UNIVERSITY OF CRAIOVA

DOCTORAL SCHOOL OF SOCIAL AND HUMAN SCIENCES FIELD OF HISTORY

DOCTORAL THESIS Romanian-American diplomatic relations during 1850-1914

ABSTRACT

Scientific Coordinator, Prof. univ. dr. habil. Sorin Liviu Damean

PhD Student, Marilena Cornelia Rizescu

CRAIOVA 2020

1 CONTENT

Introduction ...... 5 I. Consular presence and the first American consulates in the United Principalities. Period 1850-1870 ...... 17 I.1. The premises of the evolution of the Romanian-American diplomatic relations ...... 17 I.2. The interest of the American ministers for the knowledge of the Romanian Principalities ... 23 I.3. The contribution of American ministers in affirming the Romanian national identity ...... 58 II. The moment of Benjamin Peixotto – redeeming or instigator of the Jewish cause? ...... 71 II.1. Adolphe Crémieux and the Universal Israelite Alliance in ...... 79 II.2. Missionary activity undertaken by Benjamin F. Peixotto ...... 97 II.3. The Berlin Congress reported to the Jewish Question ...... 116 II.4. John Hay: diplomatic protest for the Jewish cause in Romania ...... 130 II.5.The presence of American war correspondents on the Balkan front ...... 143 II.6. The report of the consular agent Adolf Stern after obtaining Romania's independence ...... 153 III. The beginning of the Romanian-American diplomatic relations ...... 158 III.1. Recognition of Romania's independence by the U.S.A...... 159 III.2. - the first American diplomatic representative in the Romanian independent state ...... 167 III.3. Sergiu Voinescu - the first Romanian diplomatic representative in the USA ...... 177 III.4. The first consular convention between Romania and the U.S.A...... 187 III.5. The report of the consul general E. Schuyler regarding the Romanian trade in the period 1880- 1884 ...... 199 IV. American diplomats in and the evolution of Romanian-American diplomatic relations. Period 1885-1914 ...... 215 IV.1. John Walker Fearn ...... 215 IV.1.1. The closeness between Fannie Fearn and Queen Elizabeth ...... 218 IV.2. Archibald Loudon Snowden ...... 220 IV.3. William Woodville Rockhill...... 224 IV.4. Arthur Sheburne Hardy ...... 229 IV.4.1. The Romanian immigration phenomenon in America at the end of the 19th century and the beginning of the 20th century ...... 223 IV.5. ...... 247 IV.5.1. The economic situation of Romania at the beginning of the 20th century ...... 248 IV.6. John Brinkehoff Jackson ...... 254 IV.6.1. Fighting the Jewish question by US Minister Jackson ...... 266 IV.6.2. Monopolization of the oil industry: Standard Oil Company ...... 273 IV.7. John Wallace Riddle ...... 282 IV.7.1. The evolution of the Romanian trade ...... 282 IV.7.2. The 1907 uprising - a source of propaganda in the press ...... 286 IV.8. Horace Greeley Knowles ...... 295 IV.8.1. Reviewing the conditions of Romanian trade ...... 295 IV.9. John Ridgely Carter ...... 305 IV.9.1. The dilemma of American products imported on the Romanian market ...... 305 IV.9.2. The context of the visit of the American diplomat Oscar S. Straus from the perspective of the Romanian-American bilateral relations ...... 308 V.10. Charles Joseph Vopicka ...... 311 V.10.1. Appointment of the US Minister in the Balkans. Assuming the function of the Legation - receptions and ceremonies ...... 322 Conclusions ...... 331 Annexes ...... 333 Bibliography ...... 361

