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Transpacific Scholars: A Journey Through the Boxer Indemnity Scholarship
By Daniel Guo, Class of 2024
Editor’s Note: The George Hill Burnett History Prize is given to commemorate the graduation in 1902 of a grandson of the founder. It is awarded on the basis of a special essay in American history.
Introduction
Over the past two decades, the number of Chinese students in the United States has seen a remarkable surge, growing from a modest original number of around 20,000 students in 1991 to an enormous student body of more than 300,000 in 2021.1 Since 2009, Chinese students have consistently represented the highest portion of international students, making up nearly a third of all international students in American colleges and universities.2 These Chinese students choose to pursue a wide range of subjects and academic disciplines such as engineering, English, and law in the many different educational institutions that the United States offers, including prestigious universities such as Harvard and Yale. However, due to recent geopolitical tensions between China and the United States, the drive for Chinese students to study in the United States has diminished, with many turning to other prestigious schools in the United Kingdom and Europe instead.3
This shift away from Chinese students in the United States is not just unique to the Chinese perspective: a Pew Research Center survey indicates that 55%, a majority of Americans surveyed, support limiting Chinese students studying in the United States. One in five Americans strongly supports limiting Chinese students in the United States. This situation is seemingly targeted specifically towards Chinese students, as the majority of Americans view international students favorably, with 80% of Americans expressing a positive opinion towards them.4
As the current educational relationship between Chinese students and America has become a focal point for geopolitical issues and debates, it is essential to revisit the history of these students in the United States—starting from the earliest Chinese Educational Mission to the eventual formation of the Boxer Indemnity Scholarship, which served as the earliest, complete educational mission of Chinese students in the United States. This paper analyzes the historical development of the Boxer Indemnity Scholarship, which ran from 1909-1929, examining how it transformed from a reparations payment into a significant educational exchange program, and assesses its long-term impact on Chinese development, including the Chinese military, government, and education.
The first section of the paper provides essential context to the history of Chinese educational missions in the United States. Before the Boxer Rebellion, the very first instance of Chinese students studying in the United States was the Chinese Educational Mission led by Yung Wing. However, concerns about the students losing their Chinese identities and becoming too American led to the premature termination of their mission.5 Shortly After, the Boxer Rebellion erupted, and following its suppression by the Eight-Nation Alliance, the Qing government was forced to pay all participating nations a series of indemnities. Considering these indemnities excessive, the United States decided to return the excess funds as an educational fund to promote friendship with China, thus giving rise to the Boxer Indemnity Scholarship.6
The following section of the paper goes into detail on the perspectives of the scholarship, focusing on the daily lives and personal opinions of students during their time studying in the United States. Aside from the purely educational and professional trajectories of these students, many of these students were involved in a series of extracurricular activities and organizations. 7 This section of the paper utilizes a set of New York Times articles as well as monthly Chinese student publications to provide a complete, primary source of both the Chinese and American perspectives on the Boxer Indemnity Scholarship. The final section of the paper analyzes the students who participated in the Boxer Indemnity Scholarship through a wide variety of sources and tools. Data analysis was conducted with ChatGPT using a book titled Who’s Who of American Returned Students, which contains records of the students who studied in the United States during this period, including both the Chinese Educational Mission and the Boxer Indemnity Scholarship.8 This section dives into an analysis of the students’ birthplaces, educational backgrounds, future career destinations, and occupations, as well as other important venues of information. By providing a comprehensive image of the students who benefited from the Boxer Indemnity Scholarship, this study can gain valuable insights and knowledge of its success or failure and how it relates to the current global landscape.
(more…)The Pink Persecution: Homosexuals in Nazi Germany and Post-War Society
By Lori Cui, VI Form
Editor’s Note: This research paper was written over the summer in a 10-week intensive program as part of the Gender, Women, and Sexuality Studies research cohort.
Introduction
Most people do not know that between 10,000 and 15,000 homosexual men died in Nazi concentration camps during World War II. Their stories are almost completely erased from history, and their voices silenced if they survived the deadly camps. During the Nazi regime, around 100,000 men were arrested for violating Paragraph 175, the German law that criminalized homosexuality. Despite having one of the highest mortality rates in concentration camps, homosexual men only received formal reparations from the German government in 2001 for their suffering, nearly six decades after the end of the war. By that time, many survivors had passed away or struggled to file for reparations formally. Researchers found that fewer than 10 survivors were alive to see the formal reparations in the 21st century. These prisoners wore pink triangle badges in the concentration camps to differentiate them. Researchers speculate that the prisoner badge was pink as a way to shame the men for their homosexuality, implying that they were feminine because of their sexual preference. Others hypothesize that it was because the word for pink in German was similar to the slang word for homosexual male prostitutes: Rosarote, also called pinks or rosies.
