The Evolution Of America's Attitudes And Policies To The Taiping Revolutionary Movement(1851-1864)

Most of Americans in China were diplomats, missionaries and merchants during The Taiping(1851-1864). Their attitude, perception, intelligence and suggestions were important basis of the United States' policies to the Taiping Revolutionary Movement. This paper takes the attitude of Americans to the Taiping Revolutionary Movement, friend-split-public interference, as the main line. It has explored and evaluated the formation and evolution of American policies on the movement. The full paper is divided into five parts.The first chapter outlines the U.S.-China relations before the outbreak of the Taiping Revolutionary Movement. One section of the chapter is specifically designed to explain Hong Xiuquan's early activities and the views of Americans. Express China arrived in 1784, opened the prelude to the U.S.- China relations. Although Americans had to face many challenges such as the exclusion policy of Qing government, they were still active in the business and religion field. As to the the unrest in Guangxi and the God-worship religion around 1850, Americans in China at that time generally judged them as ordinary marauders' activity and didn't cause special concerns.The second chapter discusses the friendly attitude of the United States to the Taiping Revolutionary Movement and the formation of neutrality policy. After a series of military victories of Taiping around 1853, The vast majority of Americans' views on the movement transformed from fuzzy to warm support. Diplomats, missionaries and businessmen expressed their praise to the Taiping energetically. Humphrey Marshall's opinions changed gradually because of fearing of Russia and Britain's ambitions in China, and put forward the proposal of support the Qing government. And Then, Marshall became the minority of positive consensus. In the universal support to the Taiping, Franklin administration dismissed Marshall's proposal.At the same time, because had not obtained the first-hand information and the war outcome was uncertain, The United States decided to follow the diplomatic tradition, and took the neutrality policy. In fact, the neutrality policy in this period tended to the Taiping. This chapter has analyzed the reasons of the tendency in the end.The third chapter focuses on the change of the attitude and neutrality policy's reversion of the United States to the Taiping. After 1854, the general Americans' attitude toward the Taiping became gradually cold. The Taiping was gradually fading, and the destruction of the trade by a protracted war had made the merchants lose patience. More importantly, Marshall's successor, Robert McLane visited Tianjing, and this visit shattered the hopes of the US authorities to contact with the Taiping further. In this case, the United States' neutrality policy began to clear the Qing government, and excepted to expand the interests in china with Britain and France and other western countries in the way of a joint amendment to the treaty. Correspondingly, the Taiping had become a counterpoise to force the Qing government to make concessions during the bargaining. Although the Taiping appeared the signs to revive in 1860, and renewed the interest of the preachers, it still couldn't restore the break with West nations.The fourth chapter studies the United States took advantage with cooperation policy to interfered the Taiping publicly. The Civil war broke out in 1861, the government couldn't take care of Chinese affairs. The United States had to work with other countries and support their actions. Britain, France and Russia decided that supporting and strengthening the Qing government was the better policy after the signing of the Tianjin treaty and the Beijing treaty.Thus, the United States government's neutrality policy since 1853 was eventually replaced by cooperation policy. However, in the suppression of the Taiping, the United States couldn't provide more official assistance to the Qing government. Townsend Ward's ever-victorious army had become a major force in the American non-official aid.The last part of this paper evaluates the American policies to Taiping on the whole. No matter how the policies changes, its nature will not change in any case. Trade interest is the eternal starting point of American policies. Then, the article analyzes the commercial interest of the United States in China. In addition, the missionaries were particularly active and greatly influenced the development of American policy. This has become a major feature of United States' diplomacy to China.