USA wobec konfliktu rosyjsko-japońskiego w świetle doniesień rosyjskiego ambasadora w Waszyngtonie Artura Cassiniego
The USA’s attitude towards the Russo-Japanese conflict in view of reports from Arthur Cassini, Russian ambassador to Washington

Summary/Abstract: The article presents the perceptions of Russia and Japan during the disputeabout the areas of influence in the Far East and the Russo-Japanese War bythe American authorities and society in the period from January to September1904. The American government’s position and the public opinion werepresented on the basis of selected reports from the Russian ambassador to theUSA, Arthur Cassini. They allow for a statement to be made that both beforeand during the initial phase of the conflict, Americans sympathised with Japan.Apparently, this resulted from the pragmatic approach taken by the Americangovernment, as well as from the activity of Japanese diplomats, thanks to whichAmerican press published information that was favourable for the Japanese anddisadvantageous for Russia. However, when Japan gained advantage in the conflict,the feeling slowly shifted. The grounds for this was that the American publicbecame aware of the threat to American industry and trade, related to Japan’sreinforced position in the Far East. It may also be observed that excessive weakeningof Russia and strengthening of Japan at its expense did not correspondwith the idea of global balance of power and the concept of the appurtenantspheres of influence, advocated by the president of the United States, TheodoreRoosevelt.

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