphasizing Japanese immigrants’ educational achievements and economic contributions inadvertently planted seeds of what would later become the “model minority” stereotype. Drawing on archival sources including personal papers, organizational records, and contemporary media, this research analyzes how Tveitmoe’s labor organizing and Phelan’s political networks created emotionally resonant narratives that proved remarkably resilient against rational, evidence-based counterarguments offered by Stanford professor Ichihashi and missionary Gulick. The study reveals a fundamental asymmetry: while exclusionists wielded emotional appeals about racial threats and national security, inclusionists relied on statistical data and policy analysis. By focusing on the “who” and the “how” rather than simply the “why” of Japanese exclusion, this research illuminates the precise mechanisms through which racial ideology became enshrined in policy, establishing precedents that continue to influence contemporary immigration debates.