Abstract The paper attempts to explore the historiography of Chinese-Americans and the impact that the Exclusion Act had on shaping the course of Chinese-Americanculture. The paper examines why so many Chinese immigrants continued to flock to America in droves if they knew of the hardships and discrimination they would face in America. The paper discovers several historical myths that are not based on primary sources or quantitative data. The paper presents a new approach to Chinese-Americanhistory and claims that it will have a dramatic impact on future perceptions of Chinese-Americans.
Outline:
History and Impact of the Exclusion Act
Identity Crisis
A New Generation of Historiographers
Location Specific Works
On Primary Sources
From the Paper "Erik Lee explored the impact and motive behind the actions of Chinese immigrants in his book At America's Gates. Lee relates the experiences of Chinese Americans to the immigration story of his Grandfather. In this case, he has first had knowledge of the events and their impact on Chinese Americans. This personal experience apparently sparked his interest in the topic of how the Exclusion act impacted other Chinese American Immigrants and their families. Lee uses primary sources to draw his conclusions and support his thesis. He relied exclusively on the documents of immigrants and those that were deported as his data source. This gives his work an incredible air of reliability."
Abstract This paper examines the sociological and cultural acclimatization of Chinese-Americans by exploring the history of their arrival. The writer explains that this assimilation has been made even harder because Americans do not understand the importance ongoing culture plays in the Chinese family's life.
From the Paper "The Chinese American population holds a unique position in American history. The majority of the initial population of Chinese immigrants arrived in this county under coolie labor contracts, which were similar to the African slaves of the plantations of the South. The Chinese coolies were treated as disposable labor, and given less than full citizen status until the middle of the 1940?s. However, this group did not let the American culture assimilate them; rather the Chinese Americans built their own collective identity, which was a unique reflection of the rich Chinese heritage they left behind."
Abstract This paper discusses Chinese immigration to the United States from 1848 and looks at how the laws relating to Chinese immigrants have developed up until today. The paper then focuses on how Chinatown in San Francisco has affected the American way of life and how San Fransisco's tourism has never suffered due to the appeal of its Chinatown. Specifically, the paper looks at how San Francisco's Chinatown has affected the status of ChineseAmericans.
From the Paper "There is also the ancient tradition of homeopathic medicines that is beginning to filter into traditional American medicine. In the 19th Century Chinese medicine many times was all that was available and it served the need for Chinese and non-Chinese alike. Medicine was primitive at best in the west. There were no anesthetics, vaccines or surgeries available. Chinese Americans understood the benefits of herbs for medicinal purposes and it was their knowledge that was used throughout the United States to deal with injuries and diseases (Lyman 23)."
Abstract This paper highlights major events and movements in African-Americanhistory following the Civil War. These topics include an examination of sharecropping following the Civil War. The author explores the background of sharecropping and the limited options for employment available to recently freed slaves. This is followed by an explanation of the Great Migration, it's economic impact for those that moved North and how the south was affected by the partial loss of a labor force. Next, the paper discusses the cultural impact of the Great Migration, with a discussion of the Harlem Renaissance. The paper concludes with a discussion of the Civil Rights movement and its notable leaders and personalities.
From the Paper "Beginning at the end of World War I, a cultural movement began among African Americans. This movement, which extended into the 1920's and 1930's, was characterized by the New Negro and was centered in the Harlem neighborhood of New York City (Harlem). This era marked an explosion of African American literature, music, politics, and arts that was accepted seriously by the mainstream public (Harlem). This era is referred to as the Harlem Renaissance, the New Negro Movement, the New Negro Renaissance, and the Negro Renaissance (Harlem)."
Abstract This paper looks at the American political culture after the terrorist attacks of September 11 and the effect those attacks had on the tolerance in American political culture. It contends that, as a result, of the attacks, American political culture is more accepting of authoritarian views. This paper also looks at how the war on terrorism and the related struggle against the spread of nuclear, chemical and biological weapons have become the central elements of a new US foreign policy since September 11.
From the Paper "September 11, had a polarizing effect on tolerance in political culture .In fact the tragedy made American political culture more accepting of authoritarian views .The terrorist attacks on the U. S. of Sept. 11, 2001, jolted Americans with the realization that young men filled with hatred of the U. S. could, with limited training and guidance, become focused instruments of mass terror, willing and able to kill thousands of Americans."
