How Did Asia Influence America

The Influence of Asia in America The lines between the East and the West are a lot less distinct and the East and West are merging. Asian companies are becoming household names, such as Toyota, Mitsubishi, Samsung, Nestle, and Nikon. Asia has influenced America through their involvement in America's development and defense, and also through their beliefs and practices they have carried with them across the Pacific. To see when Asia first began influencing America, we need to start with Marco Polo. Marco Polo went to China and returned with stories about his experiences and in later decades his stories were verified. European explorer, Christopher Columbus, took Marco Polo's book with him on his quest for an all-water route to Asia. (Biography.com).
He discovered the Americas instead. Britain, Spain, and France quickly colonized this new territory and Europeans settled there. Immigrants from Europe to America helped shape the country, and the immigrants from Asia to America also helped shape the country into the multi-cultural nation it is today. The first immigrants from Asia to the U.S. were Filipinos who jumped Spanish ships in Mexico and settled in Louisiana in 1750. (Asian-nation.org). They called their new home Manila Village, and it became the longest continuing settlement of Asians until Hurricane Betsy completely destroyed it. The Filipinos brought with them shrimp-drying techniques from the Philippines and "Louisiana shrimp" is famous nation-wide. Then in 1848, gold was discovered in California. Prospectors from Guangdong, China came to California to escape economic hardships and to get rich to help their family back home. The Chinese Exclusion Acts of 1882 restricted Chinese immigration and prevented Chinese residents from becoming citizens. The repeal of the Exclusion Acts in 1943 allowed a quota of 105 Chinese immigrants per year. Many people were afraid this would open the flood gates of Chinese immigration, but this also paved the way for Filipinos and Indians to immigrate.in 1946. The Immigration Acts of 1965 got rid of all quotas based on race, but still kept limits on categories of immigrants, such as skilled workers. The second largest number of immigrants from 1965 to 2000 were the Filipinos at 1.4 million after Mexicans at 4 million immigrants with Korea, Vietnam, and Cambodia not far behind. Asia influences American culture the most through trading.
Trading is how different cultures are introduced to another culture's food or clothes. China was America's leading trading partner during the post Civil War and Spanish-American War era. The U.S. placed high tariffs on imported goods to protect their own growing industries, checking the amount of imported goods and consequently, the influence of Asia as well. During the World War era the U.S. lowered their high tariffs. The discovery of oil in the Middle East and Southeast Asia caught the interest of America and they created the Standard Oil Company in 1933 with Saudi Arabia. They found oil in 1938. Trading stopped for awhile during the Great Depression and America put an oil embargo on Japan in 1941 because it was starting to bother China. World War II officially ended trading with Asia and did not pick up again until the Japanese surrendered on August 2, 1945 (Historybusiness.org). During the Cold War, the U.S. used a lot of embargos to try to force countries to do what the U.S. wanted. They put embargoes on North Korea, China, and North Vietnam in 1950. President Nixon lifted some trade restrictions on China in 1969 but kept the most strategic embargos. However, America re-imposed the embargos on China after the Tiananmen Square Massacre in 1989. Clinton convinced China to join the World Trade Organization in 1999. The embargoes on North Vietnam spread to South Vietnam when they reunited in 1975 and were not
lifted until nineteen years later in 1994. (Americanforeignrelations.com). In 2006, China became the U.S. second biggest trading partner and in 2008, 11.2% of all U.S. trading was with China, 6.2% with Japan, 2.5% with South Korea and 1.9% with Taiwan. Malaysia usually exported sugar and raw materials, but in 2007, the majority of its exports was consumer electronics and electronic appliances. (Historybusiness.org) Japan and Korea companies, such as Toyota and Honda, are major car exports and car business is dwindling in the U.S. as a result. Asian labor re-shaped the landscape of America.
