Ep. 365 Anson Burlingame, the 1868 Treaty, and the Open Door Policy

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.

You can listen to Ep. 365 Anson Burlingame, the 1868 Treaty, and the Open Door Policy online on Radio and Podcast. Open the player on this page to stream the available audio.

Ep. 365 Anson Burlingame, the 1868 Treaty, and the Open Door Policy is an episode from The China History Podcast by Laszlo Montgomery.

This episode is 36:57 long.

This episode was published on May 28, 2025.

Yes. Use the heart button on the episode page to add it to your favorite episodes list.

Yes. This page shows related episodes from The China History Podcast when more episodes are available from the podcast feed.