Tags: arab, and, muslim, world, american, hegemony, war, on, terrorism, us, foreign, policy
Abstract In this article, the writer discusses what it means for the child of a Chinese family to be a first generation ChineseAmerican. For this study, the writer uses information presented in Jade Snow Wong's book, 'Fifth Chinese Daughter'. Further, the writer examines how the assimilation process may change family values.
From the Paper "In Jade Snow Wong's memoir 'Fifth Chinese Daughter' the author tells the story of one Chinese family's adjustment to life in the United States. Told from the point of view of the family's fifth daughter, Jade Snow, the book examines not only the way in which two different cultures clash, but how two generations of the same family might be at odds over what path in life is most appropriate. Indeed, 'Fifth Chinese Daughter' is an exploration of how family values and culture are affected when the ... "
Abstract This paper addresses the complex division that exists between Chinese-Americans at different stages of assimilation into Americanculture. It presents these ideas by analyzing David Henry Hwang's play, "FOB", in which he uses characters at different stages to illustrate the prejudice that exists between first generation and American-born Chinese-Americans.
From the Paper "Assimilation of Chinese-Americans in FOB David Henry Hwang's play, FOB, addresses the complex division that exists between Chinese-Americans at different stages of assimilation into American culture. Hwang uses characters at different stages to illustrate the prejudice that exists between first generation and American-born Chinese-Americans. The characters have many things in common, but relate to their Chinese background very differently. This makes the play interesting while allowing Hwang to make his point: Chinese Americans must find some relationship with their Chinese roots to be happy as Chinese-Americans. The prejudice between Dale and Steve is a primary conflict in FOB. Steve is an F.O.B., "fresh off the boat," and this obviously makes Dale uncomfortable. Dale is second generation and allies himself more with American culture, often critical of China."
Abstract The paper relates that the Japanese culture was greatly influenced by the Chinese, however, their cultures today remain very different from each other. The paper shows how both the Chinese and the Japanese have similar views when it comes to the family and women's place in society but the Japanese have a hybrid culture while the Chineseculture is of a heterogeneous quality.
From the Paper "Japanese culture was greatly influenced by the Chinese; however, their cultures today remain very different from each other when examined closely. What the two Asian countries do have in common is that both of them have survived thousands of years and both are intricately immersed with the family unit or structure and the hierarchy of society. In terms of social comparisons, both the Chinese and the Japanese have similar views when it comes to a woman's place in the family and society. Both cultures adhere to the patriarchal views of position and both give the power of the governing of families to the eldest male in the household. Both cultures have also built their families with extended members. There is no doubt that the family unit is equally important in Japanese and Chinese culture."
Abstract The communist revolution in China crystallized and intensified the hostility between Washington and Peking. This was because the Americans had supported the Nationalist regime of Chiang Kai Shek, who had alienated the Chinese masses. The corruption of Chiang, therefore, had played a big role in fuelling the momentum of the communist revolution, which had no choice but to take on an anti-American disposition. The Korean War, which followed subsequently, solidified the antagonism between Chinese communism and the United States.
Abstract The role of the supernatural in the affairs of the living, as a Chinese literary and cultural theme, is discussed with reference to "Dream of the Red Chamber", "Six Records of a Floating Life", "The Death of Woman Wang", and the works of Yuan Mei. It is emphasized that the supernatural was regarded as a natural and recurring set of forces having effect in the temporal, material world.
Abstract This paper examines the attempts of Native-American Tribes to retain their cultural heritage despite many years of repression and attempts by the colonial majority to force its culture on them. The paper looks at the major means whereby Native Americans are trying to preserve and even spread their culture amongst the various groupings and tribes living today in the United State of America. The author then goes on to examine the historical background to the American Indian's cultural repression. He examines, in some depth, the rebirth of Native-American literature and oral history and its impact on the Native-American population and attempts to evaluate its success.
From the Paper "Individual Indians seek to define who they are through culture in varied ways, and are frequently challenged by distance. The revival of culture is centered around reservation life. Reservations schools attempt to transmit the traditions of the past, along with language through native reservation schools that teach language through a bilingual system or through submersion programs and yet many Native Americans live far from home and family, as a result of the pressures of modernization and the fact that economic and higher education opportunities are limited on many reservations. To many Indians it is a challenge to meet the goals of a highly connected social network of family and nation as distance creates change that challenges their ability to meld their historical culture with the white culture they frequently live within. Yet, it is also clear that individual definitions of self are strongly associated with family and cultural connections and traditions. It is for this reason that Native American creativity is expressed in novel ways through many avenues and medias as well as the reason why individual and collective vision become a constant recurring theme in many of these interpretations."
