Abstract
Each year as high school classes study the history of World War I, great surprise is shown when they learn that Japan was one of the Allies and an associate of the United States. Particularly since pearl Harbor have students been curious to know what kind of friend Japan was and what the circumstances were which brought the Nipponese and the Americans together in a common cause. This student interest proved an impetus to research. |To set forth the evolving relations between the United States and Japan during the early years of the war, from 1914 to 1917, is the purpose of this thesis. |Almost without exception, since the beginning of American intercourse with the par East, the United States had been sympathetic toward both China and Japan. It stood for the development of strong Asiatic states and most favored nation treatment, because under these conditions American interests were test served. Gradually its concern became more concentrated on China, the weaker nation politically and the one in danger of being partitioned. American policy in the Ear East came to be expressed by the terms the Open Door and the territorial integrity of China. |In carrying out its China policy in the years since the Russo-Japanese War, friction was encountered from time to time between the Governments of Washington and Tokyo. Japan wanted to become a leading power in the Western Pacific and she had ambitions and plans of industrial and political expansion which conflicted with American policy. This difference became more pronounced during the world War. |This study has as its object to consider the major issues in diplomacy between the two countries, to analyze the background of the political and economic rivalries, and to judge whether during the years 1914 to 1917 the American traditional policy was adhered to or if concessions were made to Japan violating the principle of the Open Door or the territorial integrity of China. The viewpoint throughout is from Washington, not from Tokyo.