The westward expansion of the United States during the 19th century was not
limited to North America, but rather included an ongoing push to establish a
stronger U.S. presence in and across the Pacific Ocean. This maritime expansion,
driven mostly by commerce, had important implications for U.S. foreign
policy.
"Flying Cloud" (James
E. Buttersworth, 1859-60)
The appeal of profits to be earned from the China trade served as the initial
impetus to motivate U.S. citizens and officials to enter into the Pacific
region.
China was the source of some of the world’s most
sought after commodities—tea, porcelain, and silk—and Western merchants had
sought access to this highly lucrative trade since at least the 17th century.
Following U.S. independence, U.S.-based merchants continued to seek opportunity
in China. In February 1784 the Empress of China became the first ship to sail
from the United States to China, and in its wake came a steady flow of merchants
in search of wealth. During the first decades of the 19th century, U.S.
merchants amassed sizable fortunes that they subsequently invested in the
development of their homeland. As this trade grew, U.S. traders built a small
outpost in China and their interactions with Chinese subjects became more
complex and occasionally contentious. The U.S. Government realized that it had
to establish formal diplomatic ties in order to protect the interests of its
citizens. In the wake of war between Britain and China, and the subsequent
opening of diplomatic relations between those two countries, the United States
moved to negotiate its own treaty with the Chinese Government. The resulting
agreement,
the Treaty of
Wangxia, was ratified in 1844, and soon thereafter U.S. ministers and
consuls took up residence in China’s capital and port cities.
Making the journey to
China and maintaining the U.S.
presence there also required a network of ports extending across the Pacific
Ocean, and as such, the
China trade soon drove the United
States to expand its presence throughout the Pacific region. Perhaps most
significantly, when Commodore Matthew Perry sailed his ships to Japan in 1853,
his primary motivation was to establish a foothold that would strengthen the
U.S. position for trade and diplomacy in the region. In other words, the United
States opened relations with
Japan in large part to
enhance its status in China. On a smaller scale, as U.S. merchants began to stop
at many of the Pacific Islands to replenish supplies and acquire goods to trade
with Chinese merchants, the U.S. Government appointed consuls to several of
these places. For example, consulates were established in Fiji in 1844, Samoa in
1856, and the Marshall Islands in 1881. The U.S. presence in Hawai’i grew out of
the need for a substantial base of operations in the Pacific to support U.S.
interests in
China. Ultimately this need became so great,
and the U.S. presence so large, that the
United States
annexed the islands in
1898.
Commodore Matthew Perry
The process of U.S. maritime expansion in the Pacific eventually became a goal in
and of itself, culminating in the acquisition of the Philippines from Spain in
1898.
The
Spanish-American War began with a dispute over Cuba, but a rising tide
of interest in overseas empire among U.S. leaders, such as President
William McKinley and future President
Theodore Roosevelt, helped expand the conflict to
Spanish possessions in Asia. After a swift victory over Spain, the United States
set up a temporary military administration to govern the islands and promote
their political, economic, and social development. The
United
States established full colonial rule over the
Philippines in
1900 during
the
Philippine-American War.
U.S. expansion across the Pacific fundamentally changed the global position of
the United States. In 1800, the United States held closely to
George
Washington’s advice to avoid “entangling alliances” while
pursuing foreign relations based upon trade. By 1900, the United States was a
recognized world power with substantial commercial, political, and military
interests and territorial holdings throughout the Pacific region. Maritime
expansion led to the proclamation of an
Open Door policy for
China
in 1899–1900, and set the stage for much greater involvement in local
and regional politics and trade during the early 20th century.
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