Before the Storm

This chapter addresses U.S. policies furthering expansion to the Pacific Coast in order to establish the nation as a Pacific commercial power through trade with China. Such policies gave rise to an increasingly intense debate over the admission of Chinese immigrants. Led by Senator and then Secretary of State William Seward, Republicans maintained liberal immigration policies for the Chinese, especially through the Burlingame Treaty (1868). While leaders from California and other western states called for but were unable to gain national support for Chinese exclusion, they were able to prevent the naturalization of Chinese immigrants.