2 ABSTRACT

Diplomatic relations inevitably imply an equality of relations in the international act, becoming a formative code of the principles that supervise the conduct of nations. There is no more striking illustration of this than the diplomatic history of the , offering through its evolutionary implications, integrating a new nation into a new world, unrestrained by the traditions and institutions of past eras, which, since its inception political placed in a champion of free trade, highlighted by an original signature. The US government's policy of developing large-scale trade relations and engaging in restrictive terms of European political commitments has given the U.S. an energetic manner of promoting and guiding its own success. Specifically, American diplomacy was characterized by a complex phenomenon delimited by the validity of economic stability measures, a sine qua non condition of national interests in the complex interstate relations of the period studied. The American diplomatic experience in Eastern Europe is an almost forgotten saga, often overlooked, the statement of the Monroe Doctrine and the Truman Doctrine being inextricably linked to the American diplomatic experience in this area. But a careful examination reveals a number of interest groups, encompassing commercial, economic, cultural, philanthropic, religious issues, gaining the support of American diplomats who sought to materialize these interferences. In the doctoral thesis entitled “Romanian-American diplomatic relations during 1850- 1914”, I propose a thematic approach to diplomatic negotiations that inevitably involves equal relations in the international act, becoming a formative code of principles that govern the conduct of nations. There is no more striking illustration of this than the diplomatic history of the United States, offering through its evolutionary implications, integrating a new nation into a new world, unrestrained by the traditions and institutions of past eras, which, since its inception political placed in a champion of free trade, highlighted by an original signature. US diplomacy has also had a strong influence on the adoption of simple and direct methods of conducting negotiations, with US diplomats relying rather on the strength of their cause, clearly argued by modeling modern trade practices. Undoubtedly, trade with Europe was the dominant feature of US export activity during this period, with the "American invasion" of the European system representing a major change in the pattern of international trade. Undoubtedly, the most important connection between the United States and Romania during the research period was based on trade. While a decline in interest in Western Europe was reported in the United States in the early 19th century, the interest of American diplomacy in the Mediterranean, the Levant, and the Black Sea, as well as for the events generated by the Oriental Crisis with all its consequences. The United States Government gave priority to commercial interests because economic activities were in full accordance with the US national interest. Through trade operations, missionary activities, and the presence of naval forces, U.S. imports followed a cyclical pattern; only after 1880 there was a noticeable increase in trade in Romania. On the other hand, through the consulates, consular and commercial agencies existing at the end of the 19th century around the world, the United States was ready to open a new agency where they considered that there were commercial opportunities. Compared to the

3 relations of modern Romania with the European powers, which included an extensive evaluation and concentration in Romanian historiography, the Romanian-American relations were the subject of a minimized number of researches, representing for the mentioned time interval, a neuralgic point dedicated to study. In this sense, I initiated the research by consulting the archive documents within the Ministry of Foreign Affairs regarding the personal accreditation files of the American ministers in Romania. The bibliography dedicated to diplomatic relations in the mentioned period was covered by the share of serial volumes on diplomatic correspondence, which presents a documentary record of major foreign policy decisions in the United States, being declassified and edited. Thus, I consulted the consular reports embedded in Papers Relating to the Foreign Relations of the United States - Diplomatic Correspondence, or in Commercial Relations of the United States with Foreign Countries through online subscriptions, where I followed a and interpretation as more faithful to the events unfolding. In addition, we continued the research by studying certain funds that dealt, among others, with the topic of Romanian- American diplomatic relations within the Central National Historical Archives. Practically, the Romanian territories became accessible to the commercial interest of the United States of America since the conclusion of the first trade treaty with the Ottoman Empire, on May 10, 1830, legislating the moment of the penetration of American commercial vessels in this area. As a result, an American legation was opened in Constantinople, marking the inauguration of permanent official relations between the two states, and later several consular agents were opened in other cities of the Ottoman Empire. The origins of American trade in the Principality can be traced back to the arrival of the first merchant ship on the Danube. The beginning of the process of institutional-administrative modernization and gradual integration of the Principalities in the capitalist world economic circuit accelerated the possibilities of direct contact between the Romanian countries and the United States of America that arose with 1843, when it appeared on the Sulina Arm and then anchored in the port of Brăila the first merchant ship under the American flag. In 1847, due to the lack of grain in Western Europe, Romanian wheat had become very popular on the Constantinople market, from where American vessels on their way back from Constantinople to the Mediterranean and then the Atlantic, loaded grain from Romanian ports in Galați and Brăila. The American flag began to be more and more visible on the Danube, in the desire to increase the profitability of the return of ships after the landing of American goods in Constantinople, which were then sold in Mediterranean ports. Through the practices undertaken, the American economic agents, speculating the effect emanating from the irregular functioning of the market, emphasized the introduction of some elements of novelty and therefore, innovation in the market economy. Based on a rational cost / benefit analysis, it thus conferred a temporary monopoly power in the economic model, offering defining characteristics to the American trader. Thus, the introductory chapter of the thesis “Consular presence and the first American consulates in the United Principalities. The period 1850-1870” provides introductory data on informing the American political environment about the Danube Principalities and the policy undertaken in the geostrategic context of Southeast Europe through trade consuls.

