White by Law: The Legal Construction of Race

Chapter 4 focuses on the Supreme Court’s first racial prerequisite cases: Ozawa v. United States and United States v. Thind, excerpts of which are reproduced in the Appendix. Ozawa cited scientific evidence and common knowledge in its ruling, while Thind relied only on common knowledge. The Court’s move away from science underscores the falsity of natural ideas of race, exposing race as a socially constructed product.

Ozawa

Takao Ozawa, a Japanese-born man, moved to California in 1894 to pursue his studies at the University of California, Berkeley. In 1914, after moving to Hawaii, he applied for naturalization. Ozawa penned a legal brief outlining his suitability for citizenship, including his and his children’s ties to American churches and schools, his use of the English language at home, his 28 years on American soil, his choice of an American-educated wife, and his lack of ties to Japanese organizations (57). Despite his eloquent plea, the US District Attorney for Hawaii opposed Ozawa’s application on racial grounds.

Ozawa pursued citizenship for eight years until his case reached the Supreme Court in 1922. The Court rebutted Ozawa’s multipronged argument. For example, Ozawa claimed his skin was white in color, citing anthropological studies that described Japanese people as being lighter skinned than Italian, Spanish, and Portuguese individuals (58).