tuannyriver

This page is about my ongoing project on the history of Vietnamese refugees, tentatively called Seeking Freedom: A History of Vietnamese Refugees in the United States, 1975-1990. This project involves research at dozens of American archives, plus reading Vietnamese publications from the diasporic press as well as English publications. The national and international scope means that this book project will take many years to complete.

Its scope led me to call it “the big book,” and there are three basic approaches about it.

The first approach is that the history of the refugees would be rooted in their lives and experiences in the Republic of Vietnam before the fall of Saigon. A successful project should uncover core connections between (a) the experiences and beliefs among the refugees when they were in Vietnam before April 1975 and (b) their experiences and adaptation in the U.S. thereafter. Postcolonial and nationalist in identity, many of the refugees, perhaps most, had contributed in various ways to the construction of the Republic of Vietnam. Because of their commitment to and investment in this anticommunist state, the fall of Saigon was for them a massive and shattering earthquake.

For this reason, a deep grounding in the history of the Republic of Vietnam is crucial for interpreting the history of Vietnamese refugees. It means familiarity with the “new” historical scholarship about the extinct state. Initially spearheaded by several US diplomatic historians of the Vietnam War, this scholarship began in the early 2000s and has evolved and expanded especially since the early 2010s. Most recently, historians and other scholars in Vietnam studies have traced the origins of this Republic to ideas of, debates about, and actions related to republicanism among Vietnamese during the late colonial era. Historians have further examined the complexities of domestic politics and society in South Vietnam. (I’m pleased to have played a small part in this scholarship.) In a real sense, it’s not possible for me to undertake this project without this new scholarship.

The second approach has to do with the history of postwar Vietnam, especially before Đổi Mới. If the fall of Saigon had been a deadly earthquake, developments in the next few years were a series of aftershocks that confirmed and shaped further the beliefs, perspectives, identities, and experiences among the refugees who came to the U.S., notably the boat people and, later, immigrants through the Orderly Departure Program, especially the subprogram Humanitarian Operation. Postwar changes and developments in unified Vietnam have been studied primarily by political scientists, anthropologists, and others in the social science. Hopefully there will be more works from historians. The growing availability of Vietnamese archives and publications of primary documents should allow historians to examine more closely the era before Đổi Mới. This project should definitely benefit from a deeper historical scholarship on this era.

Separate and together, the history of the Republic of Vietnam and the history of postwar Vietnam before Đổi Mới crucially shaped how refugees viewed, perceived, and understood “freedom.” There might have been some overlaps between Vietnamese views on freedom and American views on liberty. But there were also differences, and sizable ones, given the vast differences between modern Vietnamese history and modern US history. Fleshing out the overlaps and differences is a goal and a task of this project.

This point is related to the third approach, which shifts from the Vietnamese to the Americans. An interpretation of the resettlement of the refugees is necessarily rooted in the vast scholarship in US history about (a) American involvement in the Vietnam War and investment in the Republic of Vietnam, and (b) American immigration history, especially the history of displaced persons, parolees, and refugees from other countries. These historical backgrounds are essential to account for the widespread participation among Americans in resettling Indochinese refugees during 1975 then the boat people during, approximately, 1978-1988. Eventually, the focus would return to the Vietnamese and the book would analyze their adaptation to American society, culture, economy, and politics.

In search of this history (these histories?), I’ve visited the archives that are listed below. Among them are religious archives, municipal archives, regional archives, documents of government agencies, papers of politicians, and collections of organizations and individuals. I plan to visit many more archives during the academic years 2025-2027, with California and the Midwest as the main targets. I am indebted to the assistance of many archivists before, during, and after those visits. If you know of archives with holdings related to Vietnamese refugees and immigrants, please let me know by emailing tuan.hoang@pepperdine.edu.

I’m also interested in private archives, especially letters and related documents, from former refugees as well as Americans who helped resettling them. They include family archives, local church archives, and the like. Please reach out to me if you are interested in sharing them and helping me write this history. Last but not least, I’d be delighted to interview individuals, Vietnamese and non-Vietnamese alike, who were involved in the resettlement of the refugees. Reach out to me and I’ll be sure to respond.

