When thinking of toys that have tested the fate of time, none are as prevalent as the yo-yo. It’s a simple toy that is two disks tied together with a string that people can perform increasingly difficult tricks with. The average person in the 21st century is aware of Duncan Toys Company and the various yo-yos they sell, but they don’t know who brought the modern concept to the United States.

What many people don’t realize is that the story of the first commercialized yo-yos is one of immigrant success during a time of hatred and nationalism. Despite the surplus of anti-Filipino riots throughout the United States and the eventual stock market crash, Pedro Flores created a product that lasted long after his death, and his name and story deserve to be acknowledged by the public sphere.

The Creator

Pedro Flores was born in 1896 in Vintar, a municipality in the Philippines. It’s very likely he did not have the best childhood growing up, as his home country was transitioning through a period of war and turmoil. They had been part of the Spanish–American War, with a naval battle happening in Manila bay, and many Filipinos fighting alongside the Americans.

When they were free from the chains of Spanish rule, the United States annexed them, and they soon found themselves in the Philippines-American War after revolting against their new colonial power, until the Philippines surrendered in 1901.

What he did gain from everything, despite his rough childhood, was the precursor to the modern yo-yo.

In 1915, at around 19 years old, Flores moved from the Philippines to the United States, landing himself in California in order to pursue an education at San Francisco’s High School of Commerce.¹ Afterwards, he studied law at the University of California’s law school, but dropped out and moved to Santa Barbra, working odd jobs in order to survive.²

While working as a bellboy, he decided to “[demonstrate] a toy that he had carved out of wood during his lunch break.”³ After reading of a man who made money off of a rubber ball attached to a string, he thought back to the yo-yo and figured it had market potential, stating “I do not expect to make a million dollars, I just want to be working for myself. I have been working for other people for practically all my life and I don’t like it.”⁴

From there, he set his pursuits on starting up a yo-yo company. He had no luck asking for assistance from wealthy Filipino countrymen, so Flores focused on receiving a certificate to conduct business, which he received on June 9th 1928. From there, he started the Yo-Yo Manufacturing Company in Santa Barbara, California.⁵

The Production

Although its modern iteration comes from Pedro Flores, the idea of the yo-yo has been around for centuries in Ancient Greece and China, showing up in pots and paintings respectively.⁶ In the 18th century, it was a popular toy among aristocrats and, in English, was referred to as a “bandalore” or “quiz.”⁷⁸ A popular theory states the yo-yo was used as a weapon in the Philippines, but there is no evidence to back up this claim.

Additionally, many people incorrectly claim that “yo-yo” is a word from Tagalog that translates to “come-come” or “to return” in English. In Tagalog, the word does not exist. “Halika dito” (come here) and “bumalik” (with a person, to return) are actual words in Tagalog, but not “yo-yo.”

Another theory is that the word comes from Ilocano, but I am not familiar enough with the language, nor do I know anyone who can speak it. This makes the question of where the word “yo-yo” comes from unanswered, but the simplest answer could be that Flores came up with something catchy that would help the toy sell. Unfortunately, no one can know for sure.

After the creation of the Yo-Yo Manufacturing Company, Flores created a dozen yo-yos that he sold to the neighboring children on June 23, 1928.⁹ Some quick math reveals that each yo-yo likely took a day to create. By November of that same year, 2,000 yo-yos were produced. This attracted financiers James Lewis and Daniel Stone, who helped him create a new company in Los Angeles that had machines.[] He finally didn’t have to carve yo-yos by hand. By November 1929, he also had Flores Yo-Yo Corporation in Hollywood, and was producing 300,000 yo-yos daily.

What helped propel the yo-yo’s popularity was the yo-yo contests held. The first contests happened in 1928, and were hosted by Pedro Flores himself in Santa Barbara. These original contests were a test to see “who could make the yo-yo go up and down the most times without stopping.”¹⁰

There were also contests to see “who could throw their yo-yo the farthest with a complete return to the hand, and who could perform the most perfect spins in five minutes.”¹¹ These fun tricks one could do with a yo-yo attracted the attention of various people, going as far out as interesting Donald F. Duncan, the man behind Duncan Toys Company.

