430. February is the Most Importance Month In terms of US Trade with China

It is time for us to read Dr. Dave Wang's article, With China We Trade again. It was in February 1784 when the US began to trade with China directly.

There was a great deal of uncertainty in the newly founded country. After the war for independence was over, the nation's fiscal system was on the brink of chaos. Many small farmers, the broad base of the new nation, were being thrown into jail for debt and many others were forced to lose their farms. The Congress, established under the Articles of Confederation, was attempting to bring order out of the turmoil. In Massachusetts, an agrarian revolt spread quickly.

In the meantime, Britain, which lost the war militarily, was seeking to defeat the Americans economically. It strengthened its economic pressure on individual states to compel them, one by one, to return to "Mother England". Britain closed all traditional trade partners to the new nation, and American merchants could no longer trade with Spain, Africa and West Indies. In the aftermath of the victory of the American revolutionary war, France, Holland and other European countries were willing to use the US as their market, but not anxious to take American wares in exchange.

Given the situation, commerce became "the lifeblood of America's recovery from its economic slump". New trade partners had to be discovered, new trade routes had to be opened and new connections had to be established. Otherwise, political independence wouldn't last long. It was in this critical situation that the first American voyage to China started.

385. Did Americans See Chinese Products Forty Years Ago?

The News Article, Pearl River, Chinese Emporium in Manhattan, Will Close at Year-End, in The New York Times Business Section (April 8, 2015), reveals that many people haven't realized the existence of Chinese products in the early United States. The manager of the store told Hiroko Tabuchi, the writer of the news article, "Forty years ago, people didn't see Chinese products from China. Now you see it everywhere." (p.B2).

Actually, as early as 200 years ago the Americans saw and used Chinese products all the time since the colonial era. The Chinese products were brought in through the trade, started by founders of the United States. 

Everybody knows that now China is one of the United States' largest trading partners. The Unites States imports from China reached $446.65 billion in 2014. No one dares to say that it is a small number. However, certain time in history, number was not significant compared with the significance of the event. The opening up of the China trade by the founders of the United States was one of the examples of showing that number was not that important. Comparing with the 2014 trade number, the trade number between China and the United States in 1784 was too small to mention.

I made a presentation on George Washington and China Trade in Salem several years ago. A lady approached me and asked "what was the number of the trade with China in Washington administration after my presentation. I told her that the number was not very big. However, the number was not that important for starting American direct trade with China at the historical conjuncture. The trade between China and the United States kept the new born nation from economic chaos.  As for more information on the US trade with China and its impact on the United States in the eighteenth century, please read Dr. Dave Wang's article, "With China We Trade,"  with this link.

359. The Start of US China Trade

Dave Wang, PhD — manager of Queens Library in Laurelton — said the early Americans saw ginseng “as a valuable opportunity to break their economic blockage by Britain” (e-mail, April 23, 2012). Other sources document the Empress as an attempt to establish a new source of tea, which was becoming dearly missed after the United States was banned from trading with the British West Indies. Meanwhile, China also had a need for new ginseng sources. Though the Qing Dynasty (1644-1911) first sought to protect the region’s ginseng populations by controlling collection, it eventually gave up that mission. “[The Empress] triumphed because it made it there and back, and made a profit, which was never guaranteed at that point in time.

Economically, it was important in terms of making contact between the US and China,” said Taylor, noting a Congressional resolution, passed after the Empress’s return, encouraging more such ventures. According to Dr. Wang, American ginseng “was the most important commercial good in the trade between China and the United States during the late 1700s leading into the early 1800s.” The above paragraph is from Lindsay Stafford' s article, First US-China Trade Ship Carried 30 Tons of American Ginseng Helped Establish American Identity and Roots of International Trade. It is available on line from this link.

292, Rufus King on China' s Trade Theory

For Rufus King (1755-1827), one of the founding fathers of the United States, China's commercial system was a passive system "resting solely on the theory of selling dear and buying cheap." (Charles R. King ed. The Life and Correspondence of Rufus King, Comprising His Letters, Private and Official, His Public Documents and His Speeches. New York: G.P. Putnam's Sons, 1898, p.562). You may be impressed by King's analysis of China's trade theory.