The rise of the Nazi regime caused the downfall of the flourishing LGBTQ+ scene in the Weimar Republic. Berlin, the capital of Germany, was globally renowned for its LGBTQ+ bars for lesbians, gay men, and other individuals curious to explore their sexuality or gender expression. Publications like Der Eigene (His Own Self), Die Freundin (The Girlfriend), and Frauenliebe (Women’s Love) helped LGBTQ+ communities stay connected through publishing ads for meet-ups and events. However, a month after Hitler (the head of the Nazi Party) was appointed chancellor of Germany, he outlawed all LGBTQ+ bars and organizations and jailed many organization directors. As the Nazis gained more power in the Reichstag, they conducted mass raids and arrests of homosexuals. This was justified through homophobic Nazi propaganda carefully orchestrated to paint homosexuals as “degenerates” and the malaise of the “purified Third Reich.”
With primary sources like survivor memoirs and books by researchers who studied the issue post-war, this paper aims to paint a fuller picture of Nazi homophobia and its repercussions. After World War II and “liberation” by the Allied Powers, homosexuals continued to face persecution and discrimination for their sexuality. The homophobic propaganda, “re-education,” and treatment of prisoners in concentration camps by the Nazis left a lasting bigoted legacy in the minds of the German and other European civilians. This naturalized the exclusion of survivors from receiving recognition and reparations and inhibited their ability to rejoin post-war society.
Historical Background
Paragraph 175, the German penal code in the constitution that specifically criminalized sex between two males, was adopted after Kaiser Wilhelm I of Prussia created Germany in 1871. However, the law was rarely enforced. Consenting adults seldom filed complaints and the growing sexual liberation movement in Germany in the early 1900s created a flourishing LGBTQ+ scene. Berlin was known as a “homosexual Eden” around the world, attracting international visitors to witness and enjoy sexual freedom. The acceptance of the Weimar Republic gradually declined as the Nazis rose in political power and promoted homophobic propaganda.
The Nazis labeled homosexuals, specifically homosexual men, as “degenerates” of the Third Reich because they could not produce offspring to increase the population of Germany. Most homosexuals were Aryan men, which the Nazis wanted to keep within the country to build a “master Aryan race” in which all citizens were blond and blue-eyed. However, their “race” did not protect them from being persecuted as homosexuals. For a decade, the Nazis tried to find a cure for homosexuality by using the fertility of Aryan men for reproduction. The Nazis spread homophobic propaganda in their newspapers to millions of readers, such as a conspiracy theory that homosexuality was a contagious disease that could spread to the younger generation. This justified the Nazi’s persecution as they were “containing” the disease.
Interestingly, one of the highest-ranking Nazi officials, who helped push the party to power, was a homosexual. Ernst Röhm was the head of the SA, or the Sturmabteilung, the Nazi paramilitary unit that used violence to suppress political opposition. Röhm was an early supporter of Hitler and one of his closest confidants. Röhm’s homosexuality was not hidden. Hitler knew about his friend’s sexuality and continually made excuses for him. Although the Nazis were homophobic, Hitler defended Röhm in the 1930s by saying that “[Röhm’s] private life cannot be an object of scrutiny unless it conflicts with basic principles of National Socialist ideology” and that an SA officer could only be held accountable for “not performing his official duties.” However, matters changed drastically when Röhm’s opponents within the party framed him for plotting to overthrow Hitler.
On June 28, 1935, the Night of the Long Knives, Hitler and the SS (Schutzwaffel), conducted a purge within the Nazi party. They arrested leaders of the SA and Röhm on false charges. Hitler would declare that Röhm’s sexuality was a part of the reason for his execution a few days later. He also called for a complete cleanse of homosexuality within the Nazi Party after the purge, calling for the expulsion of “ludicrous monkeys.” In Germany, many homosexuals had ignored the homophobic Nazis and their rise to power because they believed that Röhm’s position would protect them from persecution. After the Night of the Long Knives, however, Hitler justified purging homosexuality, an “undesirable trait” as the moral thing to do. One year after Röhm’s execution, the Nazis rewrote Paragraph 175 to be stricter, criminalizing homosexual “insinuations” and using gossip as evidence for someone’s homosexuality. From the loose wording of “criminally indecent” activities to specifying homosexual prostitution and a minimum three-year jail sentence for violating the penal code, the days of gay Berlin and Germany were over.