After the success of the yo-yo, Flores sold the product to Duncan in 1930 for around $25,000 to $250,000—though many agree the price to be on the lower end of the spectrum.¹² He is quoted with saying “I am more interested in teaching children to use the yo-yos than I am in manufacturing of yo-yos,” and did promote the toy for Duncan after the fact.¹³ Flores continued to attach himself to the yo-yo, helping people such as Joe Radovan sell the Chico Yo-yo, and even started Flores Corp. of America in 1954, where he temporarily produced more of the toy.¹⁴ Unfortunately, many of these companies are gone, and Flores eventually passed in 1964, but Duncan still sells yo-yos of varying skill levels to this day.

Significance

Immigration and Racism

Pedro Flores was an immigrant from the Philippines. He isn’t unlike other immigrants who came to the United States; he likely traveled across the Pacific Ocean to seek a better life outside the Philippines. However, as a Filipino immigrant, his experience is more unique from other immigrants.

After the Spanish-American War and the Philippine-American War, the United States controlled the Philippines behind the scenes. This included Filipino education, where they taught the new generation English, and that all men are created equal. As a result, Filipinos did not see themselves as aliens when they immigrated to the United States and “existed, rather, in a midway zone between Filipino and American identity.”¹⁵

Filipino immigrants were also unaffected by the Immigration Act of 1917, which imposed literacy tests on Asian immigrants. This is likely due to the Philippines being controlled by the United States.

Numbers rose as more Filipinos immigrated to the United States, with a large population of them settling in California—it is the closest state to the Philippines, after all. However, as immigration rose throughout the United States, the Ku Klux Klan rose to fight for nativism. They were one of many groups to lobby for restrictions on immigration.¹⁶ Additionally, despite their focus being against black Americans and Catholics, they also targeted immigrants, such as Filipinos. The KKK stirred much anti-Asian sentiment within America, causing anti-Filipino riots to occur in America.

For example, in 1927, one of the biggest anti-Filipino riots happened in Yakima Valley, Washington. A mob of white people was demanding that Filipino farmworkers be driven out from the valley, believing that “since the Filipinos were brown-skinned and Asian, they should not be permitted to approach white women or compete with white men for jobs.”¹⁷ This is, obviously, not true and only serves to objectify Filipinos, but people believed it at the time, and these mobs eventually chased them out after threatening their deaths. The perpetrators were arrested, but only received ten days of jail time.

Something similar happened in Wenatchee Valley, Washington in 1928 and 1929, where Filipinos were chased out of the valley.¹⁸ What happened at these riots, and many other anti-Filipino riots throughout the decade, is disgusting. This isn’t even the worst of what I found, as more violent acts have been committed in different riots, but the fact that white people were willing to chase these Filipinos down because they looked different is a testament to the hatred of the decade, even with the pluralism of the time.

Despite this anti-Filipino sentiment along the West Coast, Pedro Flores still made a name for himself. This is an amazing accomplishment that should be celebrated alongside other famous figures of the decade. He made a noteworthy contribution to culture then and now, and his name deserves recognition as well.

Reflection of Culture

When reflecting upon consumer culture, the creation of the modern yo-yo for American audiences is an interesting case. Especially when compared to objects like the Form Model T.

Pedro Flores created a product based on the culture he knew, and managed to sell it through demonstration. According to Lynn Dumenil, blue-collar workers helped shape consumer culture, while white-collar workers were more susceptible to consumer culture through things such as advertising.¹⁹²⁰

As stated before with Filipino immigrants being the midway point of their Filipino and American identities, Flores’s yo-yos exist as him contributing his culture, that being a toy from the Philippines, while also successfully advertising it to the public.

The Modern Temper specifically discusses how advertisements in the 1920s utilized “the personal approach, the tendency to include “you” in the text.”²¹ He managed to encapsulate this perfectly with his yo-yo competitions. If a person wished to participate, they needed a yo-yo, and Flores Yo-yos were the only yo-yos available for a while. These competitions eventually spread outside Santa Barbara and outside California, furthering his product’s reach, and getting more people to buy his yo-yo.