ARCHIVES

During 2022-2027, I serve as Blanche E. Seaver Professor of Humanities and Teacher Education. The professorship has enabled my visits to many archives, and I wish to acknowledge the Seaver Dean’s Office and the Office of the Provost at Pepperdine University for this funding.

ARIZONA

• Arizona State Library, Archives and Public Records, Phoenix
• Arizona State University, Distinctive Collections, Tempe

ARKANSAS

• Butler Center for Arkansas Studies, Little Rock
• Center for Arkansas History and Culture, Little Rock
• University of Arkansas, Special Collections, Fayetteville
• University of Arkansas Fort Smith, Pebley Center, Fort Smith

CALIFORNIA

• Ronald Reagan Presidential Library, Simi Valley
• University of California, Irvine, Southeast Asian Archive, Irvine

COLORADO

• Christian & Missionary Alliance Archives, Colorado Springs
• Denver Public Library, Special Collections and Archives, Denver,
• Stephen H. Hart Research Center, Colorado History Center, Denver
• University of Colorado Boulder, Rare and Distinctive Collections, Boulder
• University of Denver, Special Collections and Archives, Denver

DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA

• Catholic University of America, American Catholic History Research Center, Washington, DC
• Library of Congress, Asia Division, Washington, DC

INDIANA

• University of Notre Dame, Special Collections, Notre Dame

LOUISIANA

• Catholic Archdiocese of New Orleans, New Orleans
• Catholic Diocese of Baton Rouge, Baton Rouge
• Louisiana State University, Special Collections, Baton Rouge
• New Orleans Public Library, City Archives and Special Collections, New Orleans
• University of New Orleans, Louisiana and Special Collections, New Orleans

MICHIGAN

• Gerald R. Ford Presidential Library, Ann Arbor (online)

MINNESOTA

• Gale Family Library, Minnesota Historical Society, St. Paul
• University of Minnesota, Immigration History Research Center Archives
• University of Minnesota, Kautz Family YMCA Archives
• Univesrity of Minnesota, Social Welfare History Archives

NEW YORK

• Maryknoll Mission Archives, Ossining

TEXAS

• Austin History Center, Austin
• Baylor University, Institute for Oral History, Waco (online)
• Baylor University, Keston Center, Waco
• Baylor University, Texas Collection, Waco
• Catholic Archives of Texas, Austin
• Tyrell Historical Library, Beaumont
• Texas Tech University, the Vietnam Center and Sam Johnson Archive, Lubbock
• University of Texas, Austin, Briscoe Center for American History, Austin

WASHINGTON

• Catholic Archdiocese of Seattle, Seattle
• Seattle Municipal Archives, Seattle
• Seattle Public Library, Special Collections, Seattle
• University of Washington, Special Collections, Seattle
• Washington State Archives, Digital Archives, Cheney (online)

PERIODICALS IN VIETNAMESE

I access most periodicals through Interlibrary Loan, although some have been scanned and put online for the public.

Bản Tin Việt Mỹ [Vietnamese-American Newsletter]
Dân Chúa [People of God]
Đất Lành [Good Land]
Đất Mới [New Land]
Hướng Đạo Hải Ngoại [Diasporic Boy Scouts]
Lá Thư Việt Mỹ [Vietnamese-American Letter]
Liên Đoàn [Federation]
Liên Lạc [Communication]
Liên Lạc Mới [New Communication]
Mê Linh [The Historical Site Me Linh]
Niềm Tin [Belief]
Tin Mừng [Good News]
Trái Tim Đức Mẹ [Our Lady’s Immaculate Heart]
Văn Nghệ Tiền Phong [The Vanguard Arts]
Vững Tin / Confidence

PERIODICALS IN ENGLISH

In addition to national newspapers and weeklies, I am looking into local newspapers, especially during 1975-1990, for news, op/eds, and related items on Vietnamese refugees. Some periodicals are available online, and some are clippings found in vertical files at several archives. Please alert me to vertical files about this subject that you know about.