4 The Romanian space, standing out as a particular one for the whole of Eastern Europe, attracted the interest of American consuls. A first officialization of the Romanian-American relations took place on January 29, 1850, by the inauguration, in Galați, of the first consular office with the rank of vice-consulate of the United States in Romania, the honorary vice-consul being named the merchant Anton Negroponte. The creation of the first American consulate inaugurated a new phase in relations with the Danube Principality. The main task of the honorary vice-consul was to protect the interests of American subjects residing in the Principality, which pretty eloquently testifies to the commercial interest that these provinces had begun to arouse in the United States. In 1851 and 1853 two more American ships arrived, followed by three more in 1855. Between 1856 and 1862, 65 American ships anchored in the United Principalities of Moldavia and Wallachia. Carol Spence, the minister resident in Constantinople during 1852-1859, provided constant information on the situation of Romanians. He became familiar with local Romanian events, as his diplomatic duties included constantly informing the State Department about the revolutionary situations in Central and Southeastern Europe, his stay in Constantinople providing him with ideal opportunities for information. The information provided by Spence was eagerly awaited in the United States, in order to make known to American traders the prospects of new markets for American products. Trade interest has not been neglected and since the sixth decade, the chances of American economic penetration in the Lower Danube region have been taken into account. In recognition of the new situation in the Principality, in 1858, before the union was completed, the US State Department decided to open its first consular diplomatic agency in the territory of the United Principalities, to operate a consulate served by an American career consul in Galati. The election, as the place of residence of the first American consular representation in the Danube port, was an essential condition for the development of extensive American trade relations, but also the desire of Romanian governments to expand in advantageous conditions the scope of political and economic relations with more and more countries. The circumstances and ways in which they were appointed, but especially the conditions under which the American consuls were accepted to exercise their mission in Romania, initially through brewing or consular exequatur issued by the Sublime Porte, later through the direct exchange of letters between the Romanian authorities and those American, substantiates authentic evidence of the policy of independence that lasted with prestige and fidelity, despite all the obvious impediments. In these new circumstances, the Romanian-American relations know a new phase of development, becoming permanent relations. The appointment of Consul Henry Romertze in Galați had been announced by the American President James Buchanan, and he, through the brewery of April 16, 1859, confirmed the appointment. The procedure displeased the Romanian authorities, because the quasi-independent policy promoted by Alexandru Ioan Cuza tended to end the interference of the government in the internal affairs of the state. Knowing its position within the zonal hierarchy, Romania sought to act according to its own strategies and tactics to maintain its independence, both through its own internal efforts and through an energetic foreign policy determined by bilateral or multilateral relations,

