Grover Cleveland

President Cleveland Authorizes the Negotiation of a Treaty Limiting Chinese Immigration to the United States (The authorization states the subject of the treaty as ?emigration between the United States of America and the Emperor of China?, an act elicited in large part by the Chinese immigration during the California Gold Rush)

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A very rare document relating to U.S./Chinese relations and the exclusions of Chinese immigrantsIn the 1850s, Chinese workers migrated to the United States, first to work in the gold mines, but also to take agricultural jobs, and factory work, especially in the garment industry. Chinese immigrants were particularly instrumental in building railroads in the American west, and as Chinese laborers grew successful in the United States, a number of them became entrepreneurs in their own right. As the numbers of Chinese laborers increased, so did the strength of anti-Chinese sentiment among other workers in the American economy. This finally resulted in legislation that aimed to severely limit future immigration of Chinese workers to the United States,.American objections to Chinese immigration took many forms, and generally stemmed from economic and cultural tensions, as well as ethnic discrimination. Most Chinese laborers who came to the United States did so in order to send money back to China to support their families there. At the same time, they also had to repay loans to the Chinese merchants who paid their passage to America. These financial pressures left them little choice but to work for whatever wages they could. Non-Chinese laborers often required much higher wages to support their wives and children in the United States, and also generally had a stronger political standing to bargain for higher wages. Therefore many of the non-Chinese workers in the United States came to resent the Chinese laborers, who might squeeze them out of their jobs. Furthermore, as with most immigrant communities, many Chinese settled in their own neighborhoods, and tales spread of Chinatowns as places where large numbers of Chinese men congregated to smoke opium or gamble. Some advocates of anti-Chinese legislation therefore argued that admitting Chinese into the United States lowered the cultural and moral standards of American society. Others used a more overtly racist argument for limiting immigration from East Asia, and expressed concern about the integrity of American racial composition.To address these rising social tensions, from the 1850s through the 1870s the California state government passed a series of measures aimed at Chinese residents, ranging from requiring special licenses for Chinese businesses or workers to preventing naturalization. Because anti-Chinese discrimination and efforts to stop Chinese immigration violated the 1868 Burlingame-Seward Treaty with China, the federal government was able to negate much of this legislation. In 1880, the Hayes Administration appointed U.S. diplomat James Angell to negotiate a new treaty with China. The resulting Angell Treaty permitted the United States to restrict, but not completely prohibit, Chinese immigration. In 1882, Congress passed the Chinese Exclusion Act, which suspended the immigration of Chinese laborers (skilled or unskilled) for a period of 10 years. The Act also required every Chinese person traveling in or out of the country to carry a certificate identifying his or her status as a laborer, scholar, diplomat, or merchant. The 1882 Act was the first in American history to place broad restrictions on immigration.In 1888, Congress took exclusion even further and passed the Scott Act, which made reentry to the United States after a visit to China impossible, even for long-term legal residents. The Chinese Government considered this act a direct insult, but was unable to prevent its passage. In 1892, Congress voted to renew exclusion for ten years in the new Geary Act, that extended the Chinese Exclusion Act of 1882 by adding onerous new requirements.But the United States wanted even more, and in 1894 President Cleveland authorized the Secretary of State to negotiate another treaty - to be known as the Gresham-Yang Treaty. This treaty was successfully negotiated, and later that year the Gresham-Yang Treaty was signed between the United States and China, in which the Chinese Qing dynasty consented to measures put in place by the United States prohibiting Chinese immigration in exchange for the readmission of previous Chinese residents, thus in effect agreeing to the enforcement of the Geary Act. This was the first time the United States government barred an entire ethnic group from entering the mainland United States. However, despite signing the Gresham-Yang Treaty, the Chinese government held many grievances against the United States related to the various "exclusion laws" passed, and the manner under which they were being enforced.Document signed as president, Washington, March 1, 1894, being Cleveland?s original authorization to seek what became the Gresham-Yang Treaty. In it, President Cleveland directs the Secretary of State to ?cause the Seal of the United States to be affixed to my Full Power authorizing him to negotiate, conclude and sign a Treaty in regard to the subject of emigration between the United States of America and the Emperor of China.?

President William McKinley Ends the Spanish American War Hostilities (He orders ?the cessation of hostilities between the United States and Spain?)

