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IMPERIALISM ---------and--------- IDEALISM IMPERIALISM and --------------------------- ---------------------------- IDEALISM American Diplomats in China, 1861-1898 David L. Anderson INDIANA UNIVERSITY PRESS BLOOMINGTON Research for this book was partially funded by a grant from the Johnson Fund of the * American Philosophical Society © 1985 by David L. Anderson All rights reserved No part of this book may be reproduced or utilized in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying and recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publisher. The Association of American University Presses' Resolution on Permissions constitutes the only exception to this prohibition. Manufactured in the United States of America Library of Congress Cataloging in Publication Data Anderson, David L. Imperialism and idealism. Bibliography: p. Includes index. 1. United States—Foreign relations—China. 2. China—Foreign relations—United SUtes. 3. United SUtes—Foreign relations—1865-1898. 4. United SUtes— Foreign relations—1861-1865. 5. China—Politics and government—1862-1899. 6. Americans—China—History— 19th century. I. Title. E183.8.C5A735 1985 327.73051 84-48544 ISBN 0-253-32918-3 12345 89 88 87 8685 For Helen and Hope CONTENTS Preface ix ONE Imperialism and Idealism: America’s China Policy Dilemma 1 TWO “Fair Diplomatic Action”: Anson Burlingame and the Cooperative Policy in China 16 th ree “Determined Moral Pressure”: J. Ross Browne and Burlingame’s Policy 38 FOUR Disillusionment and Frustration: Frederick F. Low and Benjamin P. Avery in China 62 five The Diplomacy of Expediency: The China Career of George F. Seward 90 six Attempts at an Independent Policy: James B. Angell and John Russell Young in Peking 115 seven Two China Policies: Charles Denby versus the State Department 144 eight Epilogue: The Dilemma Becomes the Policy in John Hay’s Open Door Notes 171 Appendix: United States Ministers to China, Secretaries of Statey and Presidents, 1861-1901 193 Notes 195 Bibliography 222 Index 233 ILLUSTRATIONS Map of China Frontispiece Imperial Palace, Peking 6 Five-Clawed Dragon, Imperial Palace 7 Anson Burlingame 17 Prince Kung 23 J. Ross Browne 47 Frederick F. Low 67 Palace of Heavenly Purity 79 Benjamin P. Avery 82 George F. Seward 91 James B. Angell 117 John Russell Young 127 Charles Denby 145 USS Monocacy 157 Bronze Lion, Imperial Palace 182 PREFACE Historically, official United States policies toward China have been ambiva­ lent and inconsistent because of tension between American ideals and self- interests. During both the nineteenth and the twentieth centuries, Washing­ ton frequently professed support for the principle of China’s independence in international affairs, but simultaneously American officials pursued privileges and advantages for the United States that undermined China’s sovereignty. In searching for the origins of this ambiguity, this book focuses on the lives and careers of the first eight American diplomats to reside in Peking. This bio­ graphical approach is based on the notion that these individual envoys were in various ways representative of some fundamental and paradoxical elements in America’s historical and cultural identity that in turn shaped the dualities in American China policy. Since the days of John Winthrop and the Puritans, a basic dichotomy between self-interest and self-sacrifice had existed in Ameri­ can thought, and the American diplomatic ministers carried this tradition to Peking. The first of these envoys was Anson Burlingame, an antislavery reformer who idealistically attempted to transform Western coercion into cooperation with the Chinese. His successor, J. Ross Browne, was a professional writer and a skeptic who concluded that force, not forbearance, was the only realistic Western policy in Asia. The six United States ministers who followed Burlin­ game and Browne continued to wrestle with the same alternatives: Should the United States join the other Western nations in diplomatic and military efforts to extract privileges and concessions from China or should it seek to secure American interests by actively defending the integrity of the weak Chinese government? For the eight American envoys in Peking between 1861 and 1898, this dilemma manifested itself as a varying mixture of selfish imperialism and selfless idealism. These two concepts sometimes converged and sometimes competed, but they gave United States actions in China a decided ambiva­ lence. The dilemma remained unresolved in 1899-1900, when Secretary of State John Hay incorporated both imperialism and idealism into his Open Door Notes. Hay’s famous notes perpetuated the contradictions inherent in the preceding forty years of American diplomacy in China and bequeathed to his twentieth-century successors a paradoxical policy formula in Asia. The scope of this study purposely has been limited to the year-by-year diplomatic routine of the chief American representatives in China. This ap­ proach assumes that, in the four decades before the Open Door Notes, United States China policy was often whatever these individuals said it was. Less often, the State Department or American public opinion became directly in- [ix] Preface volved in specific issues, but even then the result was sometimes a policy tug- of-war between the minister and Washington. Since the policies of each envoy were essentially the product of his own personality and his particular interpre­ tation of events, the American position in China usually shifted with a change in ministers and hence was markedly inconsistent. The research has concentrated on American archival sources, because the basic purpose of this study is to examine the careers and policy determinations of these non-Chinese-speaking American representatives and to assess Hay's Open Door Notes in the context of American diplomatic traditions. For the Chinese side of the diplomatic relationship, secondary sources based on Chi­ nese archival materials have been used. Portions of this book have been previously published in three historical journals. I wish to thank the editors of Diplomatic History for permission to use part of my article “Anson Burlingame: American Architect of the Coopera­ tive Policy in China, 1861-1871,” which appeared in vol. 1, no. 3 (Summer 1977). California History has allowed me to reprint portions of two articles: “The Diplomacy of Discrimination: Chinese Exclusion, 1876-1882,” in vol. 57, no. 1 (Spring 1978), and “Between Two Cultures: Frederick F. Low in China,” in vol. 59, no. 3 (Fall 1980). Civil War History has consented to the publication of portions of my article “Anson Burlingame: Reformer and Diplomat,” in vol. 25, no. 4 (December 1979). Many people have provided me with invaluable assistance in the writing of this book. I am indebted to my wife, Helen, above all others, for her help as well as her constant encouragement and support. I wish to thank Norman Graebner for reading the manuscript and making valuable suggestions. John Israel provided useful advice in the early stages of this project. The staff of Indiana University Press deserves a special note of gratitude. Charlotte Gaines of Indiana Central University assisted in the preparation of the map. Numerous librarians and archivists have provided their highly professional services. Finally, I am grateful to the American Philosophical Society for a grant that helped fund my research.

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