To better portray the homophobic policies of the Nazis and the post-war developments of the criminalization of homosexuality, Figures 1 and 2 show a timeline of events.
Figure 1: A Timeline of Events in Germany Relating to Homosexuals (1871-1940)
Figure 2: A Timeline of Events in Germany Relating to Homosexuals (1941-2001/modern-day)
(more…)Politics, Religion, and Gender Views during the Regime of Emperor Wu: Analysis of the interrelationships between Mahayana Buddhism, Emperor Wu, and Female Representations through the lens of art and literature
By: Helen Qing, VI Form
Politics, Religion, and Gender Views during the Regime of Emperor Wu: Analysis of the interrelationships between Mahayana Buddhism, Emperor Wu, and Female Representations through the lens of art and literature
Editor’s Note: This paper was completed as a part of the History Research Fellowship, a one-semester course available to sixth form students.
Student-Submitted Note: This research paper explores and analyzes the mutually beneficial relationship between the regime of Emperor Wu, the first and only female emperor of ancient Chinese history, and Mahayana Buddhism. The paper then explores the change in the representation of both secular and religious female figures in Buddhist arts and texts. The paper navigates through ancient Buddhist sutras, murals, sculptures, arts, and historic documents.
During the Tang Dynasty(618 AD ~ 907 AD), there was a woman named WuZhao (See Figures 1 and 2) who married her deceased husband’s son and became the one and only female sovereign in the long river of ancient Chinese history. In 637 AD, at the age of 14, because of her beauty and family background, Wu Zhao became a concubine of Emperor Taizong. In 649 AD, Taizong died, and along with other childless concubines, Wu Zhao shaved her hair and became a Buddhist nun in the GanYe Temple with other concubines. However, unlike most former concubines, her life had just begun.
One year after TaiZong’s death, his son, “Emperor Gao Zong, went to the temple to offer
incense and met Wu, and they wept together for Taizong. Gaozong was astonished by her beauty when they had first met in the Imperial court and since his father’s death paid regular visits to the temple in hopes of encountering the widow,” WuZhao. Gaozong had recently lost interest in Empress Wang, the queen, as she bore no children and turned attention to concubine Xiao who bore him three children. To distract the Emperor’s attention from concubine Xiao, Empress Wang encouraged Wu to cease shaving her hair and start to dress up every day. With the interest of the Emperor and support from Empress Wang, Wu Zhao was soon invited by the emperor to return to the palace after their encounter in the temple. Wu Zhao was given the title Zhaoyi, the highest- ranked concubine than the empress.
Operation El Dorado Canyon: A Defining Moment in American Foreign Policy
By Gannon Austin, VI Form
Operation El Dorado Canyon: A Defining Moment in American Foreign Policy
Editor’s Note: This paper was completed as a part of the History Research Fellowship, a one-semester course available to sixth form students.
Student-Submitted Note: This research paper was completed in my History Fellowship class where we had to pick a historical topic and conduct extensive research on it, which would culminate in a 25+ page paper. I chose Operation El Dorado Canyon because I’m interested in Muammar Gaddafi and I wanted to do an event that tied him and the United States together.
Introduction
Many Western countries now consider Libya a failed state and one of the most dangerous countries in the world. The CIA strongly recommends that U.S. citizens stay away from the country because of terrorism, civil unrest, crime, and kidnappings. Libya has been in a tailspin ever since the overthrow of Muammar Gaddafi during the Arab Spring in 2011. Many Libyans thought it was an obvious choice to overthrow the government and give democracy a go, after over four decades of tyrannical rule by one of the world’s most brutal and unstable dictators. However, following Gaddafi’s death, warring militia groups have struggled for power and have completely destabilized the country and undermined any attempt to form a democracy.
Gaddafi ruled Libya with an iron fist for 42 years and is known to history as one of the world’s most brutal dictators. In 1969, then Colonel Gaddafi and other fellow officers overthrew the pro-Western monarch, King Idris I. They and most of Libya’s civilians felt that the King was selling out to Western oil companies, by giving them generous deals and not using any money for the Libyan people, most of whom lived in extreme poverty. The coup was bloodless and swift. Once in power, Gaddafi began an adversarial relationship with the West by nationalizing Libya’s oil industry. He heavily supported Arab forces in their conflicts with Israel in the 1970s and made the proclamation that Libya would be expanding its territorial water in the Gulf of Sidra. Libya also financed several terrorist groups and activities around the world, even though it denied any links to the attacks. The United States protested diplomatically but didn’t make any forceful moves against Libya.