5 identified with establishing diplomatic relations with countries we support promoted national interests. Since the arrival of the first American consul, HT Romertze, efforts have been made to conclude a Romanian-American trade treaty of friendship, trade and navigation, an occasion to affirm national independence through diplomatic acts between the United Principalities and the United States, materialized due to the opposition of the Sublime Porte, coalition with the official legalism of the American authorities. A treaty between the United Principalities and the distant United States of North America, negotiated in 1859, revealed the bridges of contact between Dâmbovița and Potomac, with a distant resonance of the political independence of the new Moldovan-Wallachian state. Unfortunately, the beginning of American-Romanian relations will not be crowned with promising auspices. Although practically an independent state, the United Principalities were still technically part of the Ottoman Empire. Even if the Romanian project had been sent to Washington, its chances of being considered by the State Department and passing the Senate to be ratified by the President would have been nil. In pursuing its policy, the United States has cautiously avoided interference in European affairs and respected European powers in foreign policy. The United States did not conclude a treaty with the Romanian Principalities, as no European power had yet recognized their ability to sign an international agreement, and the Ottoman Empire interpreted this action as a brutal interference in its internal affairs. As a result, starting with Romertze, Washington accredited its American consuls directly to the Sultan of Turkey and not to the Romanian ruler. Being a delicate issue related to the country that had just gained its autonomy after years of fighting against the Turks, the Principalities were ready to take the next opportunity to be officially recognized national independence, Bucharest will support the violation of national sovereignty and protest tirelessly in front of the United States. In fact, as long as the Principalities remained under the suzerainty of the Gate, the United States continued to demand beer for its consuls from the Ottoman sultan. The Romanians never accepted the Ottoman beer, asserting through this gesture the independence of their country, but nevertheless, they did not prevent any American consul in exercising his functions. When the American consuls forwarded to the Cuza government, it ignored it and returned the document. However, Prince Cuza did not oppose compliance with the form of their treaties with Turkey, but asked US consuls in Romania to waive the presentation of the Ottoman beer, and to submit a letter of recommendation to him instead. In July 1860 was appointed Charles Langdon, in the same way as Romertze, that is, by a brew of Sultan Abdul Medgid Khan, following a verbal note presented by the American legation at the Sublime Gate. In the case of the new consul, the firm opposition of the United Principalities took place in the conditions in which the full union had not yet been recognized by Turkey. The official letter of recommendation had been issued by the Sultan, although the wish of the Principalities was that the American president be its author. During his stay in Galati, Langdon will seek to keep the Washington authorities informed of the existing conditions in the Principality, especially of trade. Langdon's name is linked for the first time to the hoisting of the American flag at the consulate, as well as the fulfillment of consular tasks received from the American government, putting forward the premise of a considerable profit in the ports of the Lower Danube.

6 Given the speed of the appointment of American consular services, there were numerous appointments of American consuls for the port of Galati. The new incumbent, Frederick Wippermann, was instructed to take an x-ray of the conditions in the Principality, including general considerations on social classes, state revenues, existing transportation, and last but not least on the introduction of American goods, especially agricultural tools, in order to stimulate the methods of cultivating the land, otherwise rudimentary and degraded. For the period 1865-1867, Oscar Malmoros will prepare numerous reports for the US State Department, including in-depth investigations into the Principalities, exceptionally into the reduced trade caused by the American Civil War. It presented the tools needed to recover American trade by creating a marketplace comprising American household goods, cotton goods, sewing machines and agricultural machinery. Indicating an increase in the role that the American government gives to its representation in the Principality, in 1867 the first American consulate with residence in Bucharest took place, marking an increased awareness of American political concerns, complemented by the expansion of diplomatic and those of a commercial interests. Although the number of American ships arriving in the Principality, at the beginning of the commercial debut, multiplied rapidly, in 1861, the United States was ranked 9th out of the 23 nations that traded with Romania, finally, starting with 1863, trade began to decrease. Between 1863 and 1872, only 48 American ships had transited the Principalities, with trade declining until the 1890s. The reasons for the decline were many. The American economic reconstruction after the Civil War was an extensive process, being difficult due to local taxes as well as the high costs of merchant ships. Another reason was the low awareness of the economic opportunities that Romania and its people could offer. The three major exports: wheat, oil and animal products were also capital exports to the US market. Therefore, not only that there was almost no market for Romanian products in America, the latter becoming one of Romania's main competitors in European markets, especially in Germany. Prior to independence, Romanian exports to the United States were virtually non-existent. In the second chapter entitled “The Moment Benjamin Peixotto - Judge or Instigator of the Jewish Case?” I have eminently reiterated the US government's position on the situation of Jews in the Principality. The activation of the Bucharest-Washington dialogue led to a series of contextual expeditions in which each partner aimed at intervention, certification and nuance in a distant symptomatic. An additional obstacle to American-Romanian trade and whose influence was impossible to measure, representing the major risk point in diplomatic relations between the two countries, was the Jewish problem. Since 1860, the major concern of Jews in Western Europe and America has been the situation of co-religionists in Romania. During this period, Romania had between 200,000 and 300,000 Jews, out of a population of about five million, representing an alarming percentage compared to the total population of any country in Europe. However, until 1870, America was largely a spectator, the first and only time Washington was interested in the treatment of Romanian Jews came in 1867, when US Secretary of State Edward Joy Morris told Romanians that the sympathy of the American government for Prince Carol I could be affected if preventive measures against Jews were not to be interrupted.

