The Oregon Dispute and its Settlement Summary - Essay Example

However, the aftermath of this moment prepared Japan for most important feat in history. Surprisingly, after this interaction, America and Japan would be at war as the Americans struggled to stamp its authority on Japan (Fallows 20). Mathew Perry was an important figure during this conduct in that he was well prepared by training and temperament for negotiation in Japan. More so, Perry dedicated his entire career to the expansion of the American navy. Perry’s first important mission in 1819 was to transport slaves to Africa during the founding of Liberia.

During this time, he did not witness the combat until he was in his 50s at the battle of Veracruz in the Mexican war as the nation Kept on expanding westward towards a second sea frontier on the Pacific. The opening up of America to Japan for trade was aided by the fact that there was invention of new maritime vessels that were powered by steam. By 1850, the first and graceful clipper vessel had made America to take the lead in the shipping trade (Fallows 22). But, the Britons were outperforming Americans in the steamships.

The steam ships required coal to power their engines but the clippers had to choose the routes to China depending on the basis of favorable winds. On the other hand, steamers were more deliberate in that they followed a great circle route up to Alaska and then down to the Japanese Archipelago. It was on this ground that Senator Daniel Webster of New Hampshire discovered that Japan had coal deposits thus declaring that it was time to establish oceanic steam navigation. The American expansion to Japan was facilitated by the desire to expand a coal using steam powered navy.

In addition, the Americans wanted to find markets in Japan in order to develop and convert more souls. Initially American expansion to Japan in 1700s was characterized by persecution in that the Japanese used to torture American sailors and whalers. More so, their ships were wrecked on the shores of the oceans. There was need to protect the whalers from these problems and destroy the religious practice of the Japanese people. It is vital to note that during the time of American expansion to Japan, the British had just won its opium war against China while the Russians were approaching from the North, swarming around were the French and Dutch.

The American government watched this with great care and that Millard Fillmore commissioned the Japan expedition by convincing Mathew Perry to command it (Fallows 24). Japan adopted her own seclusion policies under the leadership of Shogun and they did not want Japan to interact with the outside world. On day, American whalers rescued a Japanese fisherman known as Kajima who was ship wrecked and he was taken to live in New England. Under the seclusion laws of Japan, it was an offense to leave the country and come back if one had escaped.

Despite this, Kajima decided to risk returning home. Surprisingly, he was not killed instead he was sent to Nagasaki and told to say everything he knew about United States. He said that America was lewd by nature and that their toilets are placed over holes in the ground. The Japanese repelled any foreign ship that docked at their sea. For instance, before Mathew Perry landed in Japan, James Biddle of the U.S nay had been humiliated by the Japanese and was ordered never to return in