The only document signed by a president ordering the end of hostilities in a war waged by the United States that we have ever seen on the market?It is extremely rare that one comes across an original document signed by a president ordering the end of hostilities in a war waged by the United States subject to a declaration of war by Congress. We have, in our 35 years, seen just one, and it is this document.The United States had a long-term negative view of Spain and wanted it out of the Western Hemisphere. This was in part because of anti-Spanish feeling in the U.S. going back to colonial days. Then, in the War of 1812, the Spanish were allies of Britain, angering many Americans. Moreover, the Spanish policy of supplying Creek Indians with arms and ammunition through their territories in Florida further strained relations with the Americans on the frontier, and made Spain a threat to American expansion. The prospect of taking or acquiring East and West Florida from Spain became for many Americans a priority. The U.S. obtained West Florida in 1819, and purchased East Florida from Spain in 1821. In the years before the Civil War, anti-Spanish feelings remained, and Americans in the South wanted to obtain Cuba as the chief goal in a plan to make the Caribbean part of a slavery empire. That filed, and the Spanish colonies, such as Cuba and Puerto Rico, remained in Spain?s grasp. This seemed to many Americans a violation of the Monroe Doctrine.From 1895?1898, a violent conflict in Cuba developed and captured the attention of Americans because of the economic and political instability that it produced. The long-held U.S. interest in ridding the Western Hemisphere of European colonial powers and American public outrage over brutal Spanish tactics created much sympathy for the Cuban revolutionaries in the 1890s. By early 1898, tensions between the United States and Spain had been mounting for months. After the U.S. battleship Maine exploded and sank in Havana harbor under mysterious circumstances on February 15, 1898, U.S. military intervention in Cuba became likely.On April 11, 1898, President William McKinley acted, and asked Congress for authorization to end the fighting in Cuba between the rebels and Spanish forces, when clearly meant American intervention, and to establish a ?stable government? that would ?maintain order? and ensure the ?peace and tranquility and the security? of Cuban and U.S. citizens on the island. On April 20, the U.S. Congress passed a joint resolution that acknowledged Cuban independence, demanded that the Spanish government give up control of the island, foreswore any intention on the part of the United States to annex Cuba, and authorized McKinley to use whatever military measures he deemed necessary to guarantee Cuba?s independence.The Spanish government rejected a U.S. ultimatum and immediately severed diplomatic relations with the United States. McKinley responded by implementing a naval blockade of Cuba on April 22 and issued a call for 125,000 military volunteers the following day. That same day, Spain declared war on the United States, and the U.S. Congress voted to go to war against Spain on April 25.The future Secretary of State John Hay described the ensuing conflict as a ?splendid little war.? The first battle was fought on May 1, in Manila Bay, where Commodore George Dewey?s Asiatic Squadron defeated the Spanish naval force defending the Philippines. The Spanish Caribbean fleet under Adm. Pascual Cervera was located in Santiago harbor in Cuba by U.S. reconnaissance. An army of regular troops and volunteers under Gen. William Shafter (including future president Theodore Roosevelt and his 1st Volunteer Cavalry, the ?Rough Riders?) landed on the coast east of Santiago and slowly advanced on the city in an effort to force Cervera?s fleet out of the harbor. On June 10, U.S. troops landed at Guantanamo Bay in Cuba and additional forces landed near the harbor city of Santiago on June 22 and 24. On July 1 took place the Battle of San Juan Hill, victory in which boosted the Rough Riders and their leader Roosevelt into instant fame. On the naval front, after isolating and defeating the Spanish Army garrisons in Cuba, the U.S. Navy eyed the Spanish Caribbean squadron on July 3 as it attempted to escape the U.S. naval blockade of Santiago. In the ensuing battle all of his ships came under heavy fire from U.S. guns and were beached in a burning or sinking condition. Santiago surrendered to Shafter on July 17, thus effectively ending the brief but momentous war.On July 26, at the behest of the Spanish government, the French ambassador in Washington, Jules Cambon, approached the McKinley Administration to discuss peace terms, and a protocol - to end hostilities - was signed on August 12. President McKinley then issued Proclamation 422?Suspension of Hostilities with Spain, which stated ?The United States and Spain have formally agreed upon the terms on which negotiations for the establishment of peace between the two countries shall be undertaken; and Whereas it is in said protocol agreed that upon its conclusion and signature hostilities between the two countries shall be suspended and that notice to that effect shall be given as soon as possible by each Government to the commanders of its military and naval forces: Now, therefore, I, William McKinley, President of the United States, do, in accordance with the stipulations of the protocol, declare and proclaim on the part of the United States a suspension of hostilities and do hereby command that orders be immediately given through the proper channels to the commanders of the military and naval forces of the United States to abstain from all acts inconsistent with this proclamation.?In those days for a proclamation to take effect the president had to sign an order that the Great Seal of the United States be affixed to the proclamation. Only then could it become law. McKinley?s proclamation ending hostilities was no excep