New from Pacific Historical Review: Black Schools in the West, Stopover Migration, and Labor Relations in Vietnam
The summer issue of the Pacific Historical Review investigates Black education in California, immigrations routes to the United States through Mexico, and labor relations in Vietnam. Check out previews of these articles below.
“Our Dependence is in Our Children”: The Phoenixonian Institute and Black Education in Early California
By Michael Hines
The U.S. history of racially segregated schools isn’t limited to the South. Indeed, scholar Michael Hines reveals the little-known history of segregated schools in nineteenth-century California, with his new article delving into the history of the Phoenixonian Institute, an all-Black school in San Jose from 1862 to 1875. Although California entered the U.S. as a free state, its early public schools barred non-white students from attending. In response, Black Californians created schools of their own, such as the Phoenixonian Institute. Hines traces the story of the school's founder, a Black educator and religious leader named P.W. Cassey. Originally from Philadelphia, Cassey grew up in prominent abolitionist family, where he developed a vision of social and political equality that was vital to his school’s educational philosophy.
The Business of Migration in Transit: Smuggling and Corruption in Early Twentieth Century Mexico
By Abraham Trejo Terreros
Immigration historians often think about countries of origin and destination. Historian Abraham Trejo Terreros offers a fresh perspective on immigration, focusing instead on the places migrants pass through on the way to their ultimate destination. Specifically, he looks at Mexico as a stopover country for Chinese, Italian, and Jewish immigrants as they sought entry into the United States in the 1920s. As U.S. immigration laws tightened, many migrants first went to Mexico before crossing the U.S.-Mexico border. These migrants faced different restrictions depending on their race and nationality. Some were eventually able to enter the U.S. legally, while others relied on networks of smugglers, corrupt officials, or their own cultural communities to help them cross the border.
During the Vietnam War, the US military and its contractors employed hundreds of thousands of Vietnamese and third-country nationals. In his new article, historian Edmund Wehrle evaluates labor relations in Vietnam during the war. The U.S. Office of Civilian Personnel—called the OCP—introduced grievance processes, labor-employer councils, training programs, union-friendly policies, and other reforms, all with the stated goal of serving U.S. war aims and “modernizing” the Vietnamese workforce. In Wehrle’s view, the results were mixed. While U.S. labor policies in Vietnam were not the oppressive imperialism depicted by some scholars, they also fell short of the OCP’s stated goals. Wehrle’s article adds to our understanding of the complex American mission in Southeast Asia and the debates among South Vietnamese about democracy and modernization.
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We publish PHR in partnership with the Pacific Coast Branch of the American Historical Association.