The Denby Family: Anti-foreignism, Foreign Rapacity, and U.S. Policy in China, 1895-1905

Indianapolis, IN

This paper examines why, despite increasing danger for foreigners in the later 19th century, the United States did not alter its policy toward China and why diplomats Charles Denby, Sr. and Charles Denby, Jr. in fact pushed for more aggressive economic, diplomatic, and even military policies. Increasingly frequent riots and murders perpetrated against foreigners made China an increasingly dangerous place for them to live. Simultaneously, the economic opportunities that China and Southeast Asia seemed to offer made China an enticing place for American businesses. Consequently, popular opinion in the United States pushed for the government to pursue an aggressive policy in the region. However, the U.S. risked being shut out of China entirely, as foreign powers took advantage of the weakness of the Qing Dynasty government to carve out spheres of influence in the country. Policy concerns, not any benevolent regard for the fate of China, thus resulted in the promulgation of the Open Door policy in 1899. Despite the apparent danger for foreigners, Minister to China Charles Harvey Denby and his son, Charles Denby, Jr., agreed with domestic opinion and sought to facilitate commercial expansion in the region, placing themselves on the forefront of business and policy in China. This paper utilizes Denby family letters recently made available to the public, contemporary articles, and state department archival materials to argue that, regardless of the potential for violence against foreigners, the Denby family continually and actively used their influence to push for an aggressive policy toward Asia.