By the time of the treaty, Russia and Japan disputed for years over control of Manchuria. War began in 1904, when the Japanese attacked the Russian fleet at Port Arthur, Manchuria. The two countries continued to clash in Korea and the Sea of Japan, resulting in Japan winning various close victories. However war casualties were high on both sides, and by 1905 both Russia and China were seeking an end to the war. The Japanese asked President Roosevelt to negotiate a peace agreement, and it was decided that the representatives of the two sides would meet at Portsmouth, New Hampshire.
In order to maintain a balance of power in Asia, Roosevelt hoped that the treaty would leave Russia and Japan on equal footing. Although he acknowledged Japan's new increase of power, Roosevelt feared the consequences to American interests if Japan completely drove out Russia. As a result, Russian influence was curtailed in the region, but they were not required to pay for Japan's war costs. Japan wanted more from Russia, but they too were struggling economically, forcing them to accept the terms of the treaty.
The Treaty of Portsmouth marked the final cooperative event between the U.S. and Japan that started with the Meiji Restoration in 1868. From this point onwards, competition between the two nations would continue to grow as the U.S. struggled to compete for power in Asia. Nonetheless, Roosevelt won the Nobel Peace Prize for his role in moderating the negotiation and pushing toward peace.
Source
https://history.state.gov/milestones/1899-1913/portsmouth-treaty
Cody, I really like your post because it was very organized and insightful. I agree with your point that the treaty of Portsmouth showed that America and had become a world power. Another example that supports this is the Taft-Katsura agreement which happened during the same year. Using the source http://dokdo-research.com/temp25.html, I learned that Roosevelt was scared that Japan would invade the Philippines so he sent Taft to secure a secret deal with the Japanese president whilst his daughter drew all the attention away. They agreed that the Japanese would keep out of the Philippines and in return the U.S would not interfere with their colonization of Korea. A result of this deal was the Japanese occupation of Korea. I researched this further using the source http://koreanhistory.info/japan.htm and I found that Japanese occupation of Korea was very harsh. Although Korea became more industrialized, the Koreans were very unhappy. They were forced to embrace Japanese culture such as changing their names, a lot of their food was exported to Japan leaving them hungry, and they were also victim to many other crimes.
ReplyDeleteI'm curious as to why Roosevelt was so weary towards Japanese domination in Manchuria. If we had been cooperative with Japan since 1868, why would that stop Japan drove out Russia. Besides that, it is interesting to see how we began to play an international role as an arbiter in international affairs. Something that we continue to do to this day, in cases such as the Camp David Accords and the Yalta Conference.
ReplyDeleteYour post was very insightful, and I found it interesting that Roosevelt won the Nobel Peace Prize for his actions. I also found it interesting that Japan would reach out to the USA to negotiate peace, even though the Japanese were winning the war. Wouldn't the Japanese have more to gain if they just continued the war and beat Russia? Although this did in fact mark a significant change in foreign policy, America had already begun to extend its reach out towards the rest of the globe during the end of the Spanish-American War. The annexation of the Philippines marked another great change in stance of America's foreign policy.
ReplyDeleteCody, I really liked how you clearly and extensively discussed the effects of the Treaty of Portsmouth and how it was able to resolve tensions between Russia and Japan. Building onto Owen's and your ideas, the US also demonstrated that it had become a world power through the Hay-Bunau-Varilla Treaty. This treaty was signed between the US and Panama in 1903, allowing the US to gain control over an area in the Panama to build a canal. With this agreement, Panama was guaranteed independence but allowed for the US to "intervene in Panama's domestic affairs." In addition, the US also gained control of Alaska from Russia in 1867 and colonized over the Philippines as a result of the Spanish-American War which ended in 1898. By gaining control of areas in both the Western and Eastern Hemisphere, the US were able to become such a large world power.
ReplyDeletehttp://countrystudies.us/panama/8.htm
One part of your post that I found most interesting was how Roosevelt won a Nobel Peace Prize for his work in this peace settlement. Though there are many aspects of this issue, one of Roosevelt's most clear goals was to establish a positon of power for the United States. In my eyes, trying to assume power over Japan and Russia is not an effort to maintain peace, but rather to give the United States a boost in international affairs. Roosevelt's goal of promoting American power was motivation for many of his actions, not just this peace negotiation. For example, Roosevelt sent the Great White Fleet to impress other countries, mainly Japan, and show off the United States' military prowess. His interjection into this peace negotiation was somewhat random, too, and he didn't really have any business being a part of it. I believe this further demonstrates his ulterior motive for participating, so I am surprised that he would be given a Nobel Peace Prize for this work.
ReplyDelete