According to the U.S. Census, in 2000 there were about 11.9 million Asian Americans. Americans of Asian descent form a highly diverse group, coming from all parts of the vast continent of Asia. There are more than thirty different Asian ethnic groups in the United States, speaking a wide variety of languages, participating in many different traditions, and believing in a variety of religions and spiritual philosophies. This chapter will present an overview of three of the first groups that came to the United States in significant numbers: the Chinese, Japanese, and Filipinos. In 2000, there were more than 2.4 million Chinese Americans, making up about 24 percent of all Asian Americans; 800,000 Japanese Americans, making up about 10 percent; and about 1.8 million Filipinos, making up about 21 percent of Asian Americans. (Other groups of Asians, such as Indians, Vietnamese, Koreans, and Cambodians, will be considered...