California Superior Court (Sacramento County) Alien Land Law case files, 1920-1947

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Summary

Creators:
California. Superior Court (Sacramento County)
Abstract:
The California Superior Court (Sacramento County) Alien Land Law case files include annual reports submitted to the California Superior Court of Sacramento County by Japanese Americans certifying that they were the legal guardians of children in whose name real estate and other property was transferred following passage of the California Alien Land Law of 1920. Each report includes descriptions of real estate, expenditures, income, stocks, and other assets owned by Japanese American minors in the name of their parental guardians. There are a few cases of family assets held by attorneys or others acting as trustees of property such as the case of Leonard Monduran (L.M.) Landsborough who held property in trust for several Japanese American families.
Extent:
.75 linear feet (1 box)
Language:
Languages represented in the collection: English
Preferred citation:

[Identification of item and/or item number], [box and folder number], California Superior Court (Sacramento County) Alien Land Law case files, CNTY0015, Center for Sacramento History.

Background

Scope and content:

The California Superior Court (Sacramento County) Alien Land Law case files include annual reports submitted to the California Superior Court of Sacramento County by Japanese Americans certifying that they were the legal guardians of children in whose name real estate and other property was transferred following passage of the California Alien Land Law of 1920. Each report includes descriptions of real estate, expenditures, income, stocks, and other assets owned by Japanese American minors in the name of their parental guardians. There are a few cases of family assets held by attorneys or others acting as trustees of property such as the case of Leonard Monduran (L.M.) Landsborough who held property in trust for several Japanese American families. The case files are organized alphabetically by last name of parental guardian and includes the names of minors or trustees in whose name property and assets were transferred.

Biographical / historical:

The California Alien Land Law of 1920 was a ballot initiative passed by California voters on November 2, 1920. The primary purpose of the law was to close legal loopholes of the Webb–Haney Act (Alien Land Law Act of 1913) which severely restricted the ability of residents of the United States who were ineligible at the time to become U.S. citizens (people of Asian ancestry) from owning or leasing farm land in California. The law targeted Japanese American farmers who increasingly owned farm land and were subject to the law.

The 1920 Alien Land Law closed loopholes in the 1913 law by banning all leasing or renting of agricultural land by ineligible residents and banning the purchase or holding or stock in agricultural corporations. Japanese American farmers could still transfer real estate and stock to their children, who were able to own land as legal citizens. The law required Japanese American farmers to submit annual reports to the Superior Court identifying the minor in whose name the land was transferred. The 1920 Alien Land Law was supported by many of the fraternal and labor organizations across California including the Native Sons of the Golden West, American Legion of California, Exclusion League, and California Grange. The argument in favor the law that appeared on the ballot measure was written by Valentine Stuart (V.S.) McClatchy, who at the time was co-owner of the Sacramento Bee newspaper with his brother C.K. McClatchy, while John Irish, publisher of the Oakland Times and outspoken opponent to anti-Japanese and anti-Chinese racism, wrote the argument in opposition to the initiative. The Alien Land Law was upheld by the U.S. Supreme Court in 1923 in the case of Porterfield vs. Webb and was not overturned until 1952 with the case of Sei Fuji v. California which determined that the law was in violation of the 14th amendment of equal protection under the law.

Processing information:

Finding aid created by Sean Heyliger October 2019.

Arrangement:

Series 1. Alien Land Law case files Series 2. Amendments to constitution and proposed statutes with arguments respecting the same [Alien Land Law initiative on the 1920 California ballot]

Physical location:
17L5
Rules or conventions:
Finding aid prepared using Describing Archives: a Content Standard

Access and use

Restrictions:

Collection is open for research use.

Terms of access:

All requests to publish or quote from private collections held by the Center for Sacramento History (CSH) must be submitted in writing to csh@cityofsacramento.org. Permission for publication is given on behalf of CSH as the owner of the physical items and is not intended to include or imply permission of the copyright holder, which must also be obtained by the patron. No permission is necessary to publish or quote from public records.

Preferred citation:

[Identification of item and/or item number], [box and folder number], California Superior Court (Sacramento County) Alien Land Law case files, CNTY0015, Center for Sacramento History.

Location of this collection:
551 Sequoia Pacific Blvd.
Sacramento, CA 95811, US
Contact:
(916) 808-7072
csh@cityofsacramento.org
Website