All Asian became collectively known as a "coolie", meaning hired labor in some Asian languages. They were willing to work for low wages and live in poor conditions. The Chinese contract laborers were crucial in developing the sugar cane industry in Hawaii. They found better ways to grow sugar cane and made Hawaiian sugar can plantations the best in the world. The Chinese not only helped the sugar industry, they also contributed to the Hawaiian language. Because there were so many cultures: white, Asian, and native, they made a multinational language called Hawaiian pidgin. Japanese, Korean, and Filipino immigrants to Hawaii also contributed to the evolving pidgin. Hawaiian pidgin was used as a code in World War II, stumping the Germans and the Japanese. (Travelwithachallenge.org) In 1865, Chinese played a huge part in constructing the Transcontinental Railroad. 9,000 to 12,000 Chinese worked on the project at a single time and were paid 60% of what their European counterparts received. They were given the most dirty and most dangerous jobs, resulting in around 1,000 Chinese casualties. Some selected few were allowed to attend the famous completion ceremony but all the Chinese were forbidden to appear in the famous photograph where a group of men stood in front of two train engines. After the ceremony, the Chinese were forbidden from riding on the railroad they just built. They had to walk home on foot to California, even
though without their sacrifice and dedication, the railroad could not have been completed. Asia also influenced America in their defense of the country. Many Asians who saw themselves as Americans were extremely loyal to a country who treated them like second class citizens. To them America was freedom and they saw war as a way to prove their loyalty and their devotion to democracy and freedom. The Japanese 442nd Regimental Combat Team is the most decorated military unit in US history. (Asian-nation.org) They were assigned, out of many other available units, to rescue the "Lost Battalion"—the 36th Infantry Division from Texas which was surrounded by the German Army. Sgt. Wally Nunotani led around 1,000 men, and after trying to get through the German defenses to the Lost Battalion, 200 men were killed and 800 were brutally injured. Only 20 men were left standing to see their fellow soldiers crawl from their hiding places. When the general asked where the rest of their unit was, an officer replied, "Sorry sir,…this is all we have left." (Asian-nation.org) They were awarded five Presidential Unit Citations for their bravery. The most alarming influence of Asia in America is the rising popularity of Asian beliefs and practices. The most popular form of yoga, Transcendental Meditation, is a Hindu religious practice and is closely linked to the New Age movement. (Inplainsite.org) Yoga is extremely popular with 15 million people and $27 billion is spent on the industry annually. The increase of new comers in the last five years is 87% and it is still on the rise. Yoga's purpose is to meditate and connect oneself to a higher source and figure out who you are, why you are, what you are, and help your spiritual development. Martial Arts may not seem as controversial, but kung fu, for example, is based on Shaolin Temple Buddhism. Judo is derived from older forms of hand-to-hand combat, and karate originated from China and was carried to Japan when the Ryukyu Empire was attacked. They came up with a method of unarmed combat, a mix of kung fu and native martial arts. The popularity of martial arts is growing. Judo and the Korean martial arts, Taekwondo, are both Olympic Sports. (Ushistory.org) The Buddhist idea that all things need to be taken care of, the plants, animals, birds, and fish, appeals to environmentalists who think we need to stop polluting the atmosphere. The basis of Buddhism is mediation and Buddhism is appealing because it has a lot of rules and rituals so people find structure and stability with this religion. Conflicts in Asian countries caused Buddhist refugees to flee to Western nations, spreading their ideas as they went. In the 1700s, Buddhist text was translated into European languages so scholars were able to learn about Buddhism. Americans returning from East Asia after World War II and the Korean War brought back an interest in Zen Buddhism and it became very popular in the 1960s. (Buddhanet.net) Asian influence is very significant for us as Christians. The blurring of the lines between the East and the West is important for the forming of the kingdom of the Antichrist talked about in the Book of Revelation. The Battle of Armageddon talked about in Revelation 15 shows how the East and the West are not compatible and can not last long as one kingdom. The spreading of Eastern religions is very important for Christians because the influence is so subtle. Doing stretches, keeping healthy, and learning self defense is not wrong in itself, but it gets dangerous when we start adding religion and philosophy. In conclusion, Asia has been influencing America since the U.S. became a country. Without Asia, there would be no Transcontinental Railroad, or highly developed sugar cane growing methods; there would be no rescued Lost Battalion, and the most important, there would have been no discovering of America in the first place if it weren't for Asia. America can thank Asia for their labor, their defense, and their help in the development of the United States.