The moral philosophy of Confucius and Chinese culture inspired the Founding Fathers of the United States as they learned more about Marco Polo s fabulous Middle Kingdom through the writings of Jesuit missionaries and others in the Ming and Qing Dynasties.Fascinated by China s ancient culture and moral teachings, the founding generation of America envisioned modelling the newly created republic after the Confucian civilization and its trade relations that had developed with the ancient Silk Road.Until the First Opium War in the 1840s, the mutually beneficial Sino-American commercial intercourse had made both countries prosperous.Afterwards, however, the United States and China began to take divergent paths as both nations turned inward to deal with the Civil War in America and the Taiping Rebellion in China in the1860s.This paper presents an analysis of the lessknown Confucian influence on the enduring American foundation beyond the well-known historiography of Chinas trade connection to the American Revolution through the Boston Tea Party.The author then explores the prospects for better governance in bilateral relations and greater understanding between the two nations for a more peaceful and prosperous world.