The Burlingame Treaty: Empowering Chinese Immigrants and National Sovereignty

In this episode, we look at the life of Anson Burlingame, a well-known name  in California. During Lincoln's term as president, he was appointed Chief Minister to China, arriving in Beijing in the summer of 1862. Already well-known in the US as a fiery abolitionist and a man who believed everyone should be treated fairly and with all due respect, he sympathized with the Chinese government. When he arrived in post-Opium Wars, post-Treaty of Tianjin/Convention of Beijing China, he used his respected position among the diplomatic community of the treaty powers to fight for a fair deal for China. In a controversial move, he was appointed by the Qing government to lead a mission to the US and the great capitals of Europe to advocate on China's behalf. While in the US, Burlingame championed the signing of a treaty, the first of its kind, that recognized China as an equal sovereign nation. It opened the door to legal Chinese immigration and travel to the US. That ended up becoming the treaty's undoing.