On top of that, yo-yos were relatively cheap to make, meaning they could easily be produced and sold to the public. Even when the Great Depression hit, “[inexpensive] toys with high play value, such as the yo-yo and the Radio Flyer Wagon, were very lucrative investments. Whereas other American entrepreneurs lost fortunes, toy inventors such as Pedro Flores and Antonio Pasin acquired millions.”²² The yo-yo surviving the Great Depression is an incredible feat, but it’s thanks to the fact that it’s simply two wooden disks, a wooden axel, and a piece of string. Anyone could hypothetically create a yo-yo if they had the skill and patience.

What this meant for the 20s (and beyond?)

Ever since, the yo-yo has been a popular toy among children. In the late 90s, Yomega partnered with Bandai, causing a bunch of advertising of the yo-yo to spread like wildfire and reignite the craze for the toy.²³

The toy became so popular that National Yo-yo Day is celebrated on June 6th to commemorate Donald F. Duncan. While this is an amazing achievement for a toy to have, what about the man who brought the toy to the United States?

I’m not suggesting we change National Yo-yo Day to be on Pedro Flores’ birthday, but it is a shame that Duncan is celebrated before Flores.

The story behind the modern yo-yo is a story of Filipino success that should be celebrated. Considering the toy’s 100th year anniversary is coming up as of writing this blog post, Duncan Toys Company should commemorate the toy’s origin by retelling Pedro Flores’ story. That way, his name isn’t just a footnote in the toy’s history, as he had a huge role in bringing the toy over from the Philippines.

They also used to have a history page back in the early 2000s that mentioned Pedro Flores, but have since removed it as the years have gone by and website standards change. I personally believe they should bring their history page back, so that people curious about the origin of the yo-yo have a starting point and understand that Duncan shouldn’t be taking all the credit from Flores.

After all, to quote Lucky’s Collectors Guide to 20th Century Yo-yos: History and Values, “Although Duncan is now the name most frequently associated with the popularity of the yo-yo, Pedro Flores fueled the original yo-yo fire.”²⁴

Citations

Footnotes

1. Naomi Hirahara, Distinguished Asian American Business Leaders (Bloomsbury Academic, 2003), 57. ︎
2. Hirahara, 57. ︎
3. Hirahara, 57. ︎
4. Lucky J. Meisenheimer, Lucky’s Collectors Guide to 20th Century Yo-Yos (Lucky J’s Swim & Surf, 1998), 99. ︎
5. Meisenheimer, 99. ︎
6. Mark Fischetti, “String Theory,” Scientific American 291, no. 3 (2004): 110. http://www.jstor.org/stable/26060692. ︎
7. Fischetti, 110. ︎
8. Meisenheimer, 34. ︎
9. Meisenheimer, 99. ︎
10. Meisenheimer, 36. ︎
11. Meisenheimer, 100. ︎
12. Meisenheimer, 61. ︎
13. Meisenheimer, 100 ︎
14. Meisenheimer, 100. ︎
15. Kevin Starr, Golden Dreams (Oxford University Press, 2011), 450. ︎
16. Lynn Dumenil, The Modern Temper : American Culture and Society in the 1920s (New York, Ny: Hill and Wang, 2007), 207. ︎
17. Steve Ross, “Ninety Years Ago in Washington, a Wave of Anti-Immigrant Sentiment Resulted in Horror for Filipinos,” Slate Magazine (Slate, August 4, 2017). https://slate.com/news-and-politics/2017/08/ninety-years-ago-in-washington-a-wave-of-anti-immigrant-sentiment-resulted-in-horror-for-filipinos.html?pay=1778139475174. ︎
18. Ross. ︎
19. Dumenil, 82. ︎
20. Dumenil, 86. ︎
21. Dumenil, 90. ︎
22. Sharon M. Scott, Toys and American Culture: An Encyclopedia (ABC-CLIO, 2009), xxiv. ︎
23. Dr. Yo-Yo’s Emporium of Wonderful Things, “AYYA: 10 Years and Throwing – the Unreleased Documentary,” YouTube, November 4, 2012, 30:36. https://youtu.be/EeYhGP92ESI?si=ufsyMmG1iAuFIyvR. ︎
24. Meisenheimer, 100. ︎

Bibliography

Dr. Yo-Yo’s Emporium of Wonderful Things. “AYYA: 10 Years and Throwing – the Unreleased Documentary.” YouTube, November 4, 2012. https://youtu.be/EeYhGP92ESI?si=ufsyMmG1iAuFIyvR.

