A New Approach to the Origins of Blaine's Pan American Policy

Bibliographic Data

ID2784138
AuthorsRussell H Bastert (corresponding author)
Year1959
Volume39
Issue3
Pages375
Publication date1959-08-01
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessNo
TypeARTICLE
VenueHispanic American Historical Review (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 0018-2168 • E-ISSN: 1527-1900
PublisherJSTOR (PUBLISHER)
DOI10.2307/2510229
OpenAlexW4247387023
LanguageEN
Citations received7

J AMES G. BLAINE unpredietably turnied from politics to diplomacy late in 1880 by accepting the post of secretaiy of state in the cabiiiet of Presidenit-elect James A. Garfield. Blaine was a tallish, vigorous man, with a broad, expressive face, promninenit nose, piercing brown eyes, and striking full beard, liberally streaked with gray; his appearance belied the fact that he worried about his health, and occasionally suffered from gout. A veteran of nearly twenty years in Conigress, he was only fifty. His mind was quick, imaginative, shrewd; his mnanner genial, animated, and confident. Always lively and interesting, never at a loss for words, which flowed from him almost effortlessly, whatever he said or did commanded public attentioni. For years he had been the most personally magnetic of Republican leaders. He had woIn the allegiance of countless Americansthey admired his brilliance; they elnvied his eloquence; they enjoyed his geniality; they laughed at his witty repartee; they respected him as a devoted family man; alnd they backed him with an enthusiasm and a loyalty which few of his rivals could command. The machinations of party politics-the personal malneuvers and intrigues which accompany the struggle for office-were food and drink to him. He fully expected to become President of the United States. Even bitter political enemies, and he had many, among Republicans as well as Democrats, would not have wagered against his chances. His becoming head of the State Department was essentially a by-product of the political process, a sign of his being Garfield's first adviser, not the result of interest in or qualifications for the art of diplomacy.' Ironically, however, in the world of foreign-policy n-ak* The author is assistant professor of history in Williams College. 1 Significantly, Blaine's private letters between the election and inauguration in the Jamiies A. Garfield Papers (Division of Malnuscripts, Library of Congress), deal with party and cabinet matters almost exclusively; there is no mention of diplomacy in them. Walker Blaine knew well his father 's inclinatiolns; he wrote from St. Paul, Minlnesota, on January 3, 1881: ' Did your going into the State Department simply mean that you were to be Secretary of State, I do

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