Imperialism and Idealism: American Diplomats in China, 1861-1898

246 Pages·1986·4.25 MB·English

by  David L. Anderson

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.