(more…)Our Drumbeat, Our Heartbeat
By Kelly Yang, Class of 2023
Our Drumbeat, Our Heartbeat
Student-Submitted Note: The installation is designed for Native American Literature class. The assignment requires the student to design an installation for a boarding school or college in Massachusetts that educates the community about the local tribe’s past, present and future presence.
Our Drumbeat, Our Heartbeat is an interactive art installation designed for Brown University that celebrates the survival and thriving of the Wampanoag community in the present and future. Brown has long committed to Indigenous people’s rights. It started a year-long exploration in 2021 into the relationship between the university, the land on which it sits on College Hill, and the local Indigenous Wampanoags, who were once the land’s sole occupants (Brown). However, from the Wampum Granoff Center exhibit in 2021 to the Native Enslavement display in 2022, Brown has focused more on showcasing the ancient history of local Native people than on demonstrating their vitality and prosperity now and in the future (Kimball). I choose Brown University for my installation because, in addition to the annual Powwow celebration at Brown, which similarly only focuses on traditional ceremonies and costumes, futuristic interactive installations can make a more persistent and visual statement about Wampanoags’ present and future existence on campus. I intentionally place the interactive installation on Brown’s College Green, a grassy park serving as a student hub for activities and games. Its open spaces have an advantage over closed buildings in that they allow maximum access to alumni, students, professors, and visitors. The grass and trees of the College Green also echo the Wampanoag spiritual beliefs of protecting Mother Earth and “car[ing] for the land” (Avant 429).
Our Drumbeat, Our Heartbeat consists of four drums triggering waves of light traveling towards a four-meter medicine wheel floating above the area. The interactive design invites Brown students, alumni, professors, and visitors on the Main Green to drum in unison to create an audio-visual extravaganza, the intensity of which is dependent on the pace and intensity of the drumming. Drumming is an indispensable part of Wampanoag culture and practice; it helps the Wampanoags to “live by the rhythms of Mother Earth” and reinforces Wampanoags’ “special relationship to the superior spiritual forces which governed the universe” (Avant 429). Similarly, the medicine wheel in the middle of the installation honors the Wampanoags’ belief in balancing life’s four stages, elements, and seasons. An interactive drumming installation helps the students and faculty understand where their school’s land comes from and the history and spiritual beliefs in this sacred place in a more engaging way.
(more…)The George Hill Burnett History Prize: How Unions Struggle: The 1913-1914 Copper Strike in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan
By Avery King, Class of 2023
How Unions Struggle: The 1913-1914 Copper Strike in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan
Editor’s Note: The George Hill Burnett History Prize is given to commemorate the graduation in 1902 of a grandson of the founder. It is awarded on the basis of a special essay in American history.
The small piece of copper my grandmother kept in her kitchen fascinated me as a child. When she saw me staring at its glowing hues masked by green verdigris, she would smile, explaining that it was shaped like Michigan’s Upper Peninsula. My dad’s side of the family immigrated to the Upper Peninsula from Finland in the 1880s. I was enthralled by stories about my great-grandfather, who worked for General Motors, and his dad, my great-great-grandfather, who worked in the copper mines. It was only when I got older, however, that I began to realize how important her stories about the copper mines are, not only for my family but for organized labor everywhere.
My great-great-grandfather on the paternal side of my family was a member of the Western Federation of Miners, a prominent mining union that operated in both the Colorado Coal Mines and the Michigan Copper Mines. On the night of Christmas Eve, 1913, my great-great-grandmother, Ida K. Putansu, took her six children (including my great-grandfather Richard Putansu, who was seven years old at the time) to a Christmas Party at Italian Hall in Calumet, Michigan. Italian Hall was a public meeting place and, this night, its second floor was the site of a Union supported Christmas celebration. This meant that one had to show proof of membership in the union or have another union member vouch for them to enter the hall. The party was a nice diversion for the union members, who had been involved in a bitter strike, and their families. The crowded party was full of laughter and celebration until an unknown person shouted, “Fire!” The ensuing chaos left seventy-three people dead.
