The Chinese Exclusion Act of 1882 was a historic act of legislation that demonstrated how the federal government of the United States once openly condoned racial discrimination. Once the Exclusion Act passed, the door was opened to further limitation of Asians in America during the late 19th century, such as the Scott Act of 1888 and the Geary Act of 1892, and increased hatred towards and violence against Chinese people based on the misguided belief they were to blame for depressed wage levels and unemployment among Caucasians.

This title traces the complete evolution of the...

The practice of African slavery has been described as the United States's most shameful sin. Undoing this practice was a long, complex struggle that lasted centuries and ultimately drove America to a bitter civil war.

After an introduction that places the United States's form of slavery into a global, historical perspective, author T. Adams Upchurch shows how an ancient custom evolved into the American South's peculiar institution. The gripping narrative will fascinate readers, while excerpts from primary documents provide glimpses into the minds of key abolitionists and proslavery...

"Cesar Chavez and the United Farm Workers Movement" chronicles the drive for a union of one of American society's most exploited groups. It is a story of courage and determination, set against the backdrop of the 1960s, a time of assassinations, war protests, civil rights battles, and reform efforts for poor and minority citizens.

American farm workers were men and women on labor's last rung, living in desperate and inhumane conditions, poisoned by pesticides, and making a pittance for back-breaking work. The book shows how these migrant workers found a champion in Chavez and the United...

The "Tuskegee Airmen"--the first African American pilots to serve in the U.S. military--were comprised of the 99th Fighter Squadron, the 332nd Fighter Group, and the 477th Bombardment Group, all of whose members received their initial training at Tuskegee Army Airfield in Alabama. Their successful service during World War II helped end military segregation, which was an important step in ending Jim Crow laws in civilian society.

This volume in Greenwood's Landmarks of the American Mosaic series depicts the Tuskegee Airmen at the junction of two historical trends: the...

Part of Greenwood's Landmarks of the American Mosaic series, this work is a one-stop introduction to the subject of Negro League baseball that spotlights the achievements and experiences of black ball players during the time of segregation--ones that must not be allowed to fade into obscurity. Telling far more than a story about sports that includes engaging tales of star athletes like "Satchel" Paige and "Cool Papa" Bell, "Negro Leagues Baseball" documents an essential chapter of American history rooted in the fight for civil rights and human dignity and the battle against racism and...

Hundreds of thousands of Native Americans are estimated to have attended Native American boarding schools during the course of over a century. Today, many of the off-reservation Native American boarding schools have closed, and those that remain are in danger of losing critical federal funding. Ironically, some Native Americans want to preserve them.

This book provides a much-needed historical survey of Native American boarding schools that examines all of these educational institutions across the United States and presents a balanced view of many personal boarding school...

Sequoyah's creation of an easy-to-learn syllabary for the Cherokee nation enabled far more than the "Cherokee Phoenix," the first newspaper of the Cherokee Nation, and the ability for Native Americans to communicate far more effectively than word of mouth can allow. In many ways, the effects of Sequoyah's syllabary demonstrate the critical role of written language in cultural preservation and persistence.

"Sequoyah and the Invention of the Cherokee Alphabet" is a readable study of Sequoyah's life that also discusses Cherokee culture as well as the historical and current usage and impact...

Contrary to popular misconceptions, "Plessy v. Ferguson" was not a simple case of black vs. white separation, but rather a challenging and complex protest for U.S. law to fully accept mixed ancestry and multiculturalism. This book focuses on the long struggle for individual identity and multicultural recognition amid the dehumanizing and depersonalizing forces of American Negro slavery and the Anglo-American white supremacy that drove it.

The book takes students and general readers through the extended gestation period that gave birth to one of the most oft-mentioned but widely...

"Civil Rights Movement" provides a comprehensive reference guide to this momentous cultural evolution that starts in the 1930s. By beginning the story of how African Americans have long attempted to improve their lives while facing severe legislative, judicial, and political constraints, the author dispels the common misconception that black people only started their struggle to achieve equality in the mid 1950s.

The book discusses all of the major campaigns of the 1950s and 1960s within the deep southern states, border states, and northern urban areas, thereby demonstrating that the...

This book provides an outstanding resource that introduces readers to Indian removal and resistance, and supports high school curricula as well as the National Standards for U.S. History (Era 4: Expansion and Reform). Focusing specifically on the Trail of Tears and the experiences of the Cherokee Nation while also covering earlier events and the aftermath of removal, the clearly written, topical chapters follow the events as they unfolded in Alabama, Georgia, North Carolina, and Tennessee, as well as the New England region and Washington, DC.

Written by a tribal council representative...