Dumenil, Lynn. The Modern Temper : American Culture and Society in the 1920s. New York, Ny: Hill and Wang, 2007.

Fischetti, Mark. “String Theory.” Scientific American 291, no. 3 (2004): 110–11. http://www.jstor.org/stable/26060692.

Hirahara, Naomi. Distinguished Asian American Business Leaders. Bloomsbury Academic, 2003.

Meisenheimer, Lucky J. Lucky’s Collectors Guide to 20th Century Yo-Yos. Lucky J’s Swim & Surf, 1998.

Ross, Steve. “Ninety Years Ago in Washington, a Wave of Anti-Immigrant Sentiment Resulted in Horror for Filipinos.” Slate Magazine. Slate, August 4, 2017. https://slate.com/news-and-politics/2017/08/ninety-years-ago-in-washington-a-wave-of-anti-immigrant-sentiment-resulted-in-horror-for-filipinos.html?pay=1778139475174.

Scott, Sharon M. Toys and American Culture: An Encyclopedia. ABC-CLIO, 2009.

Starr, Kevin. Golden Dreams. Oxford University Press, 2011.

Eryn Argonza

Eryn is a Ramapo College sophomore majoring in History and minoring in Museum Studies.

The 1920s aimed to bring American society to the modern world amidst the political corruption, victimization of industrialization, and growth of the Socialist Party.¹ During this time, many social justice and humanitarian laws were produced, such as milk codes, child labor laws, public health laws, and workers’ compensation.² Amidst this was another very overlooked action: the changing of the death penalty.

The first state execution using lethal gas was at Nevada State Prison in Carson City, Nevada, where Gee Jon, a twenty-nine-year-old Chinese immigrant, was the first human to be given this penalty. The switch occurred because lethal gas was considered more humane than the usual execution style of a firing squad, hanging, and electrocution. If done correctly, people would inhale the gas and, within seconds, become unconscious and choke to death. However, it was almost always done incorrectly, and those would suffer for up to twenty minutes in excruciating pain.³

First, officials initially attempted to pump the gas directly into Gee Jon’s cell while he was asleep. However, it was unsuccessful, as the gas leaked out of his cell. In response, a makeshift gas chamber was set up outside of the prison, in the old butcher shop. The gas chamber was eleven feet long, ten feet wide, and eight feet high and killed at least one cat to test the effectiveness of the gas. When Gee Jon was put inside at 10:00 a.m., after eating a last meal of ham, eggs, toast, and coffee, the electric heater failed. The chamber should have been at 75 °F, the ideal temperature, but was instead at 52 °F due to the broken heater. This caused acid to form a toxic puddle on the ground.^{4 5}

One testimony states that after about five seconds, Gee Jon seemed to lose consciousness, and his head nodded up and down for six minutes. After about ten minutes, he was completely immobile.⁶ However, other sources claim he was in more apparent pain and was being berated by the prison officials. It cannot be precisely known what occurred as it was a closed event, and there are few records. The records that are there contradict each other.

Not everyone was in favor for this execution. Four guards who did not want to participate immediately resigned. Many others, some important officials, sent letters to Nevada State Prison pleading to halt the execution and change his sentence. They thought it was cruel and unusual punishment, and that Gee Jon did not deserve to die.

“From my observations of Gee Jon… I am of the opinion that he is in a mental collapse and in a state of mental irresponsibility amounting to insanity… I hope at this time that you… can see your way clear to commute the sentence of Gee Jon to life imprisonment.”

Nevada State Prison. Record Blank. 15.

