Clio's Scroll

Clio’s Scroll The Berkeley Undergraduate History Journal Vol. 16, No. 1 Fall 2014 Clio’s Scroll The Berkeley Undergraduate History Journal Vol. 16, No. 1 Fall 2014 Volume 16 No. 1, Fall 2014 Clio’s Scroll © 2010 Phi Alpha Theta Authors retain rights to individual essays Printed by Zee Zee Copy Cover Art: Alexandra Studios. “Window shopping at Simpsons department store” Photograph. From https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/ File:Window_shopping_at_Simpsons_2.jpg#/media/File:Window_ shopping_at_Simpsons_2.jpg STAFF 2014-2015 Editors-in-Chief Phillip Merlo is a fourth-year history major, minoring in geography. She is focusing her studies on the musical and social transformations of the Civil Rights Era in the United States. She spent this past spring semester in Rome, and hopes to return to the gelato, pasta, and historical ruins after graduation. This is her second year as an Editor-in-Chief for Clio’s Scroll.. Yu-Han Ma is a fourth year history and political economy major interested in 19th century British imperialism, particularly how empire is conceptualized in art and culture. When she isn’t reading, she likes trying new recipes and learning random trivia. Associate Editors Jane Kim is a fourth year history major, interested in healthcare, international political economics, and public law. In her spare time, she loves watching movies and discovering new actors. Strangely, most of the actors she loves are not American - even though the films she loves are. Jane Kim is a second year history major, interested in healthcare, international political economics, and public law. In her spare time, she loves watching movies and discovering new actors. Strangely, most of the actors she loves are not American - even though the films she loves are. Maiya Moncino is a second-year History and Political Economy double major, focusing on the ways in which changes in society have affected the rights and roles of women throughout history. Maiya spent her summer in Paris, and loves traveling more than anything (except French desserts). Beyond that, she enjoys reading Jane Austen classics, playing piano, and riding horses. Kayla Richeson is a fourth year history major focusing on United States History, particularly during the 19th century. She loves classic cars, coffee, and rooting for her favorite sports teams. Jessica Wolfe is a fourth-year history major specializing in Modern European and British history (focusing on France and Britain). She spent a semester in Scotland and loves to backpack, run, scuba dive, surf and play guitar. Contact the Staff at: [email protected] Special Thanks to: University of California, Berkeley History Department Leah Flanagan, Undergraduate History Advisor Townsend Center for the Humanities The Associated Students of the University of California Clio’s Scroll: the Berkeley Undergraduate History Journal is an ASUC-sponsored journal produced in conjunction with UC Berkeley’s chapter of Phi Alpha Theta, a national history honor society. It aims to provide undergraduates with the opportunity to publish historical works and to train staff members in the editorial process of an academic journal. It is published each semester with the generous support of the Townsend Center for the Humanities, the Associated Students of the University of California, the UC Berkeley Department of history, and the Office of Student Life. Clio’s Scroll is not an official publication of the Associated Students of the University of California or of the University of California, Berkeley. The views expressed herein are the views of the writers and not necessarily the views of the ASUC or the views of UC Berkeley. Table of Contents A Mother only in War: Margaret Chung and her 1500 Bastard Sons By Winifred Chan 1-39 Shoulders en Vogue: The Crisis in Femininity 1930-1939 By Laura Hsu 40-55 Esquire: The Masculine Face of the Great Depression By Wesley Forrest Garfield 56-69 Note from the Editors We are proud to present the Fall 20124issue of Clio’s Scroll, which focuses the politics and power dynamics of three very different periods and locations in European history. With topics ranging from the eunuchs of ancient Mediterranean to the witches of the Holy Roman Empire and the courtiers of the French Sun King, these authors contribute to our understanding of the inner workings of these historical communities. Each work investigates a topic that required extensive research. The authors worked to surpass superficial understandings of such research, and were chosen for their ability to deliver a unique perspective. We feel that all three pieces delve into themes that have an air of mystery about them and we hope that you enjoy uncovering these ancient stories. Lastly, we are incredibly grateful for the hard work and feedback of our excellent associate editors, as well as the talented authors and those at Zee Zee Copy for collaborating with us. We would also like to thank Leah Flanagan for all her guidance, and