Additional Assignments

1. The documents collected here provide a window into how white Americans thought about race in the years following the Civil War. In an essay, explain why or why not the voices you encounter here should be viewed through the lens of the Civil War and Reconstruction. If not, what other historical context is most important for understanding these sources?
2. Historians often confront the challenge of discussing the experiences of groups who left few records. This is true for Native Americans and for slaves, and it is certainly true for the first Chinese to come to California. Few could read or write. The vast majority intended to stay in the United States only as long as necessary to make enough money to pay off their debts, build up a nest egg, and then return to China. As a consequence, white Americans told the story of the Chinese experience in America. Some were sympathetic; most were not. Virtually none knew Chinese. The challenge for historians is to use these sources critically.

   Choose one of the sets of resources listed next and then use it to create an in-class presentation on one aspect of the nineteenth-century Chinese immigrant experience. Be sure to address the limitations and benefits of the primary sources material that you refer to in your presentation.