During the execution, witnesses claim they thought they smelled almond blossoms, which is believed to be the odor of cyanide, leaking from the chamber. That caused Warden Dickerson, who was present at the time of the execution, to clear the area. After Gee Jon’s death, they opened a vent and put on a fan in the gas chamber to clear the air, and waited to open the door until the puddle on the floor evaporated. At 12:20 p.m., Gee Jons’ body was removed and taken to the prison hospital. Seven doctors pronounced him officially dead, but Warden Dickerson said an autopsy was not allowed because they were worried his body would release the toxic gas.⁷

Official records claim that there is no correlation between using an immigrant for the first gas execution. However, one can infer that it symbolizes progressiveness or shows the deep-rooted racism towards immigrants. First, there is symbolism in using an Asian immigrant for the most modern and humane execution style. It shows a step towards a more accepting country, especially since other countries used “outdated” options. For example, the United Kingdom and Japan primarily used hanging, and the Soviet Union and France used the guillotine. Nevertheless, it can also be viewed in a negative light.

It is no secret that Americans and the government disliked immigrants. The National Origins Act, passed in 1924, heavily excluded the amount of Asian immigrants in the United States.⁸ This act highlights the anti-Asian sentiment during the mid-nineteenth century, specifically on the West Coast and among the Chinese.⁹ Chinese immigrants were particularly discriminated against, which is reflected in a law passed in 1882 that stated the Chinese were a “vilified…debased, corrupting race.”¹⁰ Immigrants as a whole were seen as challenging to American culture and society.¹¹ Americans linked immigrants to the crisis of the cities, making immigration seem like a multifaceted threat to American society.¹²

“CHINESE KILLER MUST DIE TODAY.” Nevada State Journal. February 8, 2024.

People

Hughie Sing was a newly recruited Hip Sing Tong gang member and Gee Jon’s apprentice of two months. Sing found and pointed to Tom Quong Kee as the target for the murder. Sing was nineteen at the age of the shooting and got life imprisonment instead of the death penalty. Sing was born in the United States, which helped his case, unlike Gee Jon who was described as an “illiterate Chinese unacquainted with American customs.” Sing was bilingual, unlike Gee Jon, and was told to cooperate more with the authorities. He was released on parole in 1938.^{13 14} The treatment of Sing versus Gee Jon shows a vast difference. Since Sing was more “American,” he was sentenced to a lesser degree.

Tom Quong Kee was an elderly member of the rival gang, the Bing Kung Tong, in Mina, Nevada. Gee Jon murdered him with a .38 caliber revolver with two shots to the heart.¹⁵

James M. Frame was Hughie Sing’s attorney and Fiore Raffetto was Gee Jon’s attorney. Sing and Gee Jon both pled not guilty. Frame argued that Gee Jon’s punishment was a cruel and unusual punishment, but the appeal was denied. Raffetto filed a writ of certiorari but was unsuccessful. Frame and Raffetto tried to keep the execution from happening up until the deed was done.^{16 17}

Denver S. Dickerson was the warden at the time of Gee Jon’s death and oversaw the execution. Warden Dickerson thought the use of lethal gas was impractical and that the best method of execution was the firing squad.¹⁸

Events and Timeline

America in the 1880s had a very negative view of Chinese immigrants, which marked the height of anti-Chinese sentiment. Like most immigrants, Chinese immigrants were more likely to work in cheap labor jobs. This “took away” job security for Americans, and were perceived as a threat. They were also discriminated against due to their cultural and religious differences.

The death penalty in America in the 1880s was much different than it is now. Hanging was the primary execution style; each state had its own laws regarding the death penalty and execution. Public executions were still common, and people started to advocate more for ending it.

• May 6, 1882: The Chinese Exclusion Act was passed.²¹

From 1900 to 1919, America still had a negative view of Chinese immigrants. Their racial stereotypes were strong in popular culture, which highlighted anti-Chinese sentiment.

The death penalty in American in the 1900-1919 had a shift in thinking. The electric chair was starting to replace hanging as it was considered more humane, execution rates had times of increased and decreased, and there was a stricter checklist to qualify for the death penalty.

