And now for the actual history of the Open Door Policy ….
The Open Door Policy and China
China was in political and economic distress as the end of the 19th century approached. The giant was not
recognized as a sovereign, or independent, nation by the major powers.
The United States took Far Eastern matters more seriously after the Spanish-American War when it came
into possession of the Philippines. In the fall of 1898, President McKinley stated his desire for the
creation of an “open door” that would allow all trading nations access to the Chinese market. The
following year, Secretary of State John Hav sought a formal endorsement of the concept by circulating
diplomatic notes among the major powers, enabling the Secretary to be credited with authoring the Open
Door Policy.
Hay’s proposal called for the establishment of equal trading rights to all nations in all parts of China and
for recognition of Chinese territorial integrity, meaning that China should not be “carved up,” or
partitioned into spheres of influence. The impact of such a policy would be to put all of the imperial
nations on an equal footing and minimize the power of those nations with existing spheres of influence.
No nation formally agreed to Hay's policy; each used other nations’ reluctance to accept the Open Door
Policy as an excuse for its own inaction. An undeterred Hay simply announced that agreement had been
reached. Although no foreign nation had officially supported the Open Door Policy, if a foreign power
now objected to Hay’s proposal, it risked calling the United States a “liar,” and potentially causing
conflict with America.
The greatest challenge to the Open Door Policy was the Boxer Rebellion of 1900, in which Chinese
nationalists resorted to armed opposition in an attempt to end foreign occupation of their country.
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1.
What was the United States’ purpose in proposing the Open Door Policy?
2.
What does the Open Door Policy show about American power overseas at this time?
3.
How did John Hay convince other nations to accept the Open Door Policy? Was this effective
diplomacy or unethical trickery? Justify your opinion.
4.
What do the two Open Door readings teach you? Do these affect your perspective imperialism?
The Boxer Rebellion
Throughout the nineteenth century, foreigners took control of China and forced the people to make
humiliating concessions. Britain, Germany, Russia, and Japan all claimed exclusive trading rights to
certain parts of China. They divided the nation into spheres of influence where they had exclusive
trading rights. The United States proposed an Open Door Policy where all nations would share China.
Many Chinese resented the people whom they referred to as “foreign devils” who came to control their
country. Within their spheres of influence, nations followed their own laws, not Chinese laws, and
European nations often brought missionaries to spread Western culture and Christianity throughout
China.
A secret society in northern China known as the “Righteous Fists of Harmony” began a campaign terror
to rid China from imperial influence. Foreigners in China soon nicknamed this group “Boxers” because
of the martial arts that they practiced. The Boxers believed they had magical power and that bullets
could not harm them. Armed with the confidence, the Boxers aimed to expel all foreigners from China.
In the early months of 1900, thousands of Boxers roamed the countryside, attacking Christians. When an
international force of over 2,000 soldiers attempted to land in China, the Chinese Empress, who had then
sided with the Boxers, ordered her imperial army to stop the foreign troops. Throughout the summer of
1900 the Boxers burned churches and foreign residences and killed Christians on sight, even Chinese
Christians who had converted.
Later in 1900, with American support, the allied foreigners sent in 19,000 more troops and captured the
city of Beijing on August 14. The international force was efficient, but some foreigner troops killed,
tortured, and looted as they moved through the city. The imperial powers forced China to agree to a
treaty that allowed foreign nations to station troops in Beijing.
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1.
How do you now understand the Boxer Rebellion differently now that you have read the fake
account of European spheres of influence in America, the fake American rebellion and the real
Boxer Rebellion?
2.
In what ways does the concept of spheres of influence reflect a belief in ethnocentrism?
3.
Were the Boxers justified in their actions? Why or why not? Could they have used another means to
achieve their goal?