Archives Unbound:
Asian Studies
 
Archives Unbound: Asian Studies

With extensive coverage of Japan, China, and Korea from 1910 to 1950, this collection supports the study of colonialism, politics, nationalism, military actions, government systems, economics, and even geography of Asia during a critical period of engagement with the Western nations.

Southeast Asia

Ambassador Graham Martin and the Saigon Embassy's Back Channel Communication Files, 1963-1975 - The bulk of the materials in this collection are "backchannel" cables between the U.S. ambassadors in Saigon (Henry Cabot Lodge, Ellsworth Bunker, and Graham Martin, successively) and the President’s national security advisers (McGeorge Bundy, Henry Kissinger, and Brent Scowcroft, successively) regarding the situation in South Vietnam or the peace negotiations. In addition, there are straight State Department cables, usually between the Secretary of State and the U.S. ambassador in Saigon; talking points prepared for meetings between the ambassador and South Vietnamese officials, mainly President Nguyen Van Thieu; reports and memoranda of conversations of those meetings; drafts of speeches and proposed agreements prepared by both sides; military situation reports; and intelligence reports.

Cambodia: Records of the U.S. Department of State, 1960-1963 - This collection provides a window into the political, social, and economic development of Cambodia, the rapidly maturing “modern” state in the heart of Southeast Asia. Traced here is the critical legacy of Prince Norodom Sihanouk (1922-2012), the nation’s controversial and paradoxical leader. Khmer nationalism, loyalty to the monarch, struggle against injustice and corruption, and protection of the Buddhist religion were in the forefront of developments in this period. The archive is an essential resource for the study of Southeast Asian history and the U.S. role in the war in Vietnam. The files are arranged according to the classification system of U.S. State Department Records, and they cover a wide range of internal political affairs.

Evangelism in Philippines: Correspondence of the Board of Foreign Missions, 1898-1910 - The American Presbyterian Church was committed at its inception to the belief that it is a missionary church and that every member is a missionary. The establishment in 1837 of the Presbyterian Church’s Board of Foreign Missions signaled the beginning of a worldwide missionary operation destined to embrace some fifteen countries in four different continents The records offered here provide invaluable information on social conditions in the Philippines and on efforts to spread the gospel during the nineteenth century. Documenting the church’s educational, evangelical, and medical work, these are records mainly of incoming correspondence from the mission field and outgoing correspondence from the Board headquarters.

Evangelism in Thailand: Correspondence of the Board of Foreign Missions, 1840-1910 - The American Presbyterian Church was committed at its inception to the belief that it is a missionary church and that every member is a missionary. The establishment in 1837 of the Presbyterian Church’s Board of Foreign Missions signaled the beginning of a worldwide missionary operation destined to embrace some fifteen countries in four different continents The records offered here provide invaluable information on social conditions in Siam (renamed Thailand in 1948) and on efforts to spread the gospel during the nineteenth century. Documenting the church’s educational, evangelical, and medical work, these are records mainly of incoming correspondence from the mission field and outgoing correspondence from the Board headquarters.

Indochina, France, and the Viet Minh War, 1945-1954: Records of the U.S. State Department, Part 1: 1945-1949 - Comprising records of the State Department’s Central Classified Files, this collection contains records relating to the internal affairs of Indochina, during the period 1945-49. The records include instructions sent to and correspondence received by the State Department; the State Department's internal documentation, as well as correspondence between the Department and other federal departments and agencies, Congress, and private individuals and organizations; telegrams, airgrams, instructions, inquiries, studies, memoranda, situation reports, translations, special reports, plans, and official and unofficial correspondence.

Intelligence Reports from the National Security Council's Vietnam Information Group, 1967-1975 - Primarily Department of State cables and CIA intelligence information cables concerning South and North Vietnam. Topics include the Vietnam War, U.S.-South Vietnam relations, South Vietnam’s political climate, opposition groups, religious sects, ethnic groups, labor unions, corruption, press censorship, the North Vietnam’s military and economy, peace negotiations, and events in Cambodia and Laos.

