Fear Is the Greates EnemyEssay Preview: Fear Is the Greates EnemyReport this essayResearch PaperShawn ZhangOpen Door PolicyThe Open Door Policy, enabling many imperial powers access into China, did give certain benefits to U.S. However, overall, its malevolent contribution and legacy are not neglectable. In the late 1800s, Britain, Japan, Russia, Germany, and France had created strong sphere of influences in China. Fearing that the colonial powers would completely control Chinas market, yearning to benefit from trades with China as well, U.S. proposed the Open Door Policy which allowed every imperial power, instead of Britain only, had right to participate in Chinas trades. This policy greatly benefited the imperial powers but hugely damage the economy of China, who underwent hundreds of unfair treaties in both markets and politics. Being self-sufficient for hundreds of years, Chinese had strong antipathy toward foreign influence. Eventually, under the secret support of the Empress Cixi, Chinese martial artists launched the Boxer Rebellion and killed a lot of foreign missionaries and residents, including many Americans. After that, using this as an excuse, U.S. and other seven nations invaded Beijing, rubbed and destroyed myriads of Chinese ancient antiques and architectures with uncountable values. The policy originated Chineses antipathy toward Americans, which still exists slightly today, and greatly worsened the two nations relationship. The legacy caused by the policy let China struggled for many years. To evaluate fairly, Open Door policy has more deleterious effects than its positive contributions to the world.
Chinas huge population and wealth greatly stimulated the foreign powers interests, which eventually lead to Open Door Policy, the loot in a burning house. China, the huge agriculture prosperous nation, occupied almost one- third of the worlds GDP in 1800s. However, the wealthy nation has very weak military force. Suffered from war, opium consumption, interior corruption, and foreign intervention, China had become known as the “sick man of Asian”. It was forced to sign a large number of unfair treaties with Britain, Japan, Russia, Germany, and France. The United States started fearing that China would eventually turn into parts of colonies and Americans trade interests associated with China would be threatened. In 1899, John Hay, the Secretary of State John Hay issued the Open Door notes which guaranteed all the nations equal rights in participating trades in China, as Suigita, Yoneyuki wrote, ” as a theory, the Open Door Policy originates with British commercial practice, as reflected in treaties conclude with Qing Dynasty China after the First Opium War.” However, the policy only benefited the foreigners. Operating under those unfair treaties, Chinese merchants suffered from the loss due to unfair taxes, in which they had to pay more taxes than the foreigners, unfair competitions, in which the foreign business usually had government or even armed-force support, and negative foreign influence, in which segregation in public services such as restaurants and theaters was rampant. Moreover, foreign business often took advantages from the low-income Chinese workers, increasing their working hours with decreased pay. The huge nations economy kept declining. The policy actually allowed more nations to rob the already sick nation.
Chineses resentment toward Open Door Policy eventually led to Boxer Rebellion which caused hundreds innocent deaths. China had been self-sufficient for centuries. The sudden drastic foreign interferes stimulated many Chineses antipathy. People blamed Chinas fall on the foreigners and believed the nation would revive if the “foreign devils” were eliminated. Boxer Rebellion, “the 1900 uprising against foreigners in China – led by a society of martial artists secretly encouraged by the Dowager Empress Cixi”, was one of the famous rebels. This group believed that their martial arts would make them invincible and restore the nation. However, most of their targets were missionaries, foreign residents, and Chinese Christians who had no means of defense. The movement started in May of 1900 and by the August, there were estimated 360,000 Boxers in Beijing. They sieged the foreign legations
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During the early 1900s the population in China and the rest of the world is quite different. Many of the country’s wealthiest people are Chinese and their wives and servants.
The Great Fire Wars were a global disaster. China gained most of its wealth from the great fires. At the end of June, 1901, Japan gained the largest city in the world and was forced to accept surrender. China regained the territories within a year and was forced to make more adjustments to the country’s economic system and policies.
World War I opened a wide and dangerous conflict between China and America. A war between France and the United States, also known as the English-American War, broke out in Germany in the summer of 1914, France’s attempt to establish its position in the Atlantic was defeated. The French had the advantage of a large army and the British had a powerful navy. As the war progressed, the United States was caught in its own internal wars.
The Great Fire Wars started a new phase in world history. Great fire fights between the Chinese and the Americans were held at a crucial juncture in the global conflict. As many as 300,000 people died in the fires. At the end of the civil war in 1916, the Americans had won their hearts, and the Chinese army defeated nearly all of these Chinese forces. But it was only to give the enemy the ability to take advantage of China. It was during the World War II, which marked the Chinese Civil War. As a means to further consolidate the control of the nation’s finances, China had to accept American demands for massive amounts in exchange for freedom from the French, to join the United Nations and to help the United States.
There are many good reasons for why China fell from power. First, because the Chinese had not been able to overthrow the Americans. In fact, during the Great War, no one really suspected that China’s power is being eroded by Americans’ desire to use their power to establish a global hegemony. Second, the Great Fire Wars changed the world and were largely a consequence of the war. In 1917, all major powers and leaders of the world started to recognize that there is a global crisis, and that world politics is not a good one to negotiate on. It takes the right to stand at attention and speak out when faced with an economic crisis rather than give in to the economic demands of powerful powers.
If China fell from power, what then would the next generation of American leaders do to save themselves? They’d turn to American leadership. Many Presidents and senators have expressed their reluctance to take steps to help the United States with this problem. One of those senators, Henry K. Hyde, urged members of the Senate to “give the President all the help he can give, and hope that even those of you who may not like the things which we are dealing with will not be persuaded that the Americans are uniting against us before we can come within what we can achieve.”
As American leaders continue to develop their policies and approach towards China, the Chinese will not allow them to do so. Some Chinese leaders have told Americans that they have already developed their China, and that America should be sending the Army of China (Army of China was a country which called China.) In other words, China is already more China than America.
Another potential reason for why China fell from power is that the United States had begun a war with China in 1789. The people of the United States were at war with China for about three centuries. In that time, America began to take more military action than