Abstract This paper discusses the nature of modern literature written by Chinese-American authors. It analyzes common themes and trends in this literature style. Works examined include Eric Liu's "The Accidental Asian" and Maxine Hong Kingston's "The Woman Warrior". It also looks at Lisa See's "On Gold Mountain" and Amy Tan's novel "The Joy Luck Club". The paper discusses issues such as the language style used in these novels and common themes.
From the Paper "A substantial body of Chinese American writing emerged in the 1970s and the flow of novels, stories, poems, family histories and memoirs has grown steadily ever since. Although there is great variety among these (mostly) second-generation writers the predominant focus of their work has been on questions that have evolved around the phenomenon of being Asian in America. The majority of these writers have forgotten most of their Chinese, never having learned it much beyond their pre-school years, and they write about the difficulty of balancing on the biracial, bicultural cusp between the old-world ways of their parents and their own lives as speakers of American English functioning in a culture that was, and often remains, entirely foreign to their parents. As these American-born Chinese (ABCs) attempt to assess their own place in a nation where they constitute a very small percentage of a population that is sometimes hostile toward them they are also, like most immigrants' children, compelled to wonder about the culture from which they came. The dilemma of their own "Chineseness" is the question underlying all the works discussed here. But there are nearly as many ways of approaching the question as there are writers. The present discussion of various kinds of literary production by a number of contemporary Chinese-American writers will, therefore, concentrate on why writers chose particular forms, how these approaches facilitate the questions they want to ask, and what answers they have found to the essential question of what it means to be "Chinese" in America."
Abstract This paper examines and analyzes the issue of human rights in China, and explores whether human rights has negatively effected Chinese-American relations over the last forty years.
Abstract This paper explains that, in his collection of essays "The Frontier in AmericanHistory", Frederick Jackson Turner records and hypothesizes on the many ways in which the frontier has contributed to the building of the American nationality and culture. The author points out that this book contains twelve related essays focusing on specific aspects of the frontier's history including technological factors, such as the development of the steam engine and the railroad, and limitations, such as the threat of Indian attacks and the peril of being isolated in the wilderness. The paper concludes that, although written at the turn of the 19th century, Turner's essays have a strikingly modern feel because he describes a vision of America as a strong, proud but brutal country, shaped not so much by individual cult figures or powerful politicians as by a massive, eager movement of people who were fed up with their previous lots and who had the courage to face an isolating wilderness in exchange for an untold bounty.
From the Paper "In the remaining chapters, Turner elaborates on previous themes and continues a study of the ways in which each successive frontier-wave shaped the modern American nation. "The Problems of the West" provides an especially illuminating glimpse into the American psychology. For all his rugged, rudimentary style, the Western man was an idealist at heart. He championed the virtues of "equality, of the exaltation of the common man," and had an "unbounded confidence in his ability to make his dreams come true." It sounds romantic, but the proof of it lies in the bare fact of forward frontier movement on such a grand scale, over so long a time, by so many men and women. However, the romanticism does provoke thoughts on Turner's great shortcoming: his failure to address the sheer human cost of the expansion, not only in the number of European-American lives lost, but particularly among the Native Americans, who were so completely displaced and exterminated by the frontier."
Abstract A paper written in fictitious autobiographical style which discusses the many changes that took place in America between World War I and the 1970?s. The paper discusses the causes of the WWI and its aftermath. It presents facts about World War II, the Cold War, the Korean War and Vietnam. The conclusion is an analysis of the event that has been the most significant in reshaping American life forever - the Civil Rights Movement.
From the Paper "Lets skip ahead to the World War II period, the war began in 1939 and I was 33 years old. I had been married for ten years and had two children and was a housewife. The war began as a conflict between Germany and Anglo French coalition but quickly broadened to engage most nations of the world. The war saw the introduction of two new weapons: the atomic bomb and a long-range rocket. To date WWII has been the most devastating war in history in terms of loss of human life and destruction. ("World War II")"
