Open Door Policy Announced

Date: January 2, 1900 • Location: Beijing, China

American statesman and diplomat John Hay announces the Open Door Policy to promote trade with China.

John Milton Hay was an American statesman and official whose career in government stretched over almost half a century. Beginning as a private secretary for Abraham Lincoln, he became a diplomat. He served as United States Secretary of State under Presidents William McKinley and Theodore Roosevelt. Hay was also a biographer of Lincoln, and wrote poetry and other literature throughout his life.