Britannica Student Encyclopedia - 2010

These Japanese Americans lived in the

camps until the war ended in 1945.

They lost their jobs and often their land,

homes, and businesses. Even so, thousands

of Japanese Americans—and other

Asian Americans—served in the U.S.

military during the war.

In 1989 Congress apologized to Japanese

Americans for their treatment duringWorldWar

II. The government also

gave 20,000 dollars to each surviving

internee.

New Laws and New

Immigrants

FollowingWorldWar II Congress

passed laws that led to fairer treatment

of Asian Americans. A law called The

Immigration and Nationality Act of

1952 gave all Asian immigrants the right

to become U.S. citizens. The Immigration

Act of 1965 allowed people from

any Asian country to immigrate to the

United States.

After 1965, many new Asian immigrants

came to the United States. Many came

from Korea and countries in Southeast

Asia, especially Vietnam. These immigrants

often were escaping wars in their

homelands. But Asian immigrants also

came to find work. For example, great

numbers of Indians came to work in the

United States as doctors, scientists, engineers,

or computer specialists.

Asian Americans Today

By 2000 there were more than 10 million

Asian Americans in the United

States. They made up about 4 percent of

the U.S. population. About half of them

lived in theWest, especially in Hawaii

and California. In the East, New York

had the highest number of Asian Americans.

More than 65 percent of the Asian

Americans in 2000 were U.S. citizens.

Some Asian Americans today feel that

other Americans still treat them as outsiders.

Nevertheless, many Asian Americans

have achieved high levels of

economic and educational success. Asian

Americans continue to be an important

part of U.S. society, as they have been

for more than 150 years.

#More to explore

Asia • California • Citizenship

• Discrimination • Hawaii • Migration,

Human • United States

Asian American architect and artist Maya

Lin stands beside one of her works. Lin is

famous for designing the Vietnam War

Memorial in Washington, D.C.

Norman Y.

Mineta was

the first Asian

American to

head a U.S.

government

department.

He served as

Secretary of

Commerce

and later as

Secretary of

Transportation.

208 Asian Americans BRITANNICA STUDENT ENCYCLOPEDIA

 

Asmara

Population

(2002 estimate)

500,600

Asmara is the capital of the East African

country of Eritrea. It is also the country’s

largest city. Located in a highlands

region, Asmara is more than 7,500 feet

(2,300 meters) above sea level.

Asmara is a major market for farm products.

It is also a center for tanning hides.

Factories in the city make textiles, footwear,

and soft drinks. Roads, railroads,

and airplane routes connect Asmara to a

port on the Red Sea.

Asmara was once a small village of the

Tigre people. In 1900 it became the

capital of the Italian colony of Eritrea.

In 1935 Italy invaded Ethiopia. The

Italians made Asmara the main base for

the attack. Afterward Asmara was the

leading city in the territory called Italian

East Africa. Later the British and then

the Ethiopians controlled Eritrea. In

1993 Eritrea won its independence, and

Asmara became its capital.

#More to explore

Eritrea

Asparagus

People have been eating asparagus as a

vegetable since ancient times. The vegetable

is also called garden asparagus.

This helps to separate it from the hundreds

of other types of asparagus plants.

All asparagus plants belong to the lily

family, along with onions and garlic.

Asparagus grows wild in parts of Europe,

Africa, and Asia. Farmers and gardeners

grow the vegetable in areas where the

winters are cool or cold. The world’s

leading asparagus producers are China,

Peru, and the United States.

People eat the young shoots of the

asparagus plant, which are called spears.

The spears shoot up from the roots during

the spring and early summer. They

must be picked by hand, not by

machine. That makes asparagus an

expensive crop to grow.

The spears of the asparagus plant are

normally green. That is because they

contain chlorophyll, the substance that

uses light energy to make food for

plants. Some growers in France and

other places bury the growing spears in

Tender asparagus spears shoot up from the

ground in spring and early summer.

BRITANNICA STUDENT ENCYCLOPEDIA Asparagus 209

 

soil. This shields them from the sun and

prevents them from making chlorophyll.

Spears grown this way are white. White

asparagus is known for its delicate flavor.

People usually eat asparagus spears

cooked. They are often served hot with

melted butter or a rich sauce. The spears

are also eaten cold in salads.

#More to explore

Garden • Lily • Plant

Aspen

The trees called aspens are known for

their fluttering leaves. Their leaf stalks

are long, weak, and flattened. They

allow the leaves to move in even the

slightest breeze.

Aspens belong to the group of trees

called poplars. The poplars are closely

related to willow trees. There are three

species, or types, of aspen. The European

aspen grows in Europe, northern

Africa, and Asia. The quaking, or trembling,

aspen and the big-tooth aspen are

found in North America.

The bark of aspens is usually smooth

and greenish gray or white. Aspen leaves