However, you may also feel surprised by King's following statement that China's economic thoery "has at all times had its advacates among us." King's statement reveals how US founders held China's economic theory in high regard. King's quotation further proves Dr. Dave Wang's conclusion in his paper, "US Founders and China," that the US-China trade was opened by the founders of the United States.

280. Why China Became the First Trade Partner?

There was a great deal of uncertainty in the newly founded country. After the war for independence was over, the nation's fiscal system was on the brink of chaos. Many small farmers, the broad base of the new nation, were being thrown into jail for debt and many others were forced to lose their farms. The Congress, established under the Articles of Confederation, was attempting to bring order out of the turmoil. In Massachusetts, an agrarian revolt spread quickly.

In the meantime, Britain, which lost the war militarily, was seeking to defeat the Americans economically. It strengthened its economic pressure on individual states to compel them, one by one, to return to "Mother England". Britain closed all traditional trade partners to the new nation, and American merchants could no longer trade with Spain, Africa and West Indies. In the aftermath of the victory of the American revolutionary war, France, Holland and other European countries were willing to use the US as their market, but not anxious to take American wares in exchange.

Given the situation, commerce became "the lifeblood of America's recovery from its economic slump". New trade partners had to be discovered, new trade routes had to be opened and new connections had to be established. Otherwise, political independence wouldn't last long. It was in this critical situation that the first American voyage to China started.

231. Philadelphia in the China Trade

To study United State trade with China around the founding era of the country, Philadelphia is the place should be examined very carefully. It was one of the centers of the trade. Actually, the Empress of China, the first United States commercial ship that reached Chinese shore in August 1784 would start from Philadelphia if the Delaware River wasn’t frozen in the spring. Robert Morris (1734-1806), the main financial sponsor, was a Philadelphian.

It was Benjamin Franklin (1706-1790), also a Philadelphian, who reported the availability of Ginseng, the main cargo on the Empress of China, in the North American colonies. There is a book by Jonathan Goldstein, called "Philadelphia and the China Trade 1682–1846: commercial, cultural, and attitudinal effects". Finally, you want to read this article, "With China We Trade" to get a whole picture of the trade.

229. Canton in Baltimore, Maryland

Canton is the old name of Guangzhou, a city in southern China by the Pearl River. You may find out if you read this weblog carefully that I have a post introducing Cantons in the United States. Indeed, there are some Cantons in the United states. With this post I will introduce you Canton, Baltimore. It is located along Baltimore's outer harbor in the southeastern section of the city.

There is Canton Square, where stands the statue of Captain John O’Donnell, the founding father of Canton in Baltimore. Immediately return of the Empress of China with widely welcomed Chinese products, such as tea and porcellain ware. Captain O’Donnell started his commercial adventure by sending his own ship to Canton, China. With the profit earned from his trade with China, John purchased a large piece of waterfront land east of Fells Point. He named his land after Canton.

228. US-China Trade in Yarmouth, Mass

In previous posts, I have told my readers the fact that New England can serve as a valuable historical museum for those who are interested in US-China relations in economic perspective in the early history of the United Sate. Even on Cape Cod you can find a living museum reflecting the splendid history of American traders' efforts to engage the trade with China.

There is a museum, called Captain Banges Hallet House. The historical house provides you an intimate glance into how Chinese products influenced 19th century family life. It is hardly imagine that it would take 16 to 18 months for American traders to bring back Chinese products to the American shore. This museum exhibits various Chinese products the captain bought in China from the 18th century, such as silk fabric, toys, porcelain, lacquered pieces and, of course, tea.

In order to give you a vivid picture of the captain's China trip, the house parlors "are arranged as if the captain was just returning from his voyage to China". In the meantime, you also can find a general description of the China trade in this area through reading this brief history of American trade with China.

226. The Connecticut River Valley and the China Trade

The economic relationship between China and the United States has had a long history. How long has it been? The relationship started as soon as the United States was established.

