The purpose of this study is to examine the Chinese confrontation, on the Pacific Coast, as it was experienced and rationalized by the white majority. For reasons which will be evident in what follows, the main body of the work (chapters 3 through 11) will focus on the Democratic party and the labor movement of California through the forty-year period after the Civil War. The two opening chapters turn back to explore aspects of the Jacksonian background which appear crucial to an understanding of what occurred in California. The final chapter looks beyond the turn of the century to trace certain results of the sequence of events in the West for the labor movement as a whole, and to suggest the influence of those events upon the crystallization of an American concept of national identity.
Alexander Saxton is Professor Emeritus of History, University of California, Los Angeles.
"An eloquent and meticulous history of race and class which is as exciting today as when it first appeared."--David Roediger, Professor of History, University of Minnesota "Saxton's path-breaking study continues to underscore the significant of race in the American politics and culture--a timely critical perspective for the 21st century."--Ronald Takaki, author of A Different Mirror "No one interested in the intersection of race, class, and ideology can neglect this book. It deserves a wide audience among a new generation of college students."--Robert W. Rydell, Professor of History, Montana State University "A classic--one that helped launch the "new western history" and belongs on a short list of books that have transformed our understanding of the western experience."--Gary B. Nash, Director of the National Center for History in the Schools