Abraham Lincoln and China

[Karen S. Campbell]

Since I'm interested in both Abraham Lincoln (since my childhood) and China (ever since I visited the Orient in 1971), I have developed an interest in Lincoln's foreign policy concerning China and Asia in general. Because of Britain's large presence in China in 1861, the Americans living in Shanghai felt threatened because Britain was seriously considering declaring war on the North, if the Civil War came. The American Civil War could have easily been extended to China and our ports in the Pacific if Great Britain entered the war. See great article: "A Little Trouble in Big China" by Stephen R. Platt ( N.Y. Times, "Opinionator," http://opinionator.blogs.nytimes.com/201...big-china/)

The lives of Frederick Ward (a soldier of fortune who mettled in the Chinese civil war of that time) and Anson Burlingame are interesting in and of themselves! Anson Burlingame was appointed ambassador to China by Lincoln in 1861. It is interesting to note that Lincoln scholar, Michael Burlingame, is related to Anson. Anson Burlingame was a strong abolitionist and Republican. He helped to found the Republican Party. He established an excellent relationship with China due to his refusal to follow the standard imperialistic policies of the rest of the western powers inthere. Consequently, he was well liked and respected by the Chinese government. this led to the "Burlingame Treaty of 1868."

I want to read the commissions and the correspondence between Lincoln and Burlingame (located in the Lib. of Congress) to determine Lincoln's opinion and direction concerning Asian policies. Burlingame also corresponded with Sewart.