Laos: Records of the U.S. Department of State, 1963-1966 - This archive treats the political affairs of Laos in the 1960s, when the United States supported the government of Souvanna Phouma in the face of North Vietnamese aggression. The collection is an essential resource for the study of Southeast Asian history and the U.S. role in the war in Vietnam. It offers a wide range of materials from U.S. diplomats including special reports on political and military affairs; studies and statistics on socioeconomic matters; interviews and minutes of meetings with foreign government officials; conference proceedings and international legal documents; full texts of instructions and cables sent and received by U.S. diplomatic personnel; reports and translations from foreign journals and newspapers; translations of high-level foreign government documents, such as speeches; and memoranda, official reports, and transcripts of political meetings and assemblies.

South Vietnam: Records of the Office of the Defense Attache, 1973-1975 - The Defense Attaché Office (DAO) Saigon was organized and was activated on 28 January 1973. DAO Saigon was a unique organization. It performed the traditional functions of a defense attaché, managed American military affairs in Vietnam after the cease-fire, including the programs for the support of the Republic of Vietnam’s Armed Forces (RVNAF), and furnished housekeeping support to Americans remaining in Vietnam after the ceasefire. Aside from the support of the RVNAF, it reported on operational matters and produced intelligence information on which subsequent decisions concerning the Military Assistance Program and American interests in Southeast Asia could be based. The DAO was evacuated from South Vietnam during the fall of Saigon on April 29, 1975. This collection comprises the DAO’s Historian’s Office files, including the official DAO History and the background files used in its compilation. The background files consist of serial reports, program memoranda and correspondence, operational and planning historical reports, intelligence summaries, briefing papers, press releases, and documents on the ceasefire.

Sukarno and the Army-PKI Rivalry in the Years of Living Dangerously, 1960-1963 - The records in this collection cover the internal and foreign policies, personalities, and events in a pivotal period of Indonesian history. The charismatic leader of Indonesia, Achmed Sukarno, steered his country between the political machinations of the Army Staff and the Indonesian Communist Party (PKI). These records consist of essential memoranda, correspondence, telegrams, memoranda of conversations, reports, and news articles and cover all aspects of U.S. relations with Indonesia, Indonesian internal affairs, and Indonesia’s relations with its neighbors.

Thailand: Records of the U.S. Department of State Relating to Internal Affairs, 1945-1954 - This collection of U.S. State Department files relating to the internal and foreign affairs of Thailand contains a wide range of materials from U.S. diplomats. Included here are special reports on political and military affairs; studies and statistics on socioeconomic matters; interviews and minutes of meetings with foreign government officials; full texts of important letters, instructions, and cables sent and received by U.S. diplomatic personnel; reports and translations from foreign journals and newspapers; translations of high-level foreign government documents, including speeches, memoranda, official reports, and transcripts of political meetings and assemblies.

Thailand: Records of the U.S. Department of State Relating to Internal Affairs, 1955-1963 - This collection of U.S. State Department files relating to the internal and foreign affairs of Thailand contains a wide range of materials from U.S. diplomats. Included here are special reports on political and military affairs; studies and statistics on socioeconomic matters; interviews and minutes of meetings with foreign government officials; full texts of important letters, instructions, and cables sent and received by U.S. diplomatic personnel; reports and translations from foreign journals and newspapers; translations of high-level foreign government documents, including speeches, memoranda, official reports, and transcripts of political meetings and assemblies.

The International Women's Movement: The Pan Pacific/Southeast Asia Women’s Association, 1950-1985 - Formerly known as the Pan Pacific Women's Association of the U.S.A., the Pan Pacific and Southeast Asia Women's Association was founded in 1928 to strengthen international understanding and friendship among the women of Asia and the Pacific and and women of the U.S.A. The group promotes cooperation among women of these regions for the study and improvement of social, economic, and cultural conditions; engages in studies on Asian and Pacific affairs; provides hospitality to temporary residents and visitors from Pacific and Asian areas; and presents programs of educational and social interest, dealing with the customs and cultures of Asian and Pacific countries. The records of the Pan Pacific and Southeast Asia Women's Association consist of international conference proceedings, from the 10th, 11th, and 13th-15th conferences; correspondence; minutes of the executive board and other meetings; reports; constitution and by-laws; publications and printed material; and photographs of the national PPSEA taken between 1950-1985. The records also include two scrapbooks, newspaper clippings, and records from four local chapters including New York, Chicago, Toledo (OH), and Stockton (CA).