7 President Grant understood the importance of sending a missionary to Romania, who was financially supported by the B’nai B’rith Order, supporting the emancipation of Jews in humanitarian tones. The gratitude he showed is due to President Grant, who accredited Benjamin Franklin. Peixotto, granting him a letter of accreditation that instilled the highest spirit of the Republic and exposed to the whole world that the United States knew no difference between people and that all beliefs were equal, thus forming the germs of the fight against widespread discrimination and worldwide by representing and raising awareness of potential victims based on race or religion. Although the educational activity undertaken by Peixotto did not have a permanent character, his traces remained visible in the Romanian historiography. Possessing a superficial understanding of Romania, he considered that the main obstacle faced by the Jews was their old habits, and through education, they would become westernized. What President Grant saw through Peixotto's mission was a manifestation of the need to develop trade between the two countries and thus of close relations. With the exception of interventionist activities of dubious legality, Peixotto also engaged in commercial matters of interest to the United States. In fact, Peixotto's initial appointment as consul was legally based on a Turkish-American economic treaty, which means that his legitimate field of activity was Romanian-American trade. In addition to his efforts to strengthen trade relations between the United States and Romania, he submitted general reports including the social, political, economic, industrial, especially religious and cultural situation of Romania. The third chapter of this approach investigates the hypostasis of the existing relations in “The beginning of the Romanian-American diplomatic relations” reuniting the unveiling of this process staged in advancing the recognition of Romania's independence by the United States, by sending the first American diplomatic representative political relations between the two states through the first Romanian delegation on American soil. In this context, the existing relations between the two countries are reflected in a superior diplomatic environment, marked by cardinal attempts regarding the materialization of the first consular convention between Romania and the United States. The period preceding the War of Independence represents the culmination that the Romanian governments, together with Prince Carol, achieved by emphasizing the political character of Romanian-American relations, reducing the importance of the economic aspect of bilateral relations, in disagreement with the Washington administration, rather a broad spectrum of trade in all corners of the world. The presence of special war correspondents sent by major American dailies on the Balkan front provided readers overseas with unprecedented pace, in addition to routine information on the evolution and development of the conflict and extensive reports on exclusively Romanian topics. The political amplitude and the general impact produced would materialize by the appointment of Eugene Schuyler as diplomatic agent and later plenipotentiary minister in Romania, together with the reception reserved in the autumn of 1880 for Sergiu Voinescu, sent on a special mission by the Romanian government to the States. United, recording the official recognition of the independence of the state of Romania by the American government. This suggestive action represented a visible progress in the relations between the two states, attested

