This postdated Harper's Weekly
cover appeared just days after the public learned that Japan and Russia
had agreed to negotiate a settlement to end the Russo-Japanese
War. Like this cartoon, much of the press praised President
Theodore Roosevelt's central role as a diligent and patient mediator in
the conflict. ("Good offices" is a term used for the
influential and beneficent intervention by a neutral third party in a dispute.)
The Russo-Japanese War originated in competition between Japan and Russia for dominance in the Far East, particularly over Manchuria and Korea. The surprise Japanese victory in the Sino-Japanese War of 1894-1895 signaled that Japan had become a major military force and underlined the weakness of China. In the war settlement, China paid a large indemnity and granted trading privileges to Japan, recognized the independence of Korea, and ceded Formosa (Taiwan) and the Liaotung Peninsula of Manchuria—which included the strategically advantageous Port Arthur (Lü-shun)—to Japan.
Fearful of Japanese expansion in Asia, Russia joined Germany and France to compel Japan to return the Liaotung Peninsula to China. In 1896, Russia signed a treaty of alliance with China against Japan, under which China granted Russia the right to extend the Trans-Siberian Railroad through Manchuria to Vladivostok, a seaport in eastern Russia. Two years later, Russia coerced China into leasing it Port Arthur. During the Boxer Rebellion of 1900, several world powers sent military troops to China. Russian forces occupied Manchuria and refused to leave after the revolt was quashed. At the same time, Japan was increasing its influence in Korea. On February 8, 1904, without declaring war, Japan attacked and laid siege to Port Arthur.
Concerned by Russia's aggressive
behavior in East Asia over recent years, President Roosevelt was
initially sympathetic to Japan, but hoped the war would result in
relative balance, rather than the dominance of one power. Applying
his good offices to help resolve the war was potentially risky to
Roosevelt's personal stature, should he fail, but successful mediation
would enhance his and the nation's prestige on the world stage.
More importantly, he deemed it important that the conflict be ended on
terms consistent with what he judged to be America's national interest
in Asia.
Early in the war, Roosevelt
headed an international coalition aiming to preserve China's neutrality
and territorial integrity by limiting the theater of war. In March
1904, Japan conquered Korea and by late May had cut off Port Arthur from
Russian troops in Manchuria. Japan continued to score victories
over the summer and into the fall. A Russian counteroffensive in
the fall proved ineffective, and President Roosevelt began to worry that
Japan might emerge from the war as the principal power in the Far
East. He was also concerned about the Japanese seizure of a
Russian warship in Chinese waters and Japanese restrictions on the
American press.
On January 2, 1905, the Russian
commander at Port Arthur, without consulting his officers, ended the
nearly year-long siege by surrendering to the Japanese, even though the
Russians had sufficient provisions and ammunition to last three more
months. It was a major defeat for the Russians, and provoked
Roosevelt to intensify his mediation efforts. In February, he met
unofficially with a British diplomat, Cecil Spring Rice, to agree on
steps to bring the sides to the negotiating table. Yet, Japan
feared that being first to pursue peace would show weakness, while
Russia did not want to negotiate while they were losing.
Several weeks of fighting at
Mukden, Manchuria, resulted in heavy casualties--71,000 Japanese and 89,000
Russians--and a Russian retreat in early March 1905. On April 18,
the Japanese let Roosevelt know via the French that it was "not
unlikely that the friendly good
offices of some Power might be necessary" to end the war. The
Russians, however, tried one last gambit by sailing its Baltic fleet to
Japan. But on May 27-29, 1905, the Japanese destroyed it
at the Battle of Tsushima. Russia was now soundly defeated
in the war, and Japan was financially drained. By June 12, both
Russian and Japan had accepted Roosevelt's offer to arrange the peace
talks. The London Morning Press expressed the typical
sentiment that "Mr. Roosevelt's success has amazed everybody."
The president then faced the difficult task of facilitating a
successful outcome for the peace talks that began in early August 1905
at Portsmouth, New Hampshire. Roosevelt readily acceded to Japan's
authority over Korea, thereby violating an 1882 Korean-American
treaty. He did so believing that a disgruntled Japan might strike
against the American territories in Hawaii and the Philippines or
American interests in China.
The two key issues in conflict at the negotiations were whether
Russia should pay Japan an indemnity and which nation would control
Sakhalin Island. After resolving minor points, the talks stalled
on August 18. Three days later, President Roosevelt proposed that
Sakhalin Island be divided between the two powers. Although other
factors were involved, including Japan dropping its demand for
indemnity, the president's intervention was instrumental in resolving
the deadlock.
The talks ended on August 29 and a treaty was signed on September 5, 1905, in which Japan kept Port Arthur and the South Manchurian Railroad,
and gained hegemony over Korea, but returned the northern half of
Sakhalin Island to Russia. The terms of the treaty, though, led to riots
in Tokyo and helped provoke the Russian revolt of 1905 after which Tsar
Nicholas signed a constitutional charter.
In 1906, President Theodore Roosevelt was awarded the Nobel Peace
Prize for his part in ending the Russo-Japanese War. He was the
first American president to be so honored.
Robert C. Kennedy