George H. Kerr papers, 1943-1951

Collection context

Summary

Creators:
Kerr, George H., 1911-1992
Abstract:
Reports, notes, press summaries, clippings, and writings, relating to political and economic conditions in Formosa under Japanese rule, transfer of Formosa to China in 1945, Formosan rebellion against Chinese rule in 1947, American foreign policy regarding Formosa, and political and economic conditions in the Ryukyu Islands after World War II.
Extent:
7 manuscript boxes, 1 oversize folder (3.6 Linear Feet)
Language:
English
Preferred citation:

[Identification of item], George H. Kerr papers, [Box no., Folder no. or title], Hoover Institution Library & Archives.

Background

Scope and content:

The George H. Kerr Papers provide information about economic and political affairs in Taiwan in the 1930s and 1940s, Taiwan's transition from Japanese rule before and during World War II to postwar Chinese rule, Taiwanese rebellion against Chinese rule in 1947, and U.S. foreign policy toward Taiwan. Some information about economic and political conditions in Okinawa and the Ryukyu Islands after World War II is also included.

The series CHRONOLOGICAL FILE OF EVENTS IN TAIWAN covers the period during which Kerr served as U.S. vice consul at Taipei. It consists chiefly of translated local press reports, many of which were issued by the United States Information Service, Taipei, and handwritten chronologies of local events in Taiwan. Some of the chronologies are written in composition notebooks that span several months in a single notebook; these are filed under the first month listed in the notebook.

Most of the material in the SUBJECT FILE series was collected during Kerr's service as a Taiwan specialist with the U.S. military during World War II. Included are translations of selected chapters of Taiwan Jijō (Conditions in Taiwan), 1939, and Taiwan Keizai Nempō (Taiwan Economic Annual Report), 1943, prepared at the Military Government Translation Center of the Naval School of Military Government and Administration at Columbia University. Also included are outlines of a series of lectures that were directed toward U.S. civil affairs officers assigned to Taiwan. The dates provided in the container list for this series are limited because many of the documents do not bear dates, some have only a translation date, and others have only a publication date. The few photographs available depict Taiwan's geographic features.

The CLIPPINGS FILE series also relates primarily to Taiwan, with the vast bulk dated 1950. The articles were cut from English-language newspapers in the U.S., such as the San Francisco Chronicle, Chinese World (San Francisco), and the New York Times.

The UNIVERSITY SEMINAR FILE series relates to courses on East Asia at the Hoover Institution and the University of California in which Kerr served as instructor or co-instructor. The files are incomplete, consisting of miscellaneous course materials and a few student papers. Other student papers are interfiled in the SUBJECT FILE series.

In addition to material in the WRITINGS series, some notes and drafts that were probably written by Kerr are interfiled with other documents in the SUBJECT FILE series. In the series CHRONOLOGICAL FILE OF EVENTS IN TAIWAN, a few brief memoranda by Kerr are interfiled from January 1947, and syllabi in the UNIVERSITY SEMINAR FILE series were probably written by him.

Most of the papers in this collection are in English; a few are in Japanese. Folders consisting entirely of material in Japanese are indicated in the container list.

A major portion of Kerr's research collection is held by the East Asian Library at the University of California at Berkeley; additional Kerr papers are held at the 2-28 Memorial Museum Archives in Taiwan and the Okinawa Prefectural Archives.

Biographical / historical:
Date Event
1911 Nov. 7
Born
1935-1937
Student, Japan
1937-1940
English teacher, Taipei, Taiwan
1942-1943
Analyst and consultant on Formosa, U.S. Department of War
1944-1946
Director, Formosa Research Unit, Naval School of Military Government and Administration, U.S. Navy, Columbia University, New York
1946-1947
Foreign service staff officer and vice consul, U.S. Department of State, Taipei, Taiwan
1947-1949
Lecturer, University of Washington
1949-1950
Lecturer, Stanford University and University of California at Berkeley
1950-1955?
Research Associate, Hoover Institution
1952
Published The Ryukyu Islands: A Preliminary Checklist of Reference Materials Arranged Alphabetically (with Higa Shuncho and others)
1953
Published Ryukyu Kingdom and Province Before 1945
1958
Published Okinawa: The History of an Island People
1959
Published Science Information Services in Japan, a Brief Survey
1961
Published Bibliography of the Ryukyus
1965
Published Formosa Betrayed
1974
Published Formosa: Licensed Revolution and the Home Rule Movement, 1895-1945
1986
Published The Taiwan Confrontation Crisis
1992 Aug. 27
Died, Honolulu, Hawaii
Acquisition information:
Acquired.
Physical location:
Hoover Institution Library & Archives
Rules or conventions:
Describing Archives: A Content Standard

Access and use

Restrictions:

The collection is open for research; materials must be requested in advance via our reservation system. If there are audiovisual or digital media material in the collection, they must be reformatted before providing access.

Terms of access:

For copyright status, please contact the Hoover Institution Library & Archives.

Preferred citation:

[Identification of item], George H. Kerr papers, [Box no., Folder no. or title], Hoover Institution Library & Archives.

Location of this collection:
Hoover Institution Library & Archives, Stanford University
Stanford, CA 94305-6003, US
Contact:
(650) 723-3563