8 by the exit from the Ottoman suzerainty, marking a favorable circumstance to reduce the imminent tensions regarding the Jewish cause through the premise of normalizing Romanian- American relations. Because of these pre-existing attitudes, the recognition of Romania's independence by the United States took place only in June 1880, exactly after the recognition of the Great Powers, because the Jewish question dominated the American mentality. The issue of independence signaled at the level of public opinion, as well as in the American diplomatic circles, the exigency of accelerating the economic relations with Romania, capitalizing on the opportunities and methods of stimulating these relations. Numerous specialized studies prescribe as a precursor the beginning of the Romanian- American official relations on June 28, 1880, on the occasion of the signing by the American Secretary of State William Evarts of the reverential act, by which the United States fully recognized Romania's perfect sovereignty and independence and nominated the distinguished Eugene Schuyler, arguably the most prominent of the American diplomats who had worked in Bucharest, as diplomatic agent and consul general under the government of Prince Carol I. For pecuniary reasons, Romania could not undertake, in order to maintain permanent relations, the memorable gesture of opens a diplomatic representation in the United States on that favorable occasion, but not later. The strengthening of Romania's sovereignty on the international level, through the mission of the envoy Sergiu Voinescu, meant to officially notify the proclamation of independence, took place on November 18, 1880, by the official handing of Prince Carol I's letter to American President Rutherford Birchard Hayes. Romanian among the powers of Europe. In the form of this exchange of letters between the leaders of the two states, the moment of maximum closeness and cooperation generated by the establishment of mutual trade relations arises. After the end of Schuyler's mission in 1884, the American envoys accredited to Romania simultaneously ensured American relations with several countries in Central and Eastern Europe, and a few days would arrive in Bucharest, although they were permanent residents with their own headquarters in the capital of Romania. American ministers accredited to the Royal Court limited their mission to the simple formality of presenting letters of accreditation without giving the necessary effort in the real knowledge and understanding of the Romanian people, in order to formulate a fair opinion and an accurate assessment of Romanian internal circumstances. . The Romanian-American interferences were subjected to a disturbing process, caused by the prolonged indifference of the United States, or of the Romanian conjunctural reluctance, both attitudes being based on political, diplomatic or economic reasoning. The typology in the last chapter is limited to “American diplomats in Bucharest and the evolution of Romanian-American diplomatic relations between 1885-1914” proposing an analysis study related to the period in which new ministers and consuls residing in the United States in Romania, as well as of the contributions made in close proximity between the two governments, in a time frame defined by considerable mutations and convulsions felt both at European and global level.

9 The examined period represents the basic stage in substantiating strategic-economic decisions, generally dictated by social implications, but also valid from the perspective of renewing the friendly relationship between the United States and Romania., Whose objectives were to review and amend maritime status, regulations and maritime vessel practices, as well as the adoption of a uniform system of trade and navigation. Beginning in 1891, Republican President ordered the reactivation of diplomatic missions and raised the level of representation to the rank of extraordinary envoy and plenipotentiary minister. Remarkable American diplomats have been accredited and activated in this new position in relatively short periods such as: Archibald Loudon Snowden (1891-1893), William Woodville Rockhill (1896-1899), Arthur Sheburne Hardy (1899-1901), Charles Spencer Francis (1901-1903), John Brinkehoff Jackson (1903-1905), simultaneously exercising diplomatic functions for several countries, among which they divided their time, interests and concerns. The repeated appointments made at the head of the American representation in Romania were thus reduced to a third of activities and efficiency, which, together with the absence of a Romanian representation, even consular overseas, exemplified the fact that the area was not yet a primacy of American foreign policy. The vision of the American ministers regarding the progress registered by Romania was frequently recorded in the statistical reports sent by the State Department, finding a crucial evolution compared to previous years. The economic potential registered in Southeast Europe had triggered strong economic rivalries between European powers to dominate this promising trade, with a belief in American trade expansion not only in Romania but also in other countries in the Balkans, an idea strongly supported by Washington. There was a decrease compared to Romania's exports to Western Europe, due to the competition of American cereals to the detriment of similar Romanian products, the American market being a real success in the agricultural products sector. In these unfavorable circumstances, the Romanian-American trade experienced an oscillating evolution after 1881, especially for the benefit of the imports from the United States, reaching after 1895 the value of almost half a million dollars. Imports consisted mainly of petroleum products, along the way, a large part of the imported products were known as yankee products, frequently requested on the Romanian market, but also on European markets, such as agricultural machinery, cotton fabrics, and machinery sewing. Compared to the imports from the United States during this period, Romania's exports were insignificant and discontinuous, both due to the absence of a direct transport route to the United States, and especially because the main products of animal origin - could not enter the European market, because the United States has been one of the major exporters of such products. In the first decade of the twentieth century, trade relations between the two countries experienced a new stage, due to both the development of Romania in all areas of the economy and the establishment of the United States as a leading economic power, making the American product better known and more competitive on the European continent. More insistently than in the past, the American government will complain for a certain period of time, one of its main concerns in relations with the Romanian government, namely the issue of achieving trade treatment stimulated by the progress of Romanian trade.

