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The United States and the American China Development Company

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  23 March 2011

William R. Braisted
William R. Braisted
Affiliation:
University of Texas
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Extract

After her disastrous defeat by Japan in the war 1894–95, China turned tardily to introduce such economic reforms as would facilitate her defense. She was pressed by concession hunters of many nationalities, who desired economic and political advantages which she was nearly helpless to withhold. Obliged to look abroad for capital to finance needed railway construction, Chinese leaders at the same time saw their empire's dominions threatened by their potential creditors: by Russia in Manchuria, by France in the South, by Germany in Shantung, by Japan in Fukien, and by England in the Yangtze Valley. That Americans claimed no political accommodations in return for monetary advances was an inducement to the Chinese to seek money in the United States. Furthermore, in the railway field, Americans had gained valuable experience through the construction of their own great transcontinental lines.

Type
Articles
Information
The Journal of Asian Studies , Volume 11 , Issue 2 , February 1952 , pp. 147 - 165
Copyright
Copyright © The Association for Asian Studies, Inc. 1952

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References

1 MSS. National Archives. Peking legation records, Chinese correspondence (hereafter Peking Chin, corr.), Denby to Tsungli Yamen, Aug. 24, 1895. Unless otherwise indicated, this paper is based on MSS. records of the American legation in Peking and of the Department of State which are now at the'National Archives, Washington, D. C.

2 Department of State instructions to China, 5: 200–01, Olney to Denby, June 22, 1895.

3 Department of State miscellaneous letters (hereafter State misc.), lists of stockholders filed under dates of Aug. 19, 1898, and July 13, 1899.

4 Peking Chin, corr., Charles Denby Jr. to Tsungli Yamen, June 27, 1898.

5 Foreign relations of the U. S., 1897, (hereafter For. rels.) 56, Denby to Olney, Feb. 15, 1897.

6 Department of State despatches from China, Vol. 102, Denby to Olney, Nov. 5, 1896.

7 For. rels., 1897, 56.

8 Despatches from China, Vol. 102, Denby to Olney, Jan. 29, 1897; Peking Chin. corr., Denby to Tsungli Yamen, Jan. 11, 1897.

9 For. rels., 1897, 56–58, Denby to Olney, Jan. 10, 1897.

10 Despatches from China, Vol. 102, Denby to Sherman, May 24, 1897.

11 MacMurray, J. V. A, Treaties and agreements with and concerning China (Washington, 1921), 1: 146–51.Google Scholar

12 Rockhill, W. W., Treaties and conventions with and concerning China (Washington, 1904), 252–58.Google Scholar

13 State misc., Bash to Day, May 3, 1898.

14 Department of State domestic letters (hereafter State dorn.), 228: 447–48, Day to Bash, May 13, 1898.

15 State misc., Whitridge to Day, Aug. 9, 1898.

16 State dom., 231: 88–89, Day to Cary and Whitridge, Aug. 31, 1898.

17 Rockhill, , Treaties, 246.Google Scholar The Chinese later denied to the British charge d'affaires that the Americans possessed preferential rights to the northern railway or that the Belgians had any claims on the southern (Great Britain, Foreign Office, Further correspondence respecting the affairs of China [London, 1900], 155Google Scholar).

18 Peking legation records, miscellaneous incoming letters (hereafter Peking misc. in.), Lyman to Conger, Sept. 20, 1898, Charles Denby, Jr. to Conger, Nov. 24, 1898, Bash to Conger, Dec. 1, 1898.

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20 State misc., final report, Nov. 26, 1899 filed under date of Feb. 7, 1902.

21 Ibid., enclosure in Cary and Whitridge to Day, Aug. 19, 1898.

22 Peking misc. in., Cary to Conger, April 20, 1899.

23 State misc., Cary and Whitridge to Hay, July 13, 1899; MSS. The Hay papers, the Library of Congress, Whitridge to Hay, July 13, 1899. The American charge in Peking was unable to obtain an admission from the British legation that it was instructed to support the company (Peking legation records, miscellaneous outgoing letters [hereafter Peking misc. out.], Squiers to Parsons, Aug. 29, 1899).

