Documents of the Asian American Experience

This curated and contextualized primary source collection examines the history of Asian Americans from precolonial times to the present day.

From their integral role in the expansion of transcontinental railroads in the 1800s to Japanese internment during World War II to being lauded as the “model minority” in the late 20th and early 21st centuries, Asian American history is inextricable from the larger history of the United States. Yet the contributions, struggles, and lived experiences of this diverse minority group have often gone unacknowledged.

Documents of the Asian American Experience features more than 80 documents across 17 time periods, including newspaper articles, personal accounts, federal legislation, propaganda pieces, and more. Readers will discover the multifaceted experiences of Chinese, Japanese, Korean, Indian, and Filipino Americans, among others. Essays at the beginning of each section provide an overview of the time period and the political, economic, and sociocultural factors influencing race relations at the time. Concise introductions to each document provide necessary background information about the source and its significance.