¹ Downs, John, The American Trade with the Far East: The China Trade and its Influence (New York: Macmillan Company, 1941), p. 13. TheEmpress of China, 360 tons, carried a cargo of foodstuffs, furs, and 40 tons of ginseng. Owned and fitted out jointly by Robert Morris and a group of New York merchants, the cost of the vessel, the outfit and expense of the voyage was $120,000.00 and the profits amounted to $37,727.00.Google Scholar

² Appointed in 1786, Major Shaw had accompanied the Empress of China on its original voyage to the Far East as its supercargo. In part, he was given his appointment because of his experience gained in negotiating with the Chinese officals. He served as Consul until his death in 1794.Google Scholar

³ Latourette, Kenneth S., History of Early Relations Between the United States and China (1784–1844) (New Haven: Yale University Press, 1919), p. 11.Google ScholarFor example, in 1801 exports to the United States amounted to $4,000,000. In the 1805–06 season they carried from Canton eleven million pounds of tea in thirty-seven ships, as against British trade of twenty-two million pounds of tea in forty-nine ships.Google Scholar

⁴ Great Britain signed a treaty with Siam in 1826. The American treaty is based on the British model, a pattern that United States negotiators would follow throughout the nineteenth century.Google Scholar

⁵ U.S. Congress, House Executive Documents 26th Congress, 1st session, Document 40.

⁶ Congressional Globe Containing Sketches of the Debates and Proceeding of the 26th Congress, Ist session. vol. 8, p. 109.Google ScholarHouse Docs. 26:1, 40.Google Scholar

⁷ House Docs.26:1, 119.Google Scholar

⁸ Ibid. House Docs. 26:1, 248. House Docs. 26:2, 71.

⁹ Ibid.

¹⁰ Peter Parker was the first American medical missionary to China. In 1834 he was sent to the Far East by the American Board of Foreign Missions, and the following year he opened an Ophthalmic Hospital at Canton. Frequently consulted by the State Department, he was secretary and interpreter for Caleb Cushing, served as charg'e d'affaires and became Commissioner to China. He retired in 1857 and died the following year.Google Scholar

¹¹ Kearney was a career officer who had thirty-three years of active naval service, in the War of 1812, in pursuing pirates in the West Indies, and in the Mediterranean prior to his Far East assignment.Google Scholar

¹² Rea, Kenneth W. (ed.), Early Sino-American Relations, 1841–1912, The Collected Articles of Earl Swisher (Boulder: Westview Press, 1977), p. 37.Google Scholar

¹³ He tried to gain the release of an American, Jay Coolidge, imprisoned by the Chinese, and complained about an American merchantman attacked by Chinese soldiers.

¹⁴ Dennett, Tyler, Americans in East Asia: A Critical Study of United States' Policy in the Far East in the Nineteenth Century (New York: Barnes and Noble, Inc., 1922), pp. 108–9.Google Scholar

¹⁵ Richardson, James D., A Compilation of the Messages and Papers of the Presidents (New York: Bureau of National Literature and Arts, 1910), Vol. 4, pp. 211–14.Google Scholar

¹⁶ Adams had an outstanding career in government. The son of President John Adams, he had served in various capacities in legation in Europe as secretary and minister. At home he served two terms as Secretary of State under President James Monroe and as President from 1825 to 1829. After his defeat for re-election in 1829 he returned to Congress as a representative from Massachusetts.

¹⁷ House Report, 27:3, 93.Google Scholar

¹⁸ Cong Globe, Vol. 12, p. 323.Google Scholar

¹⁹ Cong Globe, Vol. 12, pp. 323–25.Google Scholar

²⁰ Dennett, , Americans in East Asia, p. 136.Google Scholar

²¹ Ibid.

²² Cushing, who served several terms in Congress, had changed from a Whig to a Democrat and was closely associated with Tyler and Webster. Trusted by neither party he had recently declined to run for re-election, fearing an ignominious defeat.

²³ The treaty with England settled the long-standing border dispute between Canada and the United States over disputed territory in Maine.

²⁴ Fuess, Claudes M., The Life of Caleb Cushing, Vol. I (Hamden Archon Books, 1923), p. 409.Google Scholar

²⁵ Ibid., p. 412.

²⁶ Cushing was not only scorned for his change of political parties; the Senate had refused to confirm him as Secretary of Treasury on two occasions.

²⁷ Rea, (ed.), Early Sino-American Relations, p. 58.Google Scholar

²⁸ Fuess, , Caleb Cushing, p. 412.Google Scholar

²⁹ Born in Newburyport, Massachusetts, the son of a Far East sea trading captain, he was a Phi Beta Kappa graduate from Harvard University. An excellent lawyer and historical writer, he was a regular contributor to the North American Review and the Annual Register. He published articles on maritime law as well as a history of his home town. Cushing was elected to four terms in the House of Representatives and at one time served in the House Committee of Foreign Relations.

³⁰ Daniel Fletcher Webster, Daniel Webster's oldest son, a graduate from Harvard and a private secretary to his father. Commissioned a colonel during the Civil War, he was killed in action at the Battle of Bull Run on August 29, 1862.Google Scholar

³¹ The members were John H. O'Donnell, Robert L. Mackintosh, John R. Peters, and George R. West, an experienced draftsman. All volunteered for the mission.

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³³ The Missouri and Mississippi were the largest steam frigates afloat at this time and the pride of the United States Navy.

³⁴ U.S. Senate Documents, 28th Congress, 2nd Session (Washington: Gales and Seaton, 1844), 138, p. 1.Google Scholar

³⁵ Ibid.

