Asian America: A Primary Source Reader

336 Pages·2017·16.263 MB·English

by  Cathy J. Schlund-Vials, K. Scott Wong, and Jason Oliver Chang (eds.)

Asian America
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Asian
America
A PrimAry Source r eAder
edited by
Cathy J. Schlund- Vials
K. Scott Wong
Jason Oliver Chang
New Haven and London
Published with assistance from the foundation established in memory of
Amasa Stone Mather of the Class of 1907, Yale College.
Copyright © 2017 by Cathy Schlund- Vials, Kevin Scott Wong, and Jason Oliver Chang.
All rights reserved.
This book may not be reproduced, in whole or in part, including illustrations, in any
form (beyond that copying permitted by Sections 107 and 108 of the U.S. Copyright
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ISBN: 978- 0- 300-19544- 6 (paperback : alk. paper)
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10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
Contents
Acknowledgments ix
Editors’ Note xi
Asian American History: An Introduction 1
by K. Scott Wong, Cathy J. Schlund- Vials, and Jason Oliver Chang
(with Quan Tran)
Part I: Immigration, Migration, and Citizenship
The Naturalization Act of 1790 21
Patrick Lafcadio Hearn, “Saint Malo: A Lacustrine Village in
Louisiana” 22
People v. Hall (1854) 31
Joining the Tracks for the First Transcontinental Railway,
Promontory, Utah Territory, 1869 36
Anti- Chinese Immigration and Naturalization Laws 38
The Page Act of 1875 39
In re Ah Yup (1878) 41
The Chinese Exclusion Act (1882) 45
The Scott Act of 1888 49
The Geary Act of 1892 52
United States v. Wong Kim Ark (1898) 55
The 1902 Scott Act 60
Gentlemen’s Agreement of 1907 62
Immigration Act of 1917 (Barred Zone Act) 64
Takao Ozawa v. United States (1922) 68
United States v. Bhagat Singh Thind (1923) 75
The Johnson- Reed Immigration Act (1924) 78
The Philippine Independence Act (Tydings- McDuffie Act) (1934) 81
Contents
The Magnuson Act (1943) 85
The 1945 War Brides Act 87
The McCarran- Walter Act (1952) 88
The Hart- Celler Act (1965) 97
The Indochina Migration and Refugee Assistance Act (1975) 101
The Refugee Act of 1980 103
Statement on Signing the American Competiveness in the
Twenty- First Century Act (2000) 106
Olesia Plokhii and Tom Mashberg, “Cambodian- Americans
Confronting Deportation” 108
Recommended Resources 115
Part II: War and Imperialism
“Benevolent Assimilation” Proclamation (1898) 123
Queen Liliuokalani’s Letter of Protest 126
C. B. Munson, “Japanese on the West Coast” 127
John Franklin Carter, “Memorandum on C. B. Munson’s Report
‘Japanese on the West Coast’” 134
Department of the U.S. Army, “How to Spot a Jap” 135
Anti- Japan War Posters 135
Executive Order No. 9066 (1942) 138
A Declaration of Policy of the Japanese American
Citizens League (1942) 141
Dorothea Lange, Internment Photographs 142
Leave Clearance Interview Questions (1943) 143
Statement of United States Citizen of Japanese Ancestry (1943) 148
Korematsu v. United States (1944) 153
John Okada, No- No Boy (1957) 159
Dean Acheson, “Speech on the Far East” (1950) 161
Harry S. Truman’s Address on the Situation in Korea (1950) 166
Gulf of Tonkin Resolution (1964) 170
My Lai Massacre: Court Testimony 171
Vietnam War Images 179
Eddie Adams, “General Nguyen Ngoc Loan Executing a
Viet Cong Prisoner in Saigon” (1968) 180
vi
Contents
Nick Ut (Huynh Cong Ut), “The Terror of War” (1972) 181
Hubert Van Es, “Fall of Saigon” (1975) 182
Don Bartletti, “Vietnamese Refugees Arrive at
Camp Pendleton” (1975) 183
1.5- Generation Southeast Asian American Writers 184
Bryan Thao Worra 185
Bao Phi 186
Anida Yoeu Ali 189
Brief of Amicus Curiae Fred Korematsu (2003) 192
Recommended Resources 202
Part III: Race, Rights, and Representation
Chang and Eng Advertisements 207