10 Romanian-American relations have never been positioned in a systematized balance of alliances maintained by the content of bilateral interests, Romania shaping itself in the sphere of international relations of the United States when the records of opportunities required such a procedure. The beginnings of the Bucharest-Washington relations were limited to incidental moments, being limited only to conventional diplomatic contacts, caused by the present rigidity between the partners. In economic relations with the United States, a demonstration activity would occupy the activity of the great American trust Standard Oil in the field of Romanian oil, with the exposure of the project of taxation of the American trust to the commercial activity of sale and transport of petroleum products in Romania, liberals concerned with attributing politics "by ourselves". Definitely, the interference of the American trust will offer a major impulse in the affirmation of the Romanian oil industry in the world oil circles, becoming the most important big industry in South-Eastern Europe, following to attract influential foreign capitals. For the first time in the diplomatic history of the two countries, there have been differences over competition for world grain and oil markets. Liberal governments, dominated by distrust, opposed the American trust in trying to gain access to drilling and extraction in the state's oil fields. The circumstance advanced in the United States the certainty that the Romanian governments were discriminating against the American oil capital. In order to overcome the impediments, however, Standard Oil remained involved in the extraction, refining and marketing of oil, by establishing in 1904 its subsidiary, the Romanian-American Company, which operated only in concessions obtained by individuals. This company was, through its capital, the first remarkable American investment in the country's largest industry, which before 1944 had become the only industry in all of southeastern Europe. The most intense links have been established in the field of trade and oil relations. If the future had been a projection in time of the existing situations in 1914, these relations would have revealed the only major perspective of the Romanian-American relations, since in the political relations, the contact areas seemed reduced. In the Romanian-American relations, a new fragment was dedicated to the presence in the United States of the Romanian immigration coming from -Hungary, which had acquired appreciable dimensions. Compared to the immigration of Romanians from Transylvania, the exodus of the Jewish population from Romania had recorded impressive statistical data before the First World War. Through the diplomatic note addressed to the Romanian government by the American Secretary of State Joy Hay, a crucial dissension in the relations between the two states was instigated. As a result, there has been an increase in public pressure and American Jewish organizations, but also an increase in the uncertainty of the Romanian authorities towards Washington, with the relaunch of the conditions imposed on Romania regarding the granting of citizenship to the Jewish population. Although it was not fruitful in terms of results, in many respects it was the most notable action ever taken by the US government on behalf of the Jews. Although they had not been participants and signatories of the Berlin Congress, the United States considered itself entitled to coerce Romania to review its conduct on the Jewish question, under the guise of moral, humanitarian reason as an essential component of American politics. The negative effects of the Romanian-American

