Roosevelt and the Russo-Japanese War

         Today in class, we continued watching the video we started on last Friday. In the video, there was a section about Roosevelt's foreign policy. Here is the clip if you want to rewatch or if you missed it. 

      Cause of the war: Basically Japan couldn't get the control of Manchuria it wanted as well as Port Arthur because Russia, Germany, and France teamed up to pressure Japan into giving it up. Then the Russian moved into Port Arthur, a port that has strategic and commercial advantages to those who controls it, after pressuring the Chinese to allow them to. Japan starts to get "pissed" off and focus her attention on Korean instead. When Japan was trying to stage a coupe in Korea, Russia got in the way, and that created more tension between the two. The two try to have a negation which did not work out well, thus the Japanese attack Port Arthur and declares war on Russia. 

Roosevelt favored Russia at first because of the good foreign relations they had with one another and how Russia is trying to conquer the "lower" races instead of the same race, but then he realize that the larger Russia expand, the larger its power and the stronger it is. After the Japanese's naval threat, Roosevelt had a better view towards the Japanese because of their acceptance of the annexation of Hawaii and Japan's efficiently. He soon came to see Japan and Britain as a counter for Russia's expansion.

Reason why Roosevelt intervene:  He wanted to maintain a balance of power that would allow American trade to run smoothly and efficiently. Also wanted Manchuria to be returned as a Chinese province  and open to trade equally without any international power controlling it, which you could argue that it gave the America a good place to trade.

The negotiations took place in August of 1905 in Portsmouth, New Hemisphere and wasn't signed until September of the same year.

Japan wanted "recognition of their power in Korea, withdrawal of Russian troops from Manchuria along with economic concession, cession of Liaotung Peninsula, Sakhalin Island, and Port Arthur Railway, payment of indemnity, and a promise to not allow a Russian fleet to be based in the "Extreme East" "

The Russian delegates knew that they were losing the war, but Czar Nicholas II did not see it this way. On top of the lost of the war, the Russia government was dealing with political and social unrest caused by the Revolution of 1905. With this accounted for, the delegates wanted to win the peace as soon as possible, but not with the terms Japan had given them. Russia did not want to give any indemnity and any unnecessary concession 

Roosevelt then suggested that both Russia and Japan should compromise the "issue of naval vessels and naval limitation and control of Sakhalin" after hearing that Britain and France want to join in on the intervention. 

Russia's final proposal was "the cession of the southern half of Sakhalin with no indemnity", which the Japanese accepted for Roosevelt had said that another year of war would cost Japan more than it can recover

Final Result:The Treaty of Portsmouth it recognized Japan's dominance in Korea and Manchuria (including Port Arthur and the railway) and ceded the southern half of Sakhalin to Japan.

If you want to read more: 
http://www.russojapanesewar.com/TR.html
http://www.russojapanesewar.com/top.html
https://history.state.gov/milestones/1899-1913/portsmouth-treaty
http://www.russojapanesewar.com/documents.html

I hope this was somewhat informative and interesting.