The United States, China, and the Money Question

By

Austin Dean

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An 1898 print depicting Uncle Sam behind a 'Prohibitive Tariff' wall.

"The Next Thing to Do"

An 1898 print depicting Uncle Sam behind a “Prohibitive Tariff” wall on U.S. land looking at a “Chinese Wall” being torn down by Japanese and European caricatures.

President Gerald Ford speaking in Beijing, China.

President Ford Speaking in China

President Gerald Ford speaking in Beijing, China in 1975.

The U.S. Trade Dollar from 1873.

U.S. Trade Dollar

The U.S. Trade Dollar from 1873.

William Daniell’s View of the Canton Factories c1805.

Canton Factories

William Daniell’s View of the Canton Factories c1805. The Canton Factories area hosted all Western trade in China from 1757 to 1842.

The flag of the People's Republic of China since 1949.

Chinese Flag

The flag of the People's Republic of China since 1949.

The Chinese renminbi.

Chinese Renminbi

The Chinese renminbi (the people’s currency, RMB).

Chairman Deng Xiaoping and President Jimmy Carter.

Carter and Deng

Chairman Deng Xiaoping and President Jimmy Carter in 1979.

General Secretary Jiang Zemin and President Bill Clinton at a joint press conference.

Jiang and Clinton

General Secretary Jiang Zemin and President Bill Clinton at a joint press conference at the White House in 1997.

First Lady Hillary Rodham Clinton giving a speech in 1995.

Hillary Clinton in China

First Lady Hillary Rodham Clinton giving a speech in 1995 at the United Nations Fourth World Congress on Women in Beijing, China where she famously declared “human rights are women’s rights and women’s rights are human rights.”

President George W. Bush and Chinese President Hu Jintao.

Bush and Hu

President George W. Bush and Chinese President Hu Jintao at the White House in 2006.

Chinese Vice Premier Wang Qishan holding a basketball President Obama gave him.

Wang and Obama

Chinese Vice Premier Wang Qishan holding a basketball President Obama gave him during an Oval Office meeting in 2009 to discuss the results of the first U.S.-China Strategic and Economic Dialogue.

President Barack Obama and President Xi Jinping toast during a 2014 State Banquet.

Barack Obama and Xi Jinping

President Barack Obama and President Xi Jinping toast during a 2014 State Banquet in Beijing, China (official White House Photo by Pete Souza).

These office buildings off the Pearl River were known as the American Garden.

American Garden

From 1757 to 1842, almost all Western trade with China was confined to this neighborhood known as the Canton Factories in present day Guangdong Province. These office buildings off the Pearl River were known as the American Garden.

The Empress of China in 1876.

The Empress of China

The Empress of China in 1876, nearly 100 years after it left New York harbor for China as the first American merchant vessel to enter Chinese waters.

Silver peso of Philip V of Spain.

Silver Peso

Silver peso of Philip V of Spain minted in Mexico in 1739.

1888 'Trade Coin' from Mexico.

“Trade Coins”

1888 “Trade Coin” from Mexico with multiple “chop” marks made by Chinese merchants to verify their authenticity.

Chinese coins from the Tang to the Qing dynasties.

Chinese Coins

Chinese coins from the Tang to the Qing dynasties (618-1911).

A French cartoon from 1898 depicting England, Germany, Russia, France, and Japan dividing up China.

Divvying Up China

A French cartoon from 1898 depicting England, Germany, Russia, France, and Japan dividing up China while a stereotypical Chinese official ineffectually tries to stop it. Largely predating American expansion efforts toward China, the U.S. was not included in the cartoon.

The 1901 cover of Puck.

"World Power"

The 1901 cover of Puck, a satirical magazine. Columbia, the personification of the United States, puts on a warship-shaped hat representing the United States’ grab for “World Power,” which would include more influence over Chinese trade.

1900 Puck Magazine cover.

"Survival of the Fittest"

1900 Puck Magazine cover depicting two gladiators representing the “Gold Standard” and “Silver Standard.”

A political cartoon from Harper’s Weekly titled 'Rags for Our Working Men-Specie for the Foreigners.'