• 1913: Nevada invents an “automated firing squad.” This is an execution method where three rifles are mounted on an iron frame, and all fire simultaneously. It is used one time in the execution of Andriza Mircovich.²²

In the 1920s, America regarding the death penalty showed a time of change. They now introduced lethal gas, but it was still not widespread. Execution rates decreased, and instead of the death penalty, there was greater advocacy for rehabilitation, reformative justice, and the right to live.

• March 17, 1921: Assembly Bill No. 104 was passed, which authorized the use of lethal gas in Nevada.
• August 28, 1921: Gee Jon murders Tom Quong Kee.
• February 8, 1924: Twenty-nine-year-old Gee Jon dies by lethal gas in Carson City, Nevada.
• May 26, 1924: The National Origins Act passed, which heavily limited the number of Asian immigrants into the United States.

From the 1940s to the 2000s, America experienced major changes regarding Chinese immigrants. During World War II, America and China were allies against Japan, leading to a better portrayal of Chinese people and immigrants in America. An increase in Chinese immigrants in America in 1965 made them more visible, and there was significant political and social reform advocating for their rights.

From the 1940s to the 2000s America, the death penalty had a significant change. Hanging and electric chair were the most common, yet towards the 2000s, lethal injection was the most favored, the legal procedures and reasons why a person is given the death penalty is stricter than ever, there was an increase in abolishing the death penalty, and the execution rates still fluctuated.

• December 17, 1943: The Chinese Exclusion Act is repealed.
• 1955: Eleven U.S. states adopted lethal gas as their primary method of execution.²³
• May 4, 1990: Donald Harding, also known as Jesse Tafero, was executed by lethal gas in Florida. He was convicted of murder in 1976.
• 1996: A federal appeals court says that California’s statute authorizing lethal gas violated the U.S. Constitution’s Eighth Amendment prohibition against cruel and unusual punishments. The primary execution style was replaced by lethal injection.²⁴
• The early 2000s: In California and Missouri, there is a right to choose between lethal gas or injection.

In America in the 2020s, anti-Chinese sentiment grew due to the COVID-19 pandemic. While things are better than they were a hundred years ago, Chinese immigrants and Chinese-Americans are still treated unjustly and unfairly.

In America in the 2020s, a hundred years later after the first lethal gas execution, lethal injection is the primary style as it is the most painless, and more and more people want to end the death penalty.

• January 25, 2024: Kenneth Smith is given the lethal gas execution in Alabama. It is likely to constitute torture, which violates international human rights treaties ratified by the U.S.

Significance

While browsing lesser-known events of the 1920s, this immediately piqued my interest. I had never given the death penalty’s history much thought, so it stood out to me. As I started researching more and more, I realized there was more to this topic than it seemed. The death penalty has been around since humans began walking and has since been a widely debated topic for centuries, with the controversy still ongoing. It is just a prevalent topic now, as it was a hundred years ago when Gee Jon was executed. It also ties into Chinese immigration, which also spans human history. Studying the historiography of the death penalty, not just in the United States, is very interesting, just as the history of immigration. As I was researching, it was fascinating to see the change in the death penalty and Chinese immigration within the United States and compare to how it is now. Presently, the death penalty is still a highly controversial topic that causes quite a stir, which shows the increasing fight for human rights. Chinese immigration and the way Americans view the Chinese and Chinese Americans is a shaky relationship, too. Due to racism and xenophobia, Chinese immigrants and citizens are still heavily discriminated against in the United States. A prime example is the COVID-19 pandemic when anti-Chinese sentiment peaked in the early 2020s. This topic both shows the history of the death penalty and Chinese immigration, where in the present-day conversation, it is vital to stay knowledgeable in the history of it and how it is viewed in the American past.

While lethal gas execution may still whisper within the United States, this torturous method remains largely unused. Nevada State Prison, the infamous starter to the deadly gas execution, executed thirty-two men with this method from 1924-1979. Since then, it has stopped, yet the state’s execution chamber that killed Gee Jon a hundred years ago still remains.²⁵

More Resources

Newspapers.com

“Past to Present: 100 Years Since the United States’ First Lethal Gas Execution, a Recently Renowed Practice.” Death Penalty Information Center. https://deathpenaltyinfo.org/news/past-to-present-100-years-since-the-united-states-first-lethal-gas-execution-a-recently-renewed-practice.

