Page 2 - Merchants and Mandarins China Trade Era

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

Like everyone else who has completed a dissertation,
I owe a debt of gratitude to many persons for the innumerable
ways in which they have assisted me. During a year of re­
search I visited Baker Library at Harvard Business School,
Essex Institute in Salem, the Massachusetts Historical Society,
the Library of Congress and National Archives. I wish to
thank the staffs of all these institutions, especially Robert
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Lovett and Eleanor Bishop of Harvard s Baker Library, for
their efficient help and suggestions.

I further wish to express my appreciation to several
professors of the University of Virginia for their invaluable
advice. My largest debt is to Norman A. Graebner, whose keen
insight and constant encouragement throughout the writing of
my dissertation has been inspiring and indispensable. Mr.
Graebner has been a personal friend as well as an excellent
critic and advisor. I also benefited from the criticisms of
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John W. Israel. Reading the study from a Chinese historian s
viewpoint, Mr. Israel offered provocative comments and ques­
tions which helped to maintain a balanced approach to Sino­
American relations. I wish to thank Gilbert W. Roy, who
guided me through the intricacies and frustrations of learn­
ing Mandarin Chinese, and Walter F. LaFeber of Cornell Uni­
versity, whose encouragement first inspired me to study
American diplomatic history.

Finally,· I offer my appreciation to these very special
persons: Daniel J. and Janet S. Kuebel·, Ernest R. and Mary
D. Shelton and, most of all, Charlotte J. Shelton.