24 Instructions to China, 6: 3, Hay to Conger, July 14, 1899, telegram.

25 Ibid., 3–4, Hay to Conger, July 15, 1899, MSS. The Hay papers, Hay to Conger, July 26, 1899. For the attitude of American business groups toward the Open Door, see Campbell, C. S. Jr., “American business interests and the Open Door,” FEQ., 1 (Nov. 1941), 43–58.Google Scholar

26 Despatches from China, Vol. 107, Cary to Conger, Nov. 20, 1899, enclosure in Conger to Hay, Dec. 6, 1899.

27 Rockhill, , Treaties, 259–77.Google Scholar

28 New York journal of commerce and commercial bulletin (Nov. 22, 1900), 1; (Feb. 5, 1901), 1; (Feb. 20, 1901), 1.

29 State misc., Whitridge to Wu, Jan. 10, 1901, enclosed in Whitridge to Hay, Jan. 10, 1901.

30 Despatches from China, Vol. 110, Wu to Whitridge, Jan. 12, 1901, enclosed in Squiers to Hay, March 12, 1901.

31 Ibid., Whitridge to Wu, Jan. 14, 1901, enclosed in Squiers to Hay, March 12, 1901.

32 MSS. The Hay papers, Whitridge to Hay, April 21, 1901.

33 Despatches from China, Vol. Ill, Squiers to Hay, March 21, 1901, June 13, 1901.

34 Ibid., Conger to Hay, Nov. 30, 1901.

35 State misc., Parsons to Hay, Dec. 4, 1901.

36 Instructions to China, 6: 338, Hay to Conger, March 3, 1902.

37 Peking misc. in., Sheng to Conger, May 4, 1902, telegram; Peking misc. out., 63: 602, Conger to Sheng, May 5, 1902. For additional material on Conger's efforts to assist the company, see particularly despatches from China, Vols. 115–16.

38 Despatches from China, Vol. 118, Conger to Hay, July 14, 1902.

39 Department of State despatches from Canton, Vol. 27.

40 Peking legation records, despatches from Shanghai, Goodnow to Conger, July 25, 1903, Aug. 7, 1903, Aug. 20, 1903.

41 Despatches from Canton, Vol. 27, McWade to Loomis, Nov. 20, 1903.

42 London times (Dec. 25, 1903), 3.

43 Despatches from China, Vol. 124, Conger to Hay, Jan. 21, 1904, telegram.

44 Ibid., Conger to Hay, Jan. 22, 1904.

45 State misc., Parsons to Adee, Jan. 27, 1904.

46 Department of State notes from the Chinese legation, Vol. 6, Liang to Parsons, Jan. 29, 1904, enclosed in Liang to Hay, Jan. 29, 1904.

47 Peking misc. in., Whittier to Conger, March 15, 1904.

48 Department of State despatches from Shanghai, Vol. 50, Sheng to Goodnow, March 21, 1904, enclosed in Goodnow to Hay, March 23, 1904; State misc., Ferguson to Hay, May 5, 1904.

49 Rockhill, , Treaties, 278–79.Google Scholar

50 Despatches from Shanghai, Vol. 50, enclosures in Goodnow to Peirce, July 22, 1904.

51 State misc., Liang to Hudson Trust Company, June 22, 1904, telegram, enclosed in Coade to Hay, Oct. 12, 1904.

52 Ibid., Parsons to Hay, July 6, 1904; MSS. The Hay papers, Parsons to Hay, July 6, 1904.

53 Department of State notes to the Belgian legation, 8: 528–29, Loomis to Moncheur, July 21, 1904.

54 Department of State notes from the Belgian legation, Vol. 11, Moncheur to Loomis, July 30, 1904.

55 Notes from the Belgian legation, Vol. 11, Moncheur to Hay, Aug. 13, 1904; State misc., Whittier to Hay, Sept. 21, 1904, Dec. 13, 1904.

