Partly-printed DS as president, signed “R. B. Hayes,” one page, 8 x 10, June 4, 1880. President Hayes directs the Secretary of State to “cause the Seal of the United States to be affixed to an envelope containing a letter of credence of John F. Swift addressed to His Imperial Majesty, The Emperor of China.” In very fine condition.
John Franklin Swift was an American politician, author, and diplomat (1829-1891) who was one of the American negotiators of the Angell Treaty of 1880, to which this document undoubtedly relates. Following his nomination by Hayes and subsequent Senate confirmation, Swift left for Peking in June 1880 with fellow commissioners James Burrill Angell and William Henry Trescot, presenting his credentials on August 16th.
The Angell Treaty of 1880, was passed in Beijing, China, on November 17, 1880. A modification of the 1868 Burlingame Treaty between the United States and China, the Angell Treaty, which was proclaimed by President Chester A. Arthur on October 5, 1881, sought to restrict the flow of Chinese immigrants into the United States while also maintaining a friendly relationship with China. An agreement was reached and, according to the new treaty, the United States government would temporarily suspend the immigration of skilled and unskilled laborers from China, while still allowing the immigration of white-collar professionals. The treaty also reaffirmed the United States' continuing commitment to protect the rights and privileges of Chinese laborers already present in the United States.
Less than seven months later, on May 6, 1882, President Arthur signed The Chinese Exclusion Act, which prohibited all immigration of Chinese laborers for 10 years. The Chinese Exclusion Act, which excluded merchants, teachers, students, travelers, and diplomats, was the first and only major U.S. law ever implemented to prevent all members of a specific national group from immigrating to the United States.
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