Ozawa’s notebooks

And a surprising find in the archives: a set of composition books that have Takao Ozawa’s handwritten research notes for his 1914 naturalization petition. The first notebook begins: “The first time I came here, I was not prepared, but to day I am. However, because I am not a lawyer, I do not know how to speak in the Court. Besides that, English is not my native language, so I can not speak as well as Americans do. I will, however, do my best in defending my case.”

The notes were transcribed by the federal district court and used as “briefs” in his hearing before the court.