| American diplomacy during the nineteenth century War of the Pacific has proved noteworthy for two reasons. The first is the amount of influence that the American domestic political situation exerted on the United States' policy towards Chile during the War. During a two year span (from 1880--1881) the United States had three different Presidents, all Republican. This combined with a split in the Republican party to create a number of difficult situations for American diplomats. The second reason why American diplomacy during the War of the Pacific proved noteworthy is the actions of President James Garfield's Secretary of State, James G. Blaine. Blaine embarked on a radically different course from those of his predecessor, William Evarts, and his successor, Frederick Frelinghuysen, and his efforts to influence the peace negotiations of the War would prove to have negative consequences for American-Chilean relations for years afterwards. |