Rags for Our Working Men

A political cartoon from Harper’s Weekly titled “Rags for Our Working Men-Specie for the Foreigners” (1874). The caption reads: “Columbia: Dear me, I do think it very wrong that the good nice trade dollar (worth 100 cents) should be sent out of the country for the benefit of the ‘heathen Chinee,’ for if these gentlemen are permitted to have their own way, it will take a basket full of greenbacks (worth--?) to buy dinner for my children.”

Qing forces defeated by Japanese troops during the First Sino-Japanese War.

First Sino-Japanese War

Qing forces defeated by Japanese troops during the First Sino-Japanese War (1894-1895).

A Puck Magazine cartoon from 1898 depicting the U.S.’s Open Door Policy towards China as a tug of war.

Open Door Policy

A Puck Magazine cartoon from 1898 depicting the U.S.’s Open Door Policy towards China as a tug of war over “Trade Supremacy” with the U.S., England, and Japan on one side and Russia, Germany, and France on the other seeking trade restrictions.

Cartoon that says, 'Prosperity At Home, Prestige Abroad.'

"Prosperity At Home, Prestige Abroad"

William McKinley ran for president in 1896 on the promise that adopting the gold standard would ensure U.S. prosperity.

A political cartoon from 1913 in which Uncle Sam sits at a table with a Chinese official.

The New Diplomacy

A political cartoon from 1913 in which Uncle Sam sits at a table with a Chinese official while representations of Great Britain, Mexico, and Japan look on. The sign in the background reads: “The New Diplomacy (formerly dollar, now 30 [cents]).”

A poster commemorating the Republic of China.

The Chinese Republic

A poster commemorating the Republic of China, Yuan Shikai (left), and Sun Yat-sen (right).

A Japanese Yen bank note from 1873.

A Japanese Yen

A Japanese Yen bank note from 1873. The Continental Bank Note Company of New York printed the Yen for the Japanese.

Chinese students protesting the Treaty of Versailles in 1919.

Protesting Versailles

Chinese students protesting the Treaty of Versailles in 1919.

Chiang Kai-shek.

Chiang Kai-shek

Chiang Kai-shek, leader of the Nationalist, Kuomintang (KMT) party, in 1943.

Democratic Senator Key Pittman.

Senator Key Pittman

Democratic Senator Key Pittman of Nevada in the 1930s.

A 5 Yuan bank note from 1936 meant to replace silver coins.

5 Yuan Bank Note

A 5 Yuan bank note from 1936 meant to replace silver coins. Notably, the bank note resembled the American dollar and included English words.

A U.S. propaganda poster from the 1940s promoting the United China Relief fund.

United China Relief Fund

A U.S. propaganda poster from the 1940s promoting the United China Relief fund.

1 Yuan Note.

1 Yuan Note

Starting in 1948, the renminbi, known as the people’s currency, featured images of peasant farmers and industrial workers.

5 Yuan Note.

5 Yuan Note

Starting in 1948, the renminbi, known as the people’s currency, featured images of peasant farmers and industrial workers.

200 Yuan Note.

200 Yuan Note

Starting in 1948, the renminbi, known as the people’s currency, featured images of peasant farmers and industrial workers.

President Richard Nixon and Premier Zhou Enlai.

Nixon and Zhou

President Richard Nixon and Premier Zhou Enlai toasting during Nixon's historic visit in 1972.

Democratic Senator Charles Schumer.

Senator Charles Schumer

Democratic Senator Charles Schumer of New York.

Republican Senator Lindsey Graham.

Senator Lindsey Graham

Republican Senator Lindsey Graham of South Carolina.

The headquarters of the People's Bank of China in Beijing.

The People's Bank of China

The headquarters of the People's Bank of China in Beijing.

A label identifying a product as being made in China.

Made In China

A label identifying a product as being made in China. The amount of Chinese-made products in the U.S. been increasingly criticized but American consumers continue to purchase them.

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Cite this Site

Austin Dean , "The United States, China, and the Money Question" , Origins: Current Events in Historical Perspective

October, 2016

https://origins.osu.edu/index.php/article/united-states-china-and-money-question.