With this post I will introduce you the impact of China trade on Connecticut.
Middletown,located in Middlesex County, Connecticut, along the Connecticut River became a center of the China trade in Connecticut. In 1787, two years after the Empress of China reached Canton, China. The news that China’s love of American Ginseng spread to the Connecticut River Valley. Jeremiah Wadsworth contracted with William Moore of Greenfield, Massachusetts for 800 pounds of Ginseng. Numerous business persons and residents engaged trade with China during the early period of the United States.

In an exhibit not long ago, over 120 China trade goods originally owned by Connecticut River Valley residents were displayed. You can obtain more information concerning the entrepreneurs’ enthusiastic pursuit of the trade with China from this paper, Canton and Connecticut. I also find an excellent paper, discussing, The Connecticut Rive Valley and the China Trade. You also don't want to miss this introductory paper, The Connecticut River Valley and the China Trade by Amanda Lange.

225. The First American Millionaire and China

Before Bill Gates (born 1955 , Donald Trump (born in 1946), the Rockefellers , Andrew Carnegie (1835-1919) and Henry Ford (1863-1947)there was a gentleman, John Jacob Astor (1763-1848). Astor was the first American millionaire. I write this essay because he made himself the first millionaire based on the profits he earned from the China Trade initiated by the founders of the United States.

John came into the United States in 1784, the year when the founders of this country sent the first American trade ship, the Empress of China to Canton, China. Sixteen years later, the history saw Astor sent his first ship to China. He loaded his ship with 30,573 sealskins, and other animal skins, and North American ginseng. From 1800 on, Astor expanded his trade with China greatly. Three years later, he focused his attention on the fur trade in the Pacific Northwest. He established the American Fur Company. His fleet of ships would collect the furs and sell them in China. By 1820, he became a leader of American trade with China.

How much money he made from the China trade, we don't know. However, we know that he owned one-fifteenth of all personal wealth of the entire United States. Between 1803 and 1806, he invested $300,000 of his profits from China in Manhattan real estate. The land he bought would "pour millions into the coffers his descendants." In addition, he also exerted great influence on the relations between China and the United States. President Thomas Jefferson even gave green lights for Astor to send the latter’s commercial ship to China in a time when no ships were allowed to leave the American coast.

196. Begining of United States Trade with China

With China We trade is an article written by Dr. Dave Wang in March 2009. It is a very interesting piece. Mr. Jeffrey Mead, the President of Historical Council of Hawaii introduces this article in his well-known blog. He told his readers,

"Dave has spent a considerable amount of time and effort to uncover Early
America's ties to China and the China trade, asserting that Chinese
culture and civilization influenced the Founding Fathers of the
American Republic in 1776. Presently he is in London lecturing on this
topic as part of a global lecture series. We're looking forward to
having him come to Hawaii."

In this article, Dr. Dave Wang pointes out, "President Barack Obama told the American people in his inauguration address on January 20 that the United States was experiencing one of the worst economic recessions in history. "That we are in the midst of crisis is now well understood. Our economy is badly weakened ... Homes have been lost, jobs shed, businesses shuttered." To encourage the nation to fight against the recession, Obama turned to draw wisdom from the founding fathers, who led the fledgling US to rise above its first economic.' Dr. Dave Wang's whole article is availabe from this link.

The famous International economics also collected Dr. Dave Wang's article. Below is the the quote from the site.

"With China We Trade
Dave Wang (AT) Mar 11, 2009
President Barack Obama, in making Beijing a priority destination for Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, was following advice and interest dating back to George Washington and the Founding Fathers. Even in its earliest and most fragile days as a nation, the United States turned to China as a lifeline of trade." You can access the site from this link.

179. American and Chinese Leaders on the Empress of China

President Barack Obama stated, "It was just a year after the end of our Revolution, when our nation was not much more than a set of ports and cities along the Atlantic, that an American ship named the Empress of China first sailed into Canton, looking to begin the first direct trade with China."

President Ronald Reagan pointed out, "Back in 1784, when the first American trading ship, the Empress of China, entered your waters, my country was unknown to you. We were a new republic eager to win a place in international commerce."

Chinese President Hu Jintao stated that "The Chinese people have always cherished goodwill towards the American people. In 1784, US merchant ship "Empress of China" sailed to China, opening the friendly exchanges between our two peoples."

