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BOOK REVIEW Driven Out: The Forgotten War Against Chinese Americans by Jean Pfaelzer Random House - May 2007
Reviewed by Dr. Jonathan Dolhenty Driven Out: The Forgotten War Against Chinese Americans is the first book I have ever read to address this particular issue, the "brutal and systematic" treatment accorded the Chinese immigrants to America during the latter half of the nineteenth century and the early part of the twentieth. Oh, yes, I knew that some Chinese laborers came to the American West to work on the railroads during the heydays of their construction. But that is about all I knew. This, of course, is somewhat shameful for me to admit now because one of my majors during my undergraduate days was history (with a specialty in American history to boot!), and I taught American history to junior high school students for seven years early in my teaching career. Moreover, as a requirement for a teaching certificate I had to take a course specifically in Pacific Northwest history (the area where most of the anti-Chinese incidents took place) and at no time was this matter discussed in the textbooks or in class. Whether this unexplored chapter in American history was deliberately overlooked or ignored, I cannot say. But I can say that it was, in my opinion, a disgrace that it was not presented and discussed. Jean Pfaelzer, who is a professor of English and American studies at the University of Delaware, has written a comprehensive and gripping account of the "ethic cleansing" of the Chinese residing in California and the Pacific Northwest. Since I was born and still live in the Pacific Northwest, this detailed narrative about the barbaric treatment of a group of fellow human beings who either came here voluntarily or were forced to come here to work on the railroads, in the mines, in the fields, and elsewhere, is especially disturbing. Indeed, the little town where I currently reside along the Oregon coast is mentioned in Pfaelzer's book, although no mention is made of any specific anti-Chinese incidents occurring here. That point aside, it is certainly about time for this story to be told in depth and Pfaelzer does just that extremely well. The story begins in the 1840s and continues into the early twentieth century. Thousands of Chinese laborers and merchants, prostitutes and merchants' wives, were rounded up at gunpoint and marched out of towns and other locations all over the Pacific coastal areas of California, Oregon, and Washington, from Seattle to Los Angeles and even beyond. The Chinese were subjected to many cruelties: most were banished outright from their homes; young Chinese prostitutes were unjustly accused of spreading syphilis among the "fine" young White men of the community; the government tried to force the Chinese to wear photo-ID cards. Some were forced onto ships to be delivered elsewhere, including back to China; some were thrown into railroad cars to be transported anywhere; some did not go willingly and were killed or were burned to death in the fires, mostly set by local Whites, which destroyed the Chinatowns which had sprung up in many places. But this is not just the story of the victimization of the Chinese population in the West. This is also the story of how the Chinese bravely fought back: "They filed the first lawsuits for reparations in the United States, sued for the restoration of their property, prosecuted white vigilantes, demanded the right to own land, and, years before Brown v. Board of Education, won access to public education for their children. Chinese Americans organized strikes and vegetable boycotts in order to starve out towns that tried to expel them. They ordered arms from China and, with Winchester rifles and Colt revolvers, defended themselves." It is a story which includes many heroes, as well as too many villains. It is a story of proud Chinese men who wouldn't back down, and the story of too many corrupt politicians and lawmen without any sense of morality. It is a story both sad and disconcerting, but also a supremely human story well worth reading. While the injustices related in Pfaelzer's book may be (and should be) disturbing to readers, a few caveats are probably necessary to prevent what I call the "blame and guilt" crowd from using her book to advance a skewed view of historical responsibility. This entire period and the terrible incidents that occurred within it must be observed and analyzed with some realistic perspective. It is all too easy -- and all too common these days -- to use the material included in a book such as this one to initiate and conduct a campaign which promotes anti-Americanism (the "hate America" movements) or the "White-man's Guilt" syndrome. First, when it comes to racial and religious discrimination, or pogroms against or purges of hated groups, or roundups, expulsions, or imprisonment of persons considered less than human, America never has been and is not today the major player on the stage of world history. Consider the atrocities committed in the past 100 years by the likes of Joseph Stalin, Mao Zedong, Adolf Hitler, Saddam Hussein, Hideki Tojo, Slobodan Milosevic, or Pol Pot; furthermore, consider the contemporary scene in Africa, particularly the genocide in Darfur or in Rwanda or elsewhere on that continent. America may have many shortcomings in its past regarding racial discrimination and violence -- and Pfaelzer's book provides just one example among others -- but it is necessary to keep things in perspective; although it is impossible to offer an excuse for or justification of such horrific behavior, we can try to understand it and the context in which it occurs in order to prevent it from happening in the future. Second, it is important to note that European (or American) White males are not alone in committing terrible deeds in the past or present for which the term "guilt" is appropriate. Moreover, "guilt" as such falls only on individuals, not groups. If one truly subscribes to the "sins of the fathers" notion, then there is no one free of "historical guilt" all the way back to the first human beings. And that notion is nonsense, not to mention unproductive. Pfaelzer's book tells the story of a horrible chapter in American history which has been largely ignored. Rather than use the information she provides as the basis for a condemnation of America or the promotion of "White Guilt," we need to learn from it and use it to make certain that such things do not happen again. I realize this is probably overly optimistic, but without some genuine commitment to treating all human beings with dignity and respect, we won't even move toward that goal. Jean Pfaelzer has made an enormous contribution to American history by drawing back the curtain which had veiled an important series of events, albeit shameful and abominable, which is part of our recent past. The book is well researched and the author documents her account with over thirty pages of useful notes. She also provides a detailed topical index, as well as a map of the "roundups" in California and many illustrations and photographs. To all readers, not just those interested in American history, I highly recommend this work. 
Read an Excerpt from this Book Order at Amazon.com Driven Out: The Forgotten War Against Chinese Americans, by Jean Pfaelzer Order at Powell's Books Driven Out: The Forgotten War Against Chinese Americans, by Jean Pfaelzer |
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