In the mid-nineteenth century, an impoverished father from Canton, China, sold his young son to an American sea captain, Amos Peck. The boy, dubbed "Joe," worked on the ship for months, not knowing if his fate was to do so forever. When the ship returned to America, Captain Peck brought the young boy to his family, who raised him with the other children. Joe Pierce grew, gave distinguished service in the Union Army, married, had children and ultimately became an American citizen, all at a time when anti-Chinese prejudice was rampant.
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