56 State misc., Cary to Rockhill, Oct. 14, 1904.

57 Ibid., Liang to Whittier, Oct. 5, 1904, enclosed in Cary to Rockhill, Oct. 14, 1904.

58 Instructions to China, 6: 677–78, Hay to Conger, Oct. 20, 1904, telegram.

59 Peking misc. in., Baldwin to Conger, Nov. 12, 1904.

60 Despatches from China, Vol. 126, Conger to Hay, Nov. 15, 1904, telegram.

61 Ibid., Conger to Hay, Nov. 16, 1904.

62 Instructions to China, 7: 8, Hay to Conger, Nov. 18, 1904, telegram.

63 For. rels, 1905. 124–25.

64 Notes from the Chinese legation, Vol. 6, Hay to Rockhill, Dec. 27, 1904, filed under date of Dec. 22, 1904.

65 MSS. The Hay papers, diary of John Hay, Jan. 5, 1905.

66 State misc., Morgan to Hay, Jan. 5, 1905.

67 For. rels., 1905, 127–28.

68 Despatches from China, Vol. 126, Coolidge to Hay, Jan. 25, 1905.

69 Instructions to China, 7: 23–24, Hay to Conger, Jan. 26, 1905.

70 Despatches from China, Vol. 126, Coolidge to Hay, Feb. 9, 1905.

71 MSS. The Roosevelt papers, the Library of Congress, Ingraham to Foster, May 29, 1905.

72 MacMurray, , Treaties, 1: 519–20.Google Scholar

73 MSS. The Roosevelt papers, minutes of board, June 20, 1905.

74 Department of State despatches from Belgium, Vol. 37, memorandum in Wilson to Hay, May 22, 1905.

75 Ibid., Wilson to Hay, June 2, 1905.

76 MSS. The Roosevelt papers, Lodge to Roosevelt, July 6, 1905.

77 Ibid., Roosevelt to Morgan, July 18, 1905.

78 Instructions to China, 7: 84, Adee to Rockhill, July 24, 1905, telegram.

79 Despatches from China, Vol. 127, Rockhill to Hay, June 7, 1905.

80 Ibid., Rockhill to acting secretary of State, July 25, 1905, telegram.

81 Ibid., Vol. 128, Roosevelt to Rockhill, received 8 Aug. 1905, telegram confirmed in Rockhill to secretary of State, Aug. 9, 1905.

82 Ibid., Rockhill to acting secretary of State, Aug. 12, 1905, telegram.

83 Ibid., Rockhill to acting secretary of State, Aug. 14, 1905.

84 Instructions to China, 7: 94–95, Adee to Rockhill, Aug. 15, 1905, Aug. 16, 1905, telegrams.

85 MSS. The Roosevelt Papers, Roosevelt to Morgan, Aug. 17, 1905.

86 Despatches from China, Vol. 128, Rockhill to secretary of State, Aug. 17, 1905, with enclosures.

87 Ibid., Rockhill to secretary of State, Aug. 18, 1905.

88 Ibid., Rockhill to Ch'ing, Aug. 21, 1905, enclosed in Rockhill to secretary of State, Aug. 22, 1905.

89 Ibid., Rockhill to acting secretary of State, Aug. 27, 1905, telegram.

90 State misc., Barnes to Adee, Aug. 19, 1905.

91 Ibid., Barnes to Adee, Aug. 24, 1905.

92 MSS. The Roosevelt papers, Roosevelt to Rockhill, Aug. 22, 1905.

93 Notes from the Chinese legation, Vol. 6, memorandum, Aug. 28, 1905.

94 Ibid., memorandum for the Chinese legation, Aug. 28, 1905.

95 Journal of commerce, Aug. 31, 1905, 3.Google Scholar

96 Notes to the Chinese legation, 2: 311, Loomis to Liang, Aug. 29, 1905.

97 MSS. The Roosevelt papers, Roosevelt to Rockhill, Aug. 29, 1905.

98 Ibid., Roosevelt to Leopold, Aug. 31, 1905, telegram.

99 MacMurray, , Treaties, 1: 528–31.Google Scholar

100 Ibid., 866.