Diplomacy Far Removed

This study seeks to clarify the impact of the stories of the Lawrence and Lagoda on the decision to send the U.S. mission to Japan. After examining the actual narratives of the sailors and comparing them with Japanese reports in order to ascertain a factual baseline the study examines the reaction to the Lawrence and Lagoda by prominent businessmen naval officers and politicians. Then the reaction to the Lawrence and Lagoda is placed in the contextual framework of prevailing mid-nineteenth century American social cultural and legal attitudes in order to show that humanitarian concerns were indeed a prime consideration for sending the Perry mission to Japan.