Bibliography

Bye, Raymond T. “Recent History and Present Status of Capital Punishment in the United States.” Journal of the American Institute of Criminal Law and Criminology 17, no. 2 (1926): 234–45. https://doi.org/10.2307/1134506.

Chan, Loren (1975). “Example for the Nation: Nevada’s Execution of Gee Jon”. Nevada Historical Society Quarterly.

“Chinese Killer Must Die Today.” Nevada State Journal. February 8, 2024. https://www.newspapers.com/article/nevada-state-journal/144232683/.

“Death Penalty Information Center.” Death Penalty Information Center, December 1, 2023. https://deathpenaltyinfo.org/.

Denno, Deborah W.. “gas chamber”. Encyclopedia Britannica, 20 Oct. 2023, https://www.britannica.com/topic/gas-chamber.

Gerber, Rudolph Joseph; Johnson, John M. (2007). The Top Ten Death Penalty Myths: The Politics of Crime Control. Greenwood Publishing Group.

“History of the Death Penalty.” Death Penalty Information Center. https://deathpenaltyinfo.org/state-and-federal-info/state-by-state/nevada.

Lynn Dumenil, The Modern Temper (Hill and Wang).

Nevada State Prison. Record Blank.

Reid, John Bevis; James, Ronald Michael (2004). Uncovering Nevada’s Past: A Primary Source History of the Silver State. The University of Nevada Press.

“Waiting on Nevada’s Death Row… 55 years ago.” Nevada State Journal. September 23, 1979. https://www.newspapers.com/article/nevada-state-journal/144232683/.

Wikipedia contributors, “Gee Jon,” Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Gee_Jon&oldid=1213442489.

Featured Image: Nevada State Prison. Gee Jon Mug Shot. Photograph.

Citations

1. Lynn Dumenil, The Modern Temper (Hill and Wang). 17. ︎
2. Modern Temper. 18. ︎
3. Reid, John Bevis; James, Ronald Michael (2004). Uncovering Nevada’s Past: A Primary Source History of the Silver State. University of Nevada Press. ︎
4. Chan, Loren (1976). Example for the Nation: Nevada’s Execution of Gee Jon. Chinese Historical Society of America. ︎
5. “Descriptions of Execution Methods: Gas Chamber”. Death Penalty Information Center. 2010. ︎
6. Reid. ︎
7. Christianson, Scott (2010). Fatal Airs: The Deadly History and Apocalyptic Future of Lethal Gases That Threaten Our World. ABC-CLIO. pp. 49–51. ︎
8. Dumenil. 207. ︎
9. Dumenil. 208. ︎
10. Dumenil. 208. ︎
11. Dumenil. 204. ︎
12. Dumenil. 205. ︎
13. Reid, 108. ︎
14. Chan, 90-106 ︎
15. Wikipedia contributors, “Gee Jon,” Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Gee_Jon&oldid=1213442489. ︎
16. Chan, 90–106. ︎
17. Gerber, Rudolph Joseph; Johnson, John M. (2007). The Top Ten Death Penalty Myths: The Politics of Crime Control. Greenwood Publishing Group. pp. 9–10. ︎
18. Reid, 108. ︎
19. “Waiting on Nevada’s Death Row… 55 years ago.” Nevada State Journal. September 23, 1979. https://www.newspapers.com/article/nevada-state-journal/144232683/. ︎
20. Nevada State Prison. Record Blank. ︎
21. Dumenil. 207. ︎
22. “Death Penalty Information Center.” Death Penalty Information Center, December 1, 2023. https://deathpenaltyinfo.org/. ︎
23. Denno, D. W.. “gas chamber.” Encyclopedia Britannica, October 20, 2023. https://www.britannica.com/topic/gas-chamber. ︎
24. Denno,”gas chamber.” ︎
25. “History of the Death Penalty.” Death Penalty Information Center. https://deathpenaltyinfo.org/state-and-federal-info/state-by-state/nevada. ︎

Isabella Apgar

History major and Human Rights and Genocide Studies minor at Ramapo College of New Jersey class of 2025.