Abraham Lincoln and China

[Karen S. Campbell]

Karen,
Excellent information on a topic that gets very little attention regarding Abraham Lincoln. Lincoln's foreign policy is often overlooked due to the urgency of his domestic policy. It was, however, a very important part of his administration. If he had handled the Trent Affair with a little less tact he might have been fighting a war on two fronts. The Royal Navy would have destroyed American commerce and it is likely the Union would have gone down in flames.
Also, great Blog!

Craig

Craig,
Thank you. I'm putting together a bibliography. So far plan to read "Imperialism and Idealism: American Diplomats in China, 1861-1898" by Daniel L. Anderson (1985) and ""Abraham Lincoln Deals with Foreign Affairs: A Diplomat in Carpet Slippers" by Jay Monaghan (1945). I also know that William Steward appointed his nephew George as consul to Shanghai in 1861. I'd like to find out how directly Lincoln was involved in the China policy, or, was this primarily Steward's bailiwick? It doesn't seem that Lincoln had any personal interest in Asia. He and Mary were hoping to travel to Europe and then to the Holy Land after his term in office, but, I don't believe they planned to go further east.

Seems to me that the U.S.foreign policy of the time was an extension of the "American System" of Henry Clay and the Whigs to issues oversees, especially aimed at constraining the commerce and aggressiveness of the British Empire. Consequently, Russian diplomacy is intrinsically linked with Chinese diplomacy. Maintaining good relations with Russia during the Civil War would discourage England from entering the war on the side of the South. The "American System" was also essentially anti-imperialistic and egalitarian.

There are a lot of issues to look into!