³⁶ Ibid., p. 2.

³⁷ Ibid.

³⁸ Ibid., pp. 3–4. It is interesting to note that the British Court was not mentioned.

³⁹ Ibid.

⁴⁰ Ibid.

⁴¹ Ibid., p. 5.

⁴² Fuess, , Caleb Cushing, pp. 419–20. The letter refers to the Commissioner as ‘Count Caleb Cushing’, included to impress the Chinese officials that the American minister was a person of high rank and nobility.Google Scholar

⁴³ The three missionaries had been in China since the early 1830s and were well known to Chinese officials in the area. They were all Sinologists.Google Scholar

⁴⁴ Jeremiah, Hughes (ed.), Niles' National Register, 02 10, 1844, p. 363.Google Scholar

⁴⁵ The Chinese reported that arrangements had not been made to receive the mission.

⁴⁶ Clyde, Paul, The Far East: A History of the Impact of the West on East Asia (Englewood: Prentice Hall, 1958), p. 124.Google Scholar

⁴⁷ Ch'en, Kenneth, ‘The Cushing Mission: Was it Necessary?’, Chinese Social and Political Science Review, Vol. 8 (1939), pp. 3–14. Therefore, the mission was superfluous.Google Scholar

⁴⁸ Niles' National Register, February 10, 1844, p. 369.Google Scholar

⁴⁹ Niles' National Register, July 15, 1843, p. 308.Google Scholar

⁵⁰ The Governor-General was fully aware of the mission, having been informed of its purpose several months before the arrival of Cushing.

⁵¹ Sen Docs. 28:2, 67, p. 2.Google Scholar

⁵² SirPottinger, Henry was the chief negotiator for the British in the Treaty of Nanking, negotiated on board HMS Cornwallis.Google Scholar

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⁵⁵ Ch'ing Tai Ch'ou Pan I Wu Shih Mo (The Management of Barbarian Affairs of the Ch'ing Dynasty From Beginning to End) (Peking: 1930), 17B, 3–18A, p. 4. Hereafter cited as IWSM.Google Scholar

⁵⁶ Ibid., 15B, 1–16B, p. 2.

⁵⁷ Sen. Docs. 28: 2, 67, p. 4.Google Scholar

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⁵⁹ Whampoa, , a commercial port 10 miles south of Canton was the official anchorage for foreign ships. No vessels were permitted to proceed to Canton, especially naval ships.Google Scholar

⁶⁰ Dennett, , Americans in East Asia, p. 150.Google Scholar

⁶¹ He argued that an invitation had not been given the vessel to proceed to Whampoa.

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⁶³ Fuess, , Caleb Cushing, p. 429.Google Scholar

⁶⁴ Sen. Docs. 28:2, 67, p. 2.Google Scholar

⁶⁵ Ibid., p. 20.

⁶⁶ Ibid., p. 21.

⁶⁷ Imperial Commissioner Ch'i-ying negotiated the Treaty of Nanking with the British. Cushing was very happy to be negotiating with Ch'i-ying.

⁶⁸ Cushing did not state how many ships were included in the squadron.

⁶⁹ Sen. Docs. 28:2, 67, p. 30.Google Scholar

⁷⁰ Ibid., p. 31.

⁷¹ Ibid., pp. 31–2.

⁷² Dennett, , Americans in East Asia, p. 153.Google Scholar

⁷³ Fuess, , Caleb Cushing, p. 432.Google Scholar

⁷⁴ Ibid., p. 432.

⁷⁵ Ibid.

⁷⁶ Chinese Repository, Vol. 13 (Canton: printed for proprietors), 05 25, 1844, p. 306; Cushing to Upshur.Google Scholar

⁷⁷ Sen. Docs. 28: 2, 67, pp. 65–6. Cushing conducted a trial by jury according to American law. He presided as judge and after several hours of testimony the jury rendered a verdict of acquittal on the grounds of self-defense. The verdict was relayed to Ch'i-ying who surprisingly accepted the version without comment.Google Scholar

⁷⁸ Rea, (ed.), Early Sino-American Relations, pp. 75–6.Google Scholar

⁷⁹ Fuess, , Caleb Cushing, p. 434.Google Scholar

⁸⁰ Ibid.

⁸¹ IWSM. 8A, 7–8B, p. 8.Google Scholar

⁸² There were very few difficulties in these preliminary talks and both sides seemed pleased with the negotiations. The meetings were alternated between Macao and the temple at Wanghsia. Williams, S. Wells also participated in some of the sessions.Google Scholar

⁸³ Eight copies had been prepared, four in each language.

⁸⁴ Miller, Hunter (ed.), Treaties and Other International Acts of the United States of America (Washington: U.S. Government Printing Office, 1934), Vol. 4, pp. 559–70.Google Scholar

⁸⁵ The Commissioner cited the British Treaty of Nanking as its basis for extraterritoriality and the Portuguese attainment of the same objective through their own local jurisdiction at Macao.

⁸⁶ Sen Docs. 28: 2–57, pp. 11–12.Google Scholar

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⁸⁸ Sen. Docs. 28: 2–58, pp. 2–4.Google Scholar

⁸⁹ Fuess, , Caleb Cushing, p. 437.Google Scholar

⁹⁰ Dennett, , Americans in East Asia, p. 169.Google Scholar

⁹¹ Miller, Hunter (ed.), Treaties and Other International Acts of the United States of America, pp. 559–70.Google Scholar