过往的研究已清楚地表明留美幼童之被撤回主要是幼童的美国化造成的结果，但是围绕着留美幼童撤回事件的前因后果，还有许多细节值得探究。甲午战前，兴办学堂、出洋肄业和科举改革都受到来自保守趋向的阻扰，其阻力大小则依次递增。起初，清廷主事者之所以愿意接受容闳的留学计划，很大程度上是因为他们态度乐观，对幼童沾染洋风的风险估计不足。这就使得幼童的中学教育从一开始就比较薄弱。容闳与清廷主事者之间的关系，既有互动合作的一面，也有矛盾冲突的一面。随着幼童的美国化以及中学教育的废弛，双方矛盾加剧。1878年陈兰彬使团赴美，幼童美国化问题初露端倪。1879年8月，整顿之事被提上台面。在此背景下发生了撤回事件。新发现陈兰彬信函表明撤回事件的情节并不像过去认为的那么简单。陈兰彬、吴嘉善、李鸿章、容闳等当事人对撤局的态度及其转变，公事之外当事人私底下的相互猜忌和纠葛，都值得深究。与这一事件相关的黄遵宪《罢美国留学生感赋》具有特殊的史料价值，容闳自传有关撤回事件的叙述则与1888年唐国安文章存在直接的承继关系。

Previous studies have clearly demonstrated that the recall of Chinese Educational Mission Students in the United States mainly results from students’ Americanization, but it’s still necessary to analyse the recall of CEM students in detail. Before the Sino-Japanese War, establishing “new schools”, dispatching students to study abroad, and reforming the imperial examinations system were hindered by conservative tendencies, and the degree of difficulty of them increased in turn. At first, officials of the Qing dynasty were willing to accept Yung Wing's educational scheme. It was mainly because of their optimistic attitude and underestimation of the risk that CEM boys were affected by foreign culture, which resulted that Chinese classics education of CEM boys is relatively weak from the beginning. Cooperation and contradiction coexist in the relationship between Yung Wing and officials of Qing Dynasty, and the latter was intensified with the Americanization of CEM boys and the decline of Chinese classics education. In 1878, the CEM students’ Americanization was firstly recognized when the delegation, leaded by Chen Lanbin, visited the United States. In August, 1879, rectification approaches were brought up. In this context, the recall event occurred. The newly discovered letter of Chen Lanbin indicates that the whole process of the recall is not as simple as previously assumed. Changed attitudes of parties involved, like Chen Lanbin, Wu Jiashan, Li Hongzhang, and Yung Wing, as well as suspicions and conflicts between them, are all worth further studying. Huang Zunxian's famous poem, The Closure of the Educational Mission in America, which is related to this event, has special historical value. Besides, the records in Yung Wing's Memoirs has a direct inheritance relation with Tang Guoan's work(1888).