This paper documents American discrimination against Chinese and Japanese groups from the 1850s through the 1940s. Social prejudice against these groups began in the late 19th century when the demand for Chinese labor in California lessened but the immigrants remained and were seen as a threat to American laborers. Japanese immigrants who were successful in small farming were seen to be a source of economic competition. Segregation in schools and legal abuse of Asians ensued. Press statements and other media contributed to prevailing stereotypes. American-born children of Asian parents suffered double problems of racism and acculturation. The publishing industry conformed to local prejudices in order to sell textbooks; thus, American public education did not help to correct misinformed discrimination. Many readers and teacher's manuals omitted the existence of other cultures in the United States, Europe, and Asia. Anglo-American values were stressed. History books skimmed Japanese and Chinese history and avoided the topic of immigration. Geography texts gave inaccurate descriptions of China and were more favorable toward, but patronized, Japan. This narrow, ethnocentric approach prevailed in curricula used until the 1940s. (AV)