Of One Blood All Nations chronicles the life of John Bingham starting with his childhood in Ohio through his diplomatic career in Meiji Japan. Called the father of the 14th Amendment, John Bingham was a key political figure in America’s Reconstruction era. His twelve years as America’s senior diplomat in Japan came at a crucial time in the emerging bilateral relationship.
Kidder, with first-hand knowledge of both diplomacy and Japan, recalls for us an often forgotten and undervalued diplomat: John Bingham. A relentless researcher active on both sides of the Pacific, Kidder is especially insightful in exploring Bingham’s connections with Ohio politicians and neighbors and Washington colleagues, all vital to his lengthy and productive tenure in Japan.
- Prof. Jack Hammersmith, West Virginia University, author Spoilsmen in a Flowery Fairyland.
I have been very pleased to see Mr. Kidder’s research on John Bingham whose contribution to Japan and America has been neglected for too long. I recommend this book to anyone interested in the early diplomatic and cultural relationship between our two great Pacific nations.
- Prof. K. Nakajima, PhD, Tohoku University, visiting professor Meiji Gakuin University.
Using extensive research and drawing on his own personal experience working in and with the US Embassy in Tokyo, Sam Kidder has produced a fast-paced narrative of John Bingham’s years before, during and after his posting in Japan. Whether you are a student or a practitioner in the area of US-Japan relations, you cannot miss this story of the competence, respect and decency that Bingham brought to his engagement with Japan.
- Ambassador Larry Greenwood, Japan Society of Northern California
John Bingham is widely remembered for his time in Congress, where he helped draft the 14th Amendment and delivered closing arguments during the impeachment trial of President Andrew Johnson. As Sam Kidder makes clear in this well researched and richly detailed study, Bingham’s second political act, as lead U.S. diplomat to Japan, is equally worthy of historical reflection as he used his principled political skills to lead the U.S. delegation during the transformational Meiji Period. His work in Japan strengthened a bilateral relationship that only the imperial ambitions of the 20th century would undo.
- Nancy J. Taylor, Executive Director, Presbyterian Historical Society