I have found that this speech made by American Counsel-General in Mauca is interesting, therefore I present it to you below:

"Just a few months after the Treaty of Paris ended the American Revolution in 1784, a three-masted, American sailing ship, newly named the Empress of China, with a crew of 34, set out from New York for Macau. The expedition was financed by a well-known American patriot, Robert Morris, a signer of both the Declaration of Independence and the U.S. Constitution. Morris's objective was to directly purchase Chinese tea, much in demand in our young nation. The Empress arrived at Macau in August 1784 with a cargo of 30 tons of wild New England ginseng root which it traded at Chinese ports for tea, cotton cloth, silk, tableware and spice. The venture was a success, and soon led to a flourishing trade after the Empress returned to New York in May 1785." You can enjoy the story how the ginseng root helped the opening of the relations between China and the Uniated States through my paper, Gingseng, the herb that Helped the United States to Enter International Commerce.

Finally, you could enjoy my paper, With China We Trade, and learn how George Washington promoted the Empress of China.

133. Relics of the China Trade

High atop a wooded hill in Milton, overlooking the clusters of sailing ships out in Massachusetts Bay, Capt. Robert Bennet Forbes in 1833 built a handsome, spacious Greek Revival mansion. He filled the house with the porcelain, paintings, furniture, silver, lacquerware and silks he had collected during decades of journeys to China, beginning when he was 13 years old. More information following this link from New York Times.

120. Early American China Trade

Throught this link you will learn importance of the China Trade after the Revolution, the backgrounds of China trade, trading strategies, commodities of the trade and ships of the trade. You fill find out that one of the contributing causes of colonial unrest was the exclusion of Americans from what was seen in the colonies as a very lucrative China trade.

With the volume of foreign trade relatively small during the early years of the Republic, trade with China played a significant role. By the 1830’s, trade routes were well established between the United States and China, and the names of ports in the Eastern hemisphere, once exotic and mysterious, were becoming increasingly familiar to Americans as places of importance to the United States’ economy.

118. Thomas H. Perkins, a Millionaire, made by the China Trade

Thomas Handasyd Perkins was a Boston Merchant, who played a significant role in the China Trade. Perkins was one of the first
Boston merchants to engage in this trade. In 1789 he sailed on the Astrea to Canton. Its cargo included ginseng, cheese, lard, wine, and iron. On the trip back it carried tea and cotton cloth. As the trade developed, his ships went first to the coast of the Pacific Northwest to trade for furs from the native American Indians, and then to China to exchange the skins for Chinese goods. The China trade made Perkins a millionaire. More stories about Perkins in the China Trade through this link.

116. China Trade in New England, 1800s

From October 30, 2004 through March 6, 2005 Bruce Museum of Arts and Science, Greenwich, Connecticut State had an exhibition, China Trade in New England: A Connecticut Captain’s Journey. The Exhibit was over, however, the information concerning the exhibit stays. Through this introduction to the exhibition you can learn something about the comercial ties between China and the region.

110. Ginseng Trade War between US and Korea

In the early period of US-China trade, Ginseng became the main commercial goods that United States merchants shipped to China from North America. The inflow of huge amount Ginseng into Chinese market caused the depreciation of Ginseng's price. The Korean, who had exported Ginseng to China, waged a war against American Ginseng. Through this link you could read the research, examining the influence of American Ginseng on Korean's Ginseng trade with China.

109. Explore Early US-China Trade

This is the link through which you can learn more knowledge about the content and scale of the early trade between China and the United States. You also could enjoy the antiques that remind you of the flourishing days of the trade and the old Chinese system that dominated the trade.

108. How to Teach US-China Trade

Yale University started a project for public schools in order to help them in their efforts to teach students understanding China. Here you can find a detailed teaching plan showing how to teach US-China Trade.Through this teaching plan, you also learn how the US-China trade was started? By whom? The most important question for you might be why China? Why China Trade? Hopefully, you will find answers to the questions from reading the plan. If not, probably you have to read more items in this weblog.

107. Printed Materials on Early American Trade with China

With the trade volume is getting large day by day, the demand for understanding the history of US trade with China is increasing in both the United States and China. Through this link one can find printed materials in the study of early trade between China and the United States.