Mark Twain, Roughing It 209
“The Chinese Question” and Political Cartoons 211
Rough on Rats 215
Rock Springs Massacre (1885) 215
American Federation of Labor, Some Reasons for Chinese
Exclusion: Meat vs. Rice 216
“La Mestización” Cartoon 216
New York Times, “Four Bids for Canal Labor” (1906) 219
Jack London, “The Unparalleled Invasion” (1910) 220
Sui Sin Far, “In the Land of the Free” (1909) 232
“Japs Keep Moving—This Is a White Man’s Neighborhood”
(ca. 1920) 240
Los Angeles Times, Watsonville Riots (1930) 241
Carlos Bulosan, “Be American” 243
U.S. News and World Report, “Success Story of One
Minority Group in U.S.” 249
Stokely Carmichael, “The Basis of Black Power” 256
Amy Uyematsu, “The Emergence of Yellow Power in America” 262
San Francisco State College Strike (1968–1969) 271
Interview with Yuri Kochiyama (2006) 274
The Civil Liberties Act of 1988 278
vii
Contents
Department of Justice, “Japanese Latin Americans to Receive
Compensation for Internment During World War II” 283
“U.A.W. Says, ‘If You Sell in America, Build in America’” (1981) 285
Frank H. Wu, “The Wheel of Justice: The Killing of Vincent
Chin and the Death of the Motor City” 286
Theresa Walker, “Korean American Businessman Recalls
L.A. Riots” 298
Battle Hymn of the Tiger Mother (Interview with Amy Chua) 302
Eric Liu, “Asian-American Dilemma: Good News Is Bad News” 308
Jenny Strasburg, “Abercrombie & Glitch: Asian Americans
Rip Retailer for Stereotypes on T- Shirts” 311
Recommended Resources 315
Index 319
viii
Acknowledgments
Asian America: A Primary Source Reader necessarily begins with Sarah
Miller at Yale University Press, who had the original vision for this volume;
her enthusiasm for such a project, along with her sage advice throughout
the entirety of it, inspired us to think always about the possibilities of an-
thology and field. Ash Lago, along with other members of the Yale Uni-
versity Press editorial team, provided key support at a critical time. To be
sure, this volume’s scope—along with its final form—is directly attribut-
able to the critical eyes of anonymous readers, who consistently and con-
structively pushed us to make this a more cohesive, relevant work.
Asian America: A Primary Source Reader is not only a coedited en-
deavor; its assemblage was collaborative in scope. Indeed, we are thank-
ful to the early efforts of Caryl Nuñez, who helped launch the project via
multiple library requests; we are also grateful to Maxine Smestad-H aines
and Fe Delos-S antos for their administrative support and encouragement.
We are especially indebted to Patrick S. Lawrence, whose careful eye au-
thenticated our transcriptions and who played a keen role in the final
stages of the project. Finally, we want to personally acknowledge those
who, through their indefatigable support, allow us to do our work:
Cathy is thankful to her family, who have consistently reminded her
why Asian American studies matters: her parents, Charles and Ginko
Schlund; and her twin brother, Charles Raymond Schlund. She is, as ever,
grateful to her partner, Christopher Vials, who remains her best friend
and colleague.
Scott is grateful to his parents and brothers, who have consistently
supported his adventures in academia, as well as Carrie and Sarah, who
always remind him what really matters in life. Finally, he is thankful for all
of his mentors and friends in Asian American studies, especially Sucheng
Chan, for making his path easier to travel through her caring friendship
and pioneering work in the field.
Jason thanks his family for their encouragement, particularly his part-
ner, Julie, for her unconditional support while they raise three children
together. He also thanks coeditors Cathy and Scott for their generosity,
patience, humor, and decisiveness.
ix