(more…)The Shen Prize: The Enduring Constitutional Shield of the Warren Court
By Katelyn Yang, VI Form
The Shen Speech Prize: The Enduring Constitutional Shield of the Warren Court
Editor’s Note: The Shen Prize is awarded to the winner of a public speaking contest among Advanced Placement United States History students on the topic of democracy. The prize is given by Y.L. Shen in honor of his daughters, Ing-ie (Ava) Shen of the Class of 1988 and Ing-Chuan (Judy) Shen of the Class of 1989.
Inscribed on the headstone of former Chief Justice Earl Warren are some of these words that bear a powerful message even today: “Where there is injustice, we should correct it; Where there is neglect, we should provide care; And wherever corrections are achieved, we should add them permanently to our storehouse of treasures.”
We enjoy many rights and freedoms from the Warren Court’s ‘storehouse of treasures.’ This U.S. Supreme Court served from 1953 to 1969 and arguably did more to advance individual rights and liberties than any court before or after. Such rights and liberties are vital to a functioning democracy as they allow citizens to participate fully and effectively. However, they were not always respected by governing majorities.
The Warren Court sought to create a ‘constitutional shield’ against the tyranny of the majority. By striking down discriminatory laws, the Court expanded democracy by extending the Bill of Rights protections to more Americans. By recognizing privacy and voting rights, the Court broadened individual liberties. Moreover, the Court’s accomplishments remind us that when American institutions act with empathy and courage, they can bring the nation closer to a true democracy.
(more…)The Old Firm Derby: How History Shapes Soccer and Society in Glasgow
By Alden Mehta
The Old Firm Derby: How History Shapes Soccer and Society in Glasgow
Editor’s Note: This paper was completed as a part of the History Research Fellowship, a one-semester course available to sixth form students.
In 1999, two rival soccer teams, Celtic FC and Rangers FC, went head to head in the Scottish Cup Final. Many of the local Glaswegians, unable to attend the game in person, gathered in pubs with their team’s fellow supporters to drink and watch the match. It was more than a game to many of them; they hated their opposition and that hatred ran deep. Rangers won the game 1-0, taking home the trophy. After a crushing defeat, sixteen-year-old Celtic supporter, Thomas McFadden, left the Life of Reilly’s pub. Heartbroken though he was, deep down he knew that life would go on. He was young and had a lifetime ahead of him to watch his team play. However, life did not go on for Thomas McFadden. Minutes later, he was murdered. On his way home after the game, Thomas encountered a heavily intoxicated Rangers supporter named David Hutton. It was not long after the final whistle. The emotions were still fresh. The two opposing fans confronted one another. Getting in each others’ faces, they chanted rival soccer songs. Before long, the confrontation escalated, and David Hutton stabbed Thomas four times in critical areas. In his final moments, Thomas was “staggering about with blood over his Celtic top.” As he bled to death, he sang a traditional Celtic song, faithfully representing his team until the very end.
I came to learn that while horrifying, this incident was not unexpected. Glasgow’s complex history has created the conditions for the sport of soccer to turn into something that resembles tribal warfare. In many parts of the world, soccer is considered to be more than just a game, but this claim is arguably most evident in Glasgow, Scotland, home of the Old Firm derby between Celtic FC and Rangers FC. The rivalry is referred to as a derby because both teams are from the same city. For decades, these two Glaswegian teams have dominated Scottish soccer. The name of the rivalry, the Old Firm, was supposedly coined in the late 1800s in recognition of the commercial benefits of the two teams’ encounters on the field. Many soccer enthusiasts, ex-professionals, and coaches deem the Old Firm to be the most heated sports rivalry in the world. Celtic legend Henrik Larsson played in both the Old Firm derby and the notorious El Clasico between Barcelona and Real Madrid. The El Clasico is by far the fiercest rivalry in Spain, and yet Larsson says, “Nothing compares to Celtic playing Rangers, absolutely nothing … You can talk about Barca against their old rivals from Madrid, but believe me, it’s not even close.” The Old Firm polarizes the two sides, produces a vicious hatred, and frequently spills over into violence.
I’ve grown up heavily involved in the sport of soccer, so much so that I feel it occupies a certain portion of who I am. In my experience, it has always brought people together. Whether through my experiences playing soccer or through watching events like the World Cup, I’ve seen the sport unite people across cultural, ethnic, and language differences. I’ve witnessed the mutual respect that results from the game. To me, “the beautiful game,” as soccer is often called, was and still is an apt description. Therefore, when I discovered that for nearly a century and a half soccer has fostered division in Glasgow, I sought to discover why.
(more…)
LEO 