Picture Brides

A term given to the practice of Japanese men and women when they exchanged pictures before partaking in an arranged marriage. Usually the couple would not meet very long before their wedding day and a picture is all they had of each other.

Race vs. ethnicity

Race groups larger groups of people. It is based primarily on appearance. Ethnicity, on the other hand, is based on where a person is from and the customs and traditions that he/she observes. People from different ethnicity can belong to the same race. People from different races probably are not recognized as the same ethnicity.

Stratified

Takaki uses the term to describe the ideal condition, according to planters, in which there were hard lines that separate races in the social order. Whites were on top with the best jobs. Then, other races were on bottom with the worst jobs. Very little, if any, crossover would be permitted.

Resistance

Rising up against oppression. The Asian laborers in Hawaii resisted exploitation by banding together and going on strike. They formed their own giddy multitude. It could also be thought of as the desire of whites to keep all other races out of the U.S. or at least keep them oppressed.

Model Minority

A term sometimes used to describe Japanese people. They are believed to be quiet and accommodating. That is why whites labeled them as the model minority. Whites did not believe Japanese would cause problems because the Japanese were passive. They supposedly accepted their oppression. Takaki disagrees with that myth on page 257.

The American Dream

An ideological term that means that in America, everyone is free to pursue whatever life he/she wants to live. According to everything we have read so far, this really only applies to whites in America.

The GI bill

A bill giving GI’s preference in jobs, home loans, and educational benefits. Brodkin describes it on page 44 as the “most massive affirmative action program in American history.”

Affirmative Action

A law in the U.S. that makes it mandatory for organizations to maintain a workforce with a proportionate number of minority employees. Brodkin refers to affirmative action on page 44 as something that is aimed at and disproportionately helps people of a certain race or ethnicity. She specifically refers to “male Eruo-origin Gi’s.”

War Relocation Authority

This was the U.S. government agency responsible for moving Japanese-Americans to internment camps during World War II.

Color Blind Constitution

The idea of Supreme Court Justice John Harlan representing that the constitution applies to everyone regardless of their skin color. Every one should enjoy the benefits of the Constitution. Zinn refers to this on page 151.

Jim Crow Education

The idea of Richard Wright that blacks learn very quickly what it feels like to be treated in an inferior manner. They learn quickly that in order to survive they have to learn to deal with racism.

Philosophy of Free Labor

Zinn alludes to the Philosophy of Free labor on page 146 when he mentions a quote stating “the property of the south is the property of the slave.” This was in reference to what should be done with plantations seized during the Civil War. Slaves were doing the work, so they should get the property as compensation.

Abolitionist

Someone who fought for the end of slavery. These people were not necessarily fighting against slavery because it was wrong, but they had their own reasons for wanting slavery to end. There reason could have been moral, political, economic, or war strategy.

The White Mans Burden

The White Mans Burden: According to the video, this is the racist idea that whites are burdened by people of color. Whites are burdened with the task of either “civilizing” or dealing with them.

Scientific Racism (think relationship between science and race in 1800’s)

Scientific Racism (think relationship between science and race in 1800’s): This is the idea that science was constantly looking for a real difference between whites and blacks, so that is what science found. Books like Historie of Foure-Footed Beastes by Edward Topsell were being distributed with what appeared to be scientific evidence but was not really based in good sound science.

Assimilation

Assimilation: The practice of making other races more white. It is used in relation to the Indians. Whites believed that they were similar enough that they could be converted to Christians and made to be more white like the Europeans.

“Giddy Multitude” (+ why this is the chapter title)

“Giddy Multitude” (+ why this is the chapter title): According to Takaki on page 63, Giddy Multitude is a discontented class of indentured servants, slaves, and landless freemen, both white and black. It is the title of his chapter because he believes it is important to note that whites and blacks were not separate in the beginning. Social class was the major division. Takaki later clarifies that a giddy multitude occurs anytime racial or ethnic boundaries are crossed and the lower class unifies to rise up against the upper class.

Manifest Destiny

Manifest Destiny: This is the idea that the United States was a great nation and deserved the opportunity to expand. It was not really a concern that land would have to be taken away from Indians.

Getting off the Hook

“Getting off the Hook”: Getting off the hook is a term used to describe the actions privileged groups take to deny and minimize the effects of privilege and oppression. According to Johnson on page 108, people do not like being connected to someone else’s misery so they try to get themselves off the hook. They do not want to feel guilty

Individualism

Individualism: According to Johnson on page 77, individualism is the idea that “the social world begins and ends with individuals.” Individualism means that everything is somebody’s fault. Individual men are blamed for their oppression of women.

Matrix of Domination

Matrix of Domination: This is a term coined by Patricia Hill Collins. According to Johnson on page 52, it helps us to understand that “each particular form of privilege is part of a much larger system of privilege.” The matrix of domination shows us that we connot predict how much privilege a person will receive simply by knowing that person’s race or gender.