11 diplomatic incident of 1902 were later annulled by a better knowledge by Washington of the Romanian political realities through the diplomatic representatives accredited in Romania. The nature of American diplomacy vis-à-vis Romania was situational. Washington's diplomatic acts were replicas defined by the attitude expressed by Bucharest in various contexts, the American initiatives being exposed in the sphere of diplomatic interferences. The Peasant Uprising of 1907 will commemorate the preoccupation of the American press and Jewish organizations in the United States with the problem of Jews in Romania, giving American diplomacy a new favorable opportunity to reassure the cause of the Jews in attitudes that implicitly targeted Austria-Hungary and Russia. The opportunity was seized by the outbreak of the Balkan wars, which attracted the attention of the American public, imposing on Romania, in the context in which the conditions of peace between the belligerents were treated in Bucharest, the resumption of the debate on granting independence in 1878 by granting mass citizenship to the Jewish population. The European powers, situated in a difficult and threatening political-diplomatic balance in Southeast Europe, once again ignored the intervention of the United States. Therefore, the last pre-war years have unquestionably revealed the significance of trade relations, which, as a result of the commitment to grant the most-favored-nation clause, have made a remarkable leap. While Romanian exports remained low, imports from the United States increased visibly in the last years before the First World War, accumulating a really considerable progress in 1913, registering an increase of 823% - by $ 2.4 million, compared to the previous year. With these considerable ratios, the United States positioned itself as a remarkable supplier to Romania, dominating and surpassing traditional European suppliers. Against the background of these developments, Europe remained, as in the past, the most important market for American exports. After 1900, the virulent economic imperialism of the United States had diverted the transoceanic relationship from the former dependence of the United States on Europe to an increasingly visible subordination of Europe to the United States. By 1914, the image of Romanians about the United States was completed with the dimension of great industrial and agrarian power, being more and more competitive on the European continent. As a decisive analysis of the mission in the period under review, in 1913 the US administration appointed the Czech-born businessman Charles Vopicka as a diplomat with a ministerial degree, representing the interests of the United States in Romania, , and . Exclusively, during his mandate, he will manifest in view of the desideratum of the reunification of Transylvania with Romania, as well as for the extension of the volume of the American- Romanian trade exchanges. Returning to the United States due to the German occupation, he organized and supported multiple public demonstrations, during which he proclaimed himself in support of the Romanian cause, providing diplomatic support for the achievement of the Union and the building of Greater Romania. *** Between Romania and the USA, it was not agreed to advance the preliminary action phase that would foresee the “construction of bridges between people” across borders. In reality, all the preliminary operations were limited to the stage of naive intentions, which probably never agreed. Latent initiatives drawn up over time have resulted in failures due to economic

12 indifference or hesitation. Initiated as modest trade relations, aimed at advancing the interests of placing American goods yankee products on Romanian markets, relations between the two states have evolved inertia, with cyclical oscillations of pace and significance caused by factors, circumstances and events that translated into reality existing disagreements or incompatibilities. Around the First World War, the reproduction of Romania's image in the U.S. was slandered in the eyes of the American public and officials by the derogatory beliefs triggered by the Jewish question, which had caused a great sensation at the time. At the same time, the American business circles had noticed the attitude of the officials from Bucharest to deprive the investments of the American trust, circulating the rumor according to which Romania would have accentuated the analogies with the conservative and anti-democratic regime in Tsarist Russia. The existing conditions reflected a disadvantageous attitude towards Romania, and this incidence will be reflected in the hostile attitude of the USA. The analysis presented suggests the importance of diplomatic representation as being beneficial for both the sending and the destination countries. From a central point of view, the substance and symbolism of diplomatic missions are crucial in defending the precarious role of the state in an era of national formation. Diplomatic representation plays an important role in maintaining and consolidating the modern system of sovereign nation-states. Diplomatic representation is also costly, both in economic terms and in broader political terms, which prevents countries from sending and receiving missions from all other countries. Communication is generally considered an essential aspect of diplomacy. Starting from an understanding of diplomacy as a trans-historical phenomenon, this approach distinguishes a number of pertinent dimensions of the misleading aspects of diplomacy and offers through examples taken from different geographical regions. With a focus on continuity, the analysis presented reveals the basic aspects of diplomatic representation through the collection, transmission and ritualization of information and the development of relations. The topic concludes the idea that diplomatic relations cannot be seen as the result of a unilinear process, as dimensional variations do not follow an evolutionary model, but reflect historical contingency. This research has shown that the prototype of diplomatic representation is shaped to a significant extent by geographical proximity, power and ideological affinity. However, given the important political and economic functions, diplomatic representation strengthens the tyranny of geographical distance, power inequality and the division of countries along ideological lines. The model of diplomatic representation thus becomes a reflection of a force that contributes to the systematic assertion on the international stage, otherwise unequal and divided.

13