the UC Berkeley History Department for its support. Sincerely, The Editors Bergstrom 1 A Mother Only in War: Margaret Chung and Her Fifteen Hundred Bastard Sons By Winifred Chan Figure 1. Margaret Chung shows a captured Japanese Flag to Captain Steven Bancroft, no. 1 “fair-haired bastard” in her trophy room. Margaret Chung Papers Collection, San Francisco: Gibraltar of the West Coast. In 1931, Steven G. Bancroft, a large, six-foot tall college football player, strolled into a small Chinese medical office in San Francisco. There, he told the female doctor that he wanted to “bomb Tokyo out into the middle of the 2 Untamed She-Cats in a Jungle Behind Bars Pacific.”1 Margaret Chung, the doctor and practice owner, worked as the only Chinese American female surgeon in San Francisco. Bancroft and Chung had never met prior to that encounter. She still welcomed him, despite being unable to help him achieve the exaggerated goal he had originally proposed. He later became a frequent visitor in her office because they enjoyed each other’s company, even with her busy schedule. Bancroft became so impressed with Chung that he brought along seven other buddies to meet her. During dinner one night, a while after, one of Bancroft’s buddies named Frank “Red” Fulgham Gill said to Chung, “Gee, you are as understanding as a mother, and we are going to adopt you; but, hell, you are an old maid, and you haven’t got a father for us.” Chung responded wittily, “Well, that makes you a lot of fair-haired bastards, doesn’t it?” And immediately, they expressed enthusiastic support for her answer and said: “We’ll call ourselves your fair-haired bastards from now on, and we’ll spread your fame into every corner of the world!”2 They soon became the first eight “fair-haired bastards.” Years later, they stuck by that statement and created a “surrogate family” of over fifteen hundred military sons, headed by Chung who played the role as their “mom.” She was known by the American public as “Mom Chung” and was often recognized as a Chinese woman who contributed greatly to the United States’ war effort. Her ties with her American “sons” stemmed not from a biological connection, but from a mutual devotion to each other during a time of war.3 1 Margaret Chung, Autobiography, Margaret Chung Papers, Asian American Studies Collection, Ethnic Studies Library, UC Berkeley; Judy Tzu-Chun Wu, Doctor Mom Chung of the Fair-Haired Bastards (Berkeley, California: University of California Press, 2005), 120. 2 Ibid. 3 After this introduction, the certain words and phrases such as Bergstrom 3 Margaret Chung’s story fits uniquely within the social and political context of Chinese American women’s World War II experience. Gloria Heyung Chun in Of Orphans and Warriors: Inventing Chinese American Culture and Identity (2000) asserts that Chinese Americans have been active agents in shaping their history; they molded their own identity in response to the constantly changing U.S.-China relationship. Similarly, Sucheng Chan in Asian Californians: An Interpretive History (1991) agrees that Chinese Americans and other Asian American groups have been active creators of their own history despite external pressures. However, Judy Yung’s work, Unbound Feet: A Social History of Chinese Women in San Francisco (1995) focuses more on Chinese American women. She contends that the experiences of Chinese American women throughout the twentieth century have been shaped by external developments in China and the United States; they were given greater opportunities during the war, helping them finally “unbound” their feet and their restrictive roles. Xiaojian Zhao’s book Remaking Chinese America: Immigration, Family and Community 1940-1965 (2002) agrees with Judy Yung, that the war gave Chinese American women more gender and racial equality. All the sources mentioned will provide the historical foundation and social context for this project. The largest body of primary sources comes from the Margaret Chung Papers Collection, which contains parts of Chung’s unpublished autobiography, newspaper clippings, letters of correspondences, and copies of legislative documents. This project’s argument will agree with a few aforementioned works but will also add onto Gloria Chun’sand Sucheng Chan’s arguments. The main argument son(s), Mom, Mom Chung, fair-haired bastards, bastard, family, and terms on surrogacy will no longer be in quotation marks to maintain the authenticity of the narrative from the primary sources. 4 Untamed She-Cats in a Jungle Behind Bars within this historical conversation is that Margaret Chung’s role as a mother and her achievement in creating a family of fifteen hundred American sons were made possible due to Americans’ need for interracial affiliation and domestic wartime demands. Specifically, the need for both familial networks and participation of women in the war encouraged Margaret Chung to become an active mother figure.

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