Partners Across the Pacific Table Topics

Table Topic questions are meant to stimulate family and classroom discussion.
Use the questions below after reading,"Partners Across the Pacific."

Today, Pacific Rim vessels come and go from Elliot Bay with little notice, much less fanfare. Why were the people of Seattle so excited by the arrival of the Japanese steamship Miike Maru in the harbor in August of 1896? What kinds of products were on that ship and where were they going from here? And what are some ways that our links to Asia forged a century ago have affected our regional culture and economy?
At the turn-of-the-century, trade with the Far East was flourishing. Transnational railroads were key to its development, as we can see from the deal struck by James J. Hill with the Japanese Mail Steamship Company. Seattle remains a great port city, but what changes have occurred in the way we transport goods today?
The city rolled out the red carpet for visiting Asian dignitaries while immigrant Asian laborers were often treated with prejudice and sometimes outright hostility. What cultural misunderstandings may have caused this double standard? Do you think our modern multicultural society handles issues of race and class any better? Have we become more or less class conscious?
The Seattle Times correctly predicted that the impact of Klondike gold would pale before the riches earned by Asian Pacific trade. What signs do you find in the paper now that it is just as crucial to our economy today?
Although exports to Japan dominated Pacific trade in the 1900s, businesses then were eager to develop economic ties with the huge country of China. Trade with China remains important to regional business today but is difficult for political reasons. What do you think about trade with countries with questionable records of human rights or other social policies that clash with American values? Do you think politics played as big a role in the 1900s?
Asian teas, silks and ginger have given way to imports of apparel, electronics and cars. Have the original exports of the Northwest's raw materials like lumber, coal, wheat and metals changed as much? Look into the future and think about trade with foreign countries one hundred years from now. Do you think it will change more or less dramatically than our last century of trade with Asia?