ABOUT THIS BOOK

A comprehensive survey, Asian American History places Asian immigration to America in international and domestic contexts, and explores the significant elements that define Asian America: imperialism and global capitalist expansion, labor and capital, race and ethnicity, immigration and exclusion, family and work, community and gender roles, assimilation and multiculturalism, panethnicity and identity, transnationalism and globalization, and new challenges and opportunities. It is an up-to-date and easily accessible resource for high school and college students, as well as anyone who is interested in Asian American history. Asian American History:

Covers the major and minor Asian American ethnic groups. It presents the myriad and poignant stories of a diverse body of Asian Americans, from illiterate immigrants to influential individuals, within a broad and comparative framework, offering microscopic narratives as well as macroscopic analysis and overviews.

Utilizes both primary and secondary sources, employs data and surveys, and incorporates most recent scholarly discourses.

Attractive and accessible by incorporating voices and illustrations of the contemporaries and by using straightforward language and concise syntax, while maintaining a reasonable level of scholarly depth.

Special features: Each chapter features Significant Events, Sidebars incorporating primary sources or scholarly debates, Review Questions, and Further Readings to aid and enhance student learning experience. Bibliographies, charts, maps, photographs and tables are included.

Written by a preeminent historian with four decades of teaching, research, and publishing experiences in Asian American history, it is the best book on the subject to date.

AUTHOR BIOGRAPHY

HUPING LING, professor emerita of history at Truman State University in Kirksville, Missouri, served as the executive editor in chief for the Journal of Asian American Studies from 2008 to 2012. A prize-winning author, she has authored or edited over thirty books and published over two hundred articles on Asian American studies.

REVIEWS

"Enchanting, meticulous, and informative, Asian American History offers the most updated, all-encompassing portrayal of Asian American history since the 1760s. Its transnational perspective, interdisciplinary approach, incorporation of new scholarship, fascinating stories, and user-friendly features make it one of the finest textbooks on the history of Asian Americans."

— Philip Q. Yang, author of Asian Immigration to the United States

“Professor Huping Ling's book is an important read that provides us with a concise understanding of the multiple dimensions of Asian American history. Important key terms, timelines, primary sources, and study questions provide important tools for deepened understanding and application.”

— Harvey Dong, coeditor of Mountain Movers: Student Activism & the Emergence of Asian American Studies

"Huping Ling’s Asian American History offers a nuanced perspective to bridge the past and present over the span of more than 250 years in the making and remaking of Asian America. It shows how generations of Asian immigrants and their native-born offspring strive to become an integral part of the American nation — an invaluable resource for educators, scholars, and anyone interested in understanding multicultural America."

— Min Zhou, Distinguished Professor of Sociology & Asian American Studies, UCLA

"Huping Ling’s Asian American History is an important contribution to the growing scholarship that examines the collective experiences of Asian American communities in the U.S. Utilizing the latest source materials, interdisciplinary methodologies, and a wide range of qualitative and quantitative data, this study provides an indispensable account of both historical and current events."

— Rudy P. Guevarra Jr., author of Becoming Mexipino: Multiethnic Identities and Communities in San Diego (Rutgers University

"Asian American History is a well-documented, comprehensive textbook. Major themes of the Asian American historic experience--racism and resistance, work, and family--as well as the rich, ethnic particularities of each group are integrated to offer a full picture of our communities. Further, Ling covers emerging themes, such as new community formations and transnational shifts, to address the pressing issues of Asian Americans."

— Russell Jeung, professor of Asian American studies at San Francisco State University, California, and co-founder of

"This is an excellent introduction to Asian Americans. It is thorough and thoughtful, especially because it includes the diversity of the many communities who make up this fast-growing population. This would be easy to teach from and learn from. It offers a solid historical foundation for further discussion in the classroom, and it belongs on the syllabus."

— Frank H. Wu, President of Queens College, City University of New York

“Asian American History builds on and extends the research of scholars in recent decades, including pioneers like Ronald Takaki, Sucheng Chan, and Roger Daniels. It offers encyclopedic coverage and insightful analyses of both broad historical and cultural backgrounds of Asian immigration and vital issues concerning Asian Americans. Readers will also have ample opportunity to hear personal stories and direct voices from individual Asian Americans. Its clear organization, lucid style, and impeccable research make this volume a welcome resource for scholars and a valuable textbook for high-school and college classes on the history and experiences of Asian Americans.”

— Yong Chen, author of Chop Suey, USA: The Story of Chinese Food in America

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Preface

PART I Coming to America, 1765-1840s

1 ROOTS OF ASIAN MIGRATION TO AMERICA
Cultural Heritage of Asian Migrants
Global Context for Asian Migration
Asian Context and Patterns of Migration
Roots of Asian Migration to America in Historical Perspective

2 RESTRICTIONS AND RESISTANCES
Racial Prejudice
Economic Sanctions
Physical Violence
Exclusion Laws and Policies
The Enforcement of Exclusion Laws
Protests against Exclusion and Discrimination
Asian Immigration Restrictions and Resistance in Historical Perspective

PART II Asian American Experiences, 1840s-1965

3 LABOR
Sugar Plantations, Mines, and Railroads
Urban Niche Economy
Niche in Agriculture
Labor in Historical Perspective

4 DEFINING HOME AND COMMUNITY
Domesticity and Innovative Family Formations
Changing Gender Roles
The Second-Generation "Dilemma"
Ethnic Community Building
Asian Immigrant Home and Community in Historical Perspective

5 WORLD WAR II: A TURNING POINT
Changing Public Mood
In Military Services
Home Front
End of Exclusion
Japanese Internment
Asian Americans and World War II in Historical Perspective

PART III Contemporary Asian Americans, 1965-2020s

6 NEW WAVES OF IMMIGRANTS AND REFUGEES
A More Gender-Balanced Society
Effects of the Immigration and Nationality Act of 1965
Southeast Asian Americans
Plights and Potentials of Undocumented Immigrants
"The Quiet Migration": Transnational Transracial Adoption
New Waves of Immigrants in Historical Perspective

7 MOVING UPWARD
Educational Attainments
New Patterns of Employment and Economic Potentials and Constraints
Political Incorporation
Myth and Reality of "Model Minority"
Asian American Upward Mobility in Historical Perspective

8 NEW FORMATIONS OF ASIAN AMERICAN COMMUNITIES
Urban Enclaves (1850s)
Transnational Urban and Suburban Communities and Cyber Communities (1990s)
Asian American Communities in Historical Perspective

PART IV The Future of Asian America, 2020s–

9 THEORIZING ASIAN AMERICA: SIGNIFICANT THEORIES AND ISSUES
Asian American Movement and the Construction of Pan-Asian Ethnicity
Challenges of Asian American Identities in Recent Decades
Asian American Panethnicity in Historical Perspective

10 THE FUTURE OF ASIAN AMERICA UNDER GLOBALIZATION
China Rise / Asian Rise versus the U.S. Decline
Importance of Global Collaboration and Various Prescriptions
New Trends of Migration and Assimilation under Globalization
The COVID-19 Pandemic and Asian American Communities
Asian Americans under Globalization in Historical Perspective

CHRONOLOGY
NOTES
INDEX