The Gentlemen`s Agreement of 1907 refers to an agreement between the United States and Japan that limited Japanese immigration to the US. The agreement was signed by President Theodore Roosevelt and the Japanese government, with the aim of preventing further tension between the two countries over immigration.
At the time, Japanese immigrants were unfairly treated in the US, facing discrimination and racism from both the government and citizens. This led to several incidents of violence and protests, including the anti-Japanese riots in San Francisco in 1906. In response, the Japanese government threatened to limit the emigration of its citizens to the US, which would have had significant economic and political consequences.
To avoid this, Roosevelt negotiated the Gentlemen`s Agreement, which was essentially a verbal agreement between the two countries. Under the agreement, the US agreed to stop issuing passports to Japanese laborers, while Japan agreed to prevent its citizens from emigrating to the US for work. However, Japanese students, businessmen, and spouses of US citizens were still allowed to enter the country.
The Gentlemen`s Agreement was not a formal treaty and was never ratified by Congress. However, it was successful in reducing Japanese immigration to the US, and maintained peace between the two nations for several years.
However, the agreement did not address the underlying issues of discrimination and racism against Japanese immigrants in the US, and tensions continued to simmer. The Gentlemen`s Agreement was eventually replaced by the Immigration Act of 1924, which placed strict quotas on immigration from certain countries, including Japan.
Today, the Gentlemen`s Agreement of 1907 is remembered as a significant moment in the history of Japanese-American relations, and a reminder of the ongoing struggle for equality and justice for all immigrants.