The Observer: News for the American Soldier in Vietnam, 1962-1973 - The Observer was a weekly newspaper published by the Command Information Division of the U.S. Military Assistance Command’s Office of Information. It was the official organ of the Military Assistance Command, and it carried official news about and for American troops in Vietnam. As such, it goes without saying that it was carefully edited to make certain it did not print news articles favorable to the communist enemy. The Military Assistance Command spread more than 80,000 weekly Observers among all points in Vietnam in which American troops were domiciled.

The U.S. Civilian Advisory Effort in Vietnam: U.S. Operations Mission, 1950-1954 - The United States decision to provide military assistance to France and the Associated States of Indochina was reached informally in February/March 1950, funded by the President on May 1, 1950, and was announced on May 8, 1950. The decision was taken in spite of the U.S. desire to avoid direct involvement in a colonial war, and in spite of a sensing that France's political-military situation in Indochina was deteriorating. This collection consists of unique records of U.S. agencies established to intervene in Vietnam—the country U.S. foreign policy deemed a lynchpin in the free world’s fight against communism. The Subject Files from the Office of the Director, U.S. Operations Missions, document the myriad concerns and rationales that went into the control and direction of U.S. economic and technical assistance programs, as well as the coordination of mutual security activities, with respect to Vietnam.

The U.S. Civilian Advisory Effort in Vietnam: U.S. Operations Mission, 1954-1957 – Classified & Subject Files of the Executive Office - This collection consists of unique records of the U.S. Operations Mission established to intervene in Vietnam-the country U.S. foreign policy deemed a lynchpin in the free world’s fight against communism. The Classified & Subject Files of the Executive Office, document the myriad concerns and rationales that went into the control and direction of U.S. economic and technical assistance programs, as well as the coordination of mutual security activities, with respect to Vietnam.

United States-Vietnam Relations, 1945-1967: Study Prepared by the Department of Defense (The Pentagon Papers) - United States-Vietnam Relations reproduces a 12-volume set prepared by the Department of Defense for the House Committee on the Armed Services and printed by the Government Printing Office in 1971 (also known as the Hebert edition). This seminal publication relates how the U.S. was drawn into the war and gives accounts of crucial policy meetings and why decisions were made. When leaked to the press by Daniel Ellsberg in 1971, these papers caused an uproar, since they exposed U.S. involvement in Indochina much earlier than the public previously had assumed. The collection is a crucial acquisition for libraries with holdings in Asian and military studies and will be of interest to scholars and generalists alike.

U.S. Military Advisory Effort in Vietnam: Military Assistance Advisory Group, Vietnam, 1950-1964 - The involvement of the United States in the affairs of Vietnam began with grants of money and military equipment, grew with the dispatch of military advisers and maintenance personnel, and mushroomed with the commitment of ships, planes, tanks, and 550,000 troops. The United States created the Military Assistance and Advisory Group, Indochina, in 1950 to process, monitor, and evaluate American military aid to the French forces fighting in Southeast Asia. The French forces resented MAAG’s presence and hindered its operations. At first MAAG’s mission was not to train or advise the Vietnamese National Army, but by the time of the battle of Dien Bien Phu, those activities were under consideration by U.S. and French leaders. In 1955, MAAG Indochina, became MAAG Vietnam, and a separate MAAG was established in Cambodia. In 1955–1956, MAAG Vietnam, took over from the French the training and organizing of the Vietnamese National Army. The task facing MAAG Vietnam was enormous.

U.S. Relations and Policies in Southeast Asia, 1944-1958: Records of the Office of Southeast Asian Affairs - Historically, U.S. policy and diplomacy with Southeast Asia has been defined by U.S. interests in the region, whether it’s maintaining free lanes of communication through the South China Sea, gaining access to the resources and markets of Southeast Asia, or containing the spread of Communism. Since World War II, the U.S. has constantly been involved in conflicts in the region: providing material and financial support for France during the First Indochina War and direct involvement in the Viet Cong insurgency in South Vietnam. This collection identifies the key issues, individuals, and events in the history of U.S.-Southeast Asia relations between 1944 and 1958, and places them in the context of the complex and dynamic regional strategic, political, and economic processes that have fashioned the American role in Southeast Asia. This comprises the records of eight U.S. State Department Offices related to Southeast Asia.

Western Books on Southeast Asia - This product consists of 318 rare Western-language publications selected from the John M. Echols collection on Southeast Asia at Cornell University. The publications date from the 17th, 18th, and 19th centuries.