Federal Writers' Project – Life Histories/2020/Summer II/Section 013/Kosaku Sawada

Overview
Kosaku Sawada was a nurseryman or an owner of a tree and plant nursery, originally from Japan. He studied agriculture in Japan, and used his knowledge in the field to take advantage of an orange tree boom in Alabama. Using this, he was able to establish his footing in America, sending his children to college.

Sawada was an interviewee for the Federal Writer’s Project in 1939, and was interviewed by Ida Prine.

Biography
Kosaku Sawada was born and raised in Osaka, Japan. He moved to America in 1906 at the age of twenty-one to work in the rice fields of Texas. As a student in Japan, he specialized in agriculture. When he moved to America, he worked in the rice fields with no tractor or machinery. Sawada would plow the fields using mules and a plow. He would perform a lot of manual labor for the rice fields, ranging from plowing in the winter, to discing and harrowing, to finally irrigating the crops. Upon realizing that the job was not up to his satisfaction, he noticed that some people were making good money by selling orange and pecan trees rather than toiling in the rice fields. With the realization of an orange tree boom, Sawada moved to Alabama, where he bought 30 acres of sandy land. When a blizzard came, his crop was ruined, and he bought an additional 60 acres of land to grow shrubbery. In Alabama, he learned the importance of commercializing and having a good reputation. In the words of Sawada himself “a farmer cannot sell his products at a fair price” without commercialization. As a result of his learned abilty for commercialization, Sawada laid the foundation for his family in America, sending his two sons to college, with three more children currently pursuing education.

Great Depression and its effect on Business
The Great Depression saw a drastic downturn in output, severe unemployment, and rapid deflation. During the years of the Great Depression, lasting from 1929 to 1939, all of America was suffering due to economic hardships. In this period, many businesses fell under the economic pressures, and went bankrupt. In an effort to get America out of the economic recession, President Franklin Roosevelt developed and passed the New Deal – a series of laws to help American industry. While the New Deal revitalized industry, the effects of the Great Depression still extended, with over 9.4 million Americans unemployed in 1939. As a nurseryman, Sawada’s business of growing and selling plants took a hit, as money was scarce. Even through this struggle, Sawada was able to make money through his reputation as a verified seller trying to make honest money.

Farmers in the Great Depression


Throughout the World Wars, farmers in America worked tirelessly to ensure that there was enough of a food supply for both residents domestically and in the military. Yet, due to the Great Depression, prices for crops began to tank, thus forcing many farmers to lose money on crops, and thus go bankrupt. As part of the New Deal, the government passed the Agricultural Adjustment Act which “set limits on the size of crops and herds farmers could produce”. In return for regulating production, the government gave farmers a subsidy. As a result of this act, farmers received government checks to pay off their debts. In this time, Sawada struggled through the times of the Great Depression, and sought to send his kids to college at the same time. Through the Agricultural Adjustment Act, Sawada likely was able to pay off bills during a time with low sales.

Racism in the Great Depression
During the Great Depression, minorities like the Japanese were hit the hardest. Many white Americans felt that the few jobs left belonged to them. With limited federal support besides the New Deal, people began to file for bankruptcy. With the huge demand for jobs, whites would “work together to have minority workers to allow white workers to access their jobs”. In addition, racial violence also grew, but it was difficult for any incident to gain national attention since every community was already involved in their own hardships.