The Study On U. S. Policy Towards The War Of The Pacific

The War of the Pacific is a regional war between Chile and Peru-Bolivia Union in1879-1883, It was one of the most important events in the history of Latin America in the19th century. In order to get the rich nitrates resources of the Pacific coast, two sides had a fierce competition, finally Chile won. Before the war, United States’s political and economic influence in South America is relatively weak, the outbreak of the War of the Pacific offered an opportunity for the United States to expand in the region. Although the United States is not a direct warring party, it has been the most active external force in the war. In order to dominate the Western Hemisphere and pursue national interests as far as possible, under the guidance of the Monroe Doctrine, three United States governments took different policies in different stages of the war, and it’s effect can not be ignored. After the war outbreak, as the Secretary of State of Hayes administration, Evarts declared neutral, wishing to safeguard United States interests, at the same time, by emphasizing the belligerent rights against European powers. Since then, the policy of the United States has experienced a shift, first offer good offices secretly and then publicly, the Arica Conference was the peak of such activities. Considering the Chile’s victory may bring the expansion of Europe especially Britain in South America, President Garfield’s Secretary of State Blaine began to take the policy of "back Peru, restrain Chile", interfered the negotiations in the Pan-American slogans and against Chile annex Peruvian territory. To this end, Blaine sent a special envoy to South America, and even threated to use force. After he resigned, Frelinghuysen became the new Secretary of State of Arthur Cabinet. He maintained interference in the affair, but gave up Blaine’s hard-line policy. Instead, he turned to a "middle-line" policy, with intent to persuade Chile giving up her territorial claims and avoiding irritate her at the same time. But finally, all these mediation activities of the United States ended in failure.Based on19th century American diplomatic archives, this paper reviewed the United States’s policy towards War of the Pacific, and drew the conclusions that: Although the policies of three United States governments were quite different, all of them stemed from the Monroe Doctrine; In the period of expansion from land to ocean, the Monroe Doctrine in South America became "active" increasingly, and the United States’s policy towards War of the Pacific reflected the emergence of new characteristics of Monroe Doctrine; War of the Pacific and other subsequent events in U.S.-Latin American relations proved that the United States had never given up control Latin America by interfering, which was an important reason for the formation development gap between the United States and Latin America.