As 1900 dawned, the colonial powers of Great Britain, Germany, France, Russia and Japan, increasingly dominating China’s economy, attempted to “Westernize” its culture. These countries divided China into “spheres of influence,” an exploitative process.

After acquiring Cuba, the Philippines, Puerto Rico and Hawaii, the United States also eyed the commercial possibilities China offered. Concerned that the U.S. might be excluded from lucrative trading activities, Secretary of State John Hay proposed an “Open Door Policy” designed to equalize trade policies.

As the world’s powers bargained for favorable trade and commercial arrangements, living conditions for the Chinese deteriorated as drought, starvation and plague afflicted large portions of the population. The proud Chinese people, who viewed themselves as the center of civilization, increasingly resented foreign “barbarian” cultural influences, especially from Christian missionaries. To stem this foreign tide, China’s Empress Dowager organized local militias who became dominated by a fanatical patriotic extremist group sworn to rid China of the hated foreigners. Loosely translated, these groups were called “Righteous Harmony Fists,” from which the term “Boxer” emerged.

During the spring of 1900, the Boxers murdered over 200 foreigners and many Christian Chinese. Tens of thousands of Boxers, along with sympathetic Chinese army units, poured into Peking (now called Beijing) and Tientsin, looking for more foreigners. Thus, the city’s foreign business and diplomatic communities soon found themselves in grave peril. They joined Chinese Christians in barricading themselves into their legations, or compounds, of those cities, and pleading to the outside world for help. The army received a cable including the following message: “Runner from Peking says that legations are besieged. Provisions nearly exhausted. Situation desperate.”

The height of the crisis occurred in June, when the Chinese murdered the German minister. The U.S. Minister to China, Edwin Conger of Iowa, and his family were trapped in Peking. Two other Iowans, newlyweds Herbert and Lou Henry Hoover, were trapped in Tientsin’s foreign settlement with 900 residents, and helped the 2,300 (mostly Russian) troops hold off perhaps 20,000 Chinese until relief came.

After the Chinese stymied an international relief force heading for Peking, a larger force formed, made up of some 14,000 troops, 2,500 of whom were American, including Medal of Honor recipients Louis Lawton and Calvin Titus. They first liberated Tientsin, a logical jump-off point for the assault on Peking, which was 60 miles away. Lawton earned his Medal of Honor during this campaign, after braving intense enemy fire while crossing an open field, seeking reinforcements for his pinned down unit.

After two days of fighting, Peking was secured on August 15. During this last phase of the fighting, Calvin Titus of Vinton, Iowa, undertook his